Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer.
Biography
The Sixth Doctor was present at the birth of Beethoven and gave his mother enough money to raise the child that her husband did not want. (PROSE: Gone Too Soon [+]Loading...["Gone Too Soon (short story)"])
The Tenth Doctor claimed to have learned how to play the organ (or possibly keyboard instruments in general) from Beethoven, suggesting the two had met. (TV: The Lazarus Experiment [+]Loading...["The Lazarus Experiment (TV story)"]) After the Doctor and Beethoven were abducted by Momus for a dinner party, the Doctor told Beethoven that he loved his Fifth. (PROSE: The Lonely Computer [+]Loading...["The Lonely Computer (short story)"])
In an incident at the Royal Albert Hall, the Tenth Doctor claimed to have once asked Beethoven if he could "rattle off a tune," to which Beethoven reportedly replied, "Pardon?" (TV: Music of the Spheres [+]Loading...["Music of the Spheres (TV story)"])
Parallel universe
In a parallel universe, the Doctor made a hearing aid for Beethoven. (AUDIO: A Storm of Angels [+]Loading...["A Storm of Angels (audio story)"])
Other references
On Nocturne in the 28th century, Korbin Thessinger played Beethoven to lure a noise creature into a trap. (AUDIO: Nocturne [+]Loading...["Nocturne (audio story)"])
When the TARDIS landed in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the First Doctor said that the music they were hearing was not Beethoven. (AUDIO: Farewell, Great Macedon [+]Loading...["Farewell, Great Macedon (audio story)"])
Beethoven wrote "Ode to Joy", which was part of his Ninth Symphony. (PROSE: Ode to Joy [+]Loading...["Ode to Joy (short story)"])
The Twelfth Doctor used the hypothetical non-existence of Beethoven in a story (which didn't happen) as an example of a bootstrap paradox, where a time traveller travelled back to 18th century Germany and copied out the concertos and symphonies he had brought with him and got them published after finding out no-one knew who Beethoven was, the time traveller essentially becoming Beethoven. He described Beethoven as a "nice chap, very intense," and that he "loved an arm wrestle." (TV: Before the Flood [+]Loading...["Before the Flood (TV story)"])
The Twelfth Doctor had his Beethoven bust on display in his office in St Luke's University. (TV: The Pilot [+]Loading...["The Pilot (TV story)"])
Behind the scenes
Beethoven was played by Paul Rhys in the BBC miniseries Beethoven.
