Beethoven: Winning at Both Art and Economics

Have you ever listened to Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)'s Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor <Appassionata>?
This piece is known as the "music of a lifetime" for Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Russian Revolution.
Lenin deliberately kept his distance from classical music, regarding it as the culture of the aristocracy, but he is said to have listened to this piece often, saying it awakened his revolutionary will.
Otto von Bismarck of Germany, known as the Iron Chancellor, also listened to this piece passionately, leaving the remark that "just listening to it makes me feel as if my courage will never run dry."

In this way, Beethoven's music has the power to inspire people beyond eras and ideologies.
Rather than his achievements as a musician, we would like to look at what kind of economic sense Beethoven had as a human being.
Making a living is a common challenge for humanity that transcends time. Beethoven was no exception.
Beethoven is known to have had a stronger economic sense than other musicians. To sustain his life as an artist, Beethoven worked to secure financial stability through income from concerts.
Most musicians of Beethoven's time belonged to the nobility or the royal court, receiving a salary and composing pieces to suit their demands, and they had to perform day and night whenever their patrons wished.
Beethoven's father and his teacher, Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), were also members of court orchestras.
Haydn in particular received a salary from the Esterházy family for about 30 years. Beethoven, however, pioneered the path of a freelance musician in order to build his own musical world.
A freelance musician refers to a musician who is not attached to the royal court or the nobility and builds his own musical world.
Beethoven wanted to compose music that people of all classes could relate to, rather than music for a small number of wealthy aristocrats or the royal court.
Beethoven was the first musician to realize the life of a freelance musician, and the musicians who came after him were able to become artists who communicate with the public, rather than the exclusive property of the nobility or royalty.