Beethoven Recital Hall, Heiligenstadt, Austria

Date of Sketch: November 7, 2009

This 800 seat Music Hall is intentionally small by today's audience standards, and is sited in the Vienna village/suburb where Beethoven composed both his 2nd Symphony, and a life-confirming document known as the Heiligenstadt Testament.  Altho in 1802 his approaching deafness was likely incurable, and this realization brought him to the brink of suicidal despair, he wrote: "Art alone stopped me.  It seemed inconceivable that I should leave this world without having produced all that I felt I must. And so I go on leading this miserable life."  This resolution of life and art, written before any of his greatest musical achievements, inspired this small Hall, intended for today's composers as well as Beethoven performances. The Hall's glass ceiling and roof offers views of the trees and sky.