On Nov. 20, 1805, a clumsy little shock-haired man stood in the pit of a Vienna theatre, conducting an opera as if by might & main he could make its success. At 35, with deafness already upon him, Ludwig van Beethoven was presenting his Fidelia. Circumstances could scarcely have been worse. The week before, Napoleon had taken the city with the result that Austria's music patrons had withdrawn to the country. Temperature in the theatre was below freezing. Apathetic music critics found the score abounding in repetitions while the orchestra kept up...
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