Cinemas Greatest Scenes: The “Moonlight Sonata” scene from Immortal Beloved (1994).

Immortal Beloved starring Gary Oldman as Ludwig Van Beethoven is not only an engaging celebration of a man and his music but also a rare historical biopic which often doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. The film’s title and premise of the film was inspired by a love letter written by Beethoven in the summer of 1812, at the spa in Teplitz, to his unidentified “immortal beloved”. It has long been a subject of debate among musicologists about who this unknown woman might be. The names of Julie Guicciardi, Therese Malfatti, Josephine Brunsvik, and Antonie Brentano, are all often associated with this letter, but with no definitive proof, it more or less remains an unsolved mystery.

While Oldham’s performance is often praised, the film suffers from criticism for being historically inaccurate. I don’t believe Director Bernard Rose should have to apologise for taking liberty in making the film he thought would tell a great story. Roger Ebert once wrote: “What Bernard Rose has accomplished in ‘Immortal Beloved’ is a film that imagines the mental state of Beethoven with a series of images as vivid and convincing as a dream. . . . He has created a fantasy about Beethoven that evokes the same disturbing, ecstatic passion we hear in his music…. Immortal Beloved has clearly been made by people who feel Beethoven directly in their hearts, and are not approaching him through a classroom or historical setting”

But if you really want an accurate examination of Beethoven’s life, John Suchet’s biography of the composer, Beethoven, is a great place to start. It’s a wonderful book for those who can’t stand all the technical jargon. But if you want a more scholarly examination of Beethoven’s life and music, the 1000 page biography Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph by Jan Swafford is highly recommended.

Anyway, one of the great scenes in the film (which I’m sure Ebert is in full agreement with) sees Beethoven hunched over a piano with his ear placed upon the music shelf (or top board) seemingly desperately trying to hear himself play. But Beethoven is by now (in this flashback) deaf. It is one of my personal favourite scenes from the film. How it shows and treats Beethoven’s hearing loss is nothing short of brilliant.

The scene in question begins with a letter inviting him to the house of Countess Giulietta Guicciardi (Valeria Golino)—one of Beethoven’s music pupils and lovers—to discreetly try-out their new pianoforte which arrived from London. Of course, Beethoven can’t resist and arrives eager to do so. But first he makes sure he is alone. However, unbeknown to Beethoven, Giulietta and her father secretly observe him through a peephole. At first, Beethoven seem to fumble around striking chords at will. The piano vibrates around the room. It’s not a great start and we are left to wonder has the maestro lost his touch. Countless Giulietta is deflated too, by what she hears. But once Beethoven rests his head down on the piano, something overcomes him. He begins to play the opening phrases of the Piano Sonata No. 14 in C# minor Op. 47 “quasi una fantasia”, Op. 47, No. 2 (also known as the Moonlight Sonata). But how? He distinctively feels his way around the the piano keys. He’s done this before. In his mind, with his heart and soul. In his euphoria, he allows the gentle vibrations to wash over him. Beethoven is seemingly a man reborn. (The audience too, feels the excitement of the moment.) However, everything is cut short after Giulietta, maybe even selfishly, interrupts him. Beethoven is startled, he jumps to his feet. He is both embarrassed and humiliated. He is beside himself, and for good reason. He fears his deafness will ruin his career. He storms off, out of the room, losing his temper: “It is terrible, terrible for you to rob me in this way of my most treasured feelings!” Guilietta is now also quite shaken. Realising her mistake and deceit, she begs him to stay. But it is to no avail, as her father holds her back and declares that Beethoven is deaf.