Key people in Beethoven's music and life

1. Wolfgang Mozart (1756-91)

From his earliest days as a prodigy in Bonn, Ludwig van Beethoven's great ambition had been to travel to Vienna to meet - and take lessons with - the man he knew was the greatest living composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...

2. Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

The young Beethoven - just over a week past his 20th birthday - first met the renowned Joseph Haydn on 26 December 1790 in Bonn, when Haydn and the impresario Johann Peter Salomon stopped off on their way to London where Haydn was to perform...

3. Prince Lobkowitz (1772-1816)

Prince Lobkowitz, a native of Bohemia, was a leading patron of the arts in Vienna - a great music-lover and enthusiastic and capable violinist...

4. Prince Karl Lichnowsky (1756-1814)

When Beethoven arrived in Vienna in November 1792, he had a letter of introduction from Count Waldstein to Prince Karl Lichnowsky, one of Vienna's foremost patrons of the arts...

5. Maximilian Franz (1756 - 1801)

Brother of Marie Antoinette (pictured), son of the Holy Roman Emperor, as the youngest son of the Imperial royal family Maximilian Franz was dispatched to an outpost of the Empire, Bonn in Germany, seat of the Elector of Cologne and Archbishop of Münster - to both of which titles he was appointed...

6. Domenico Dragonetti (1763 - 1846)

The Italian Domenico Dragonetti was Europe's greatest - and possibly only - double bass virtuoso. He regularly toured abroad, performing the limited double bass repertoire...

7. George Bridgetower (1779 - 1860)

George Bridgetower, the celebrated English violin virtuoso, came to Vienna in 1803 and met Beethoven. They played together and Beethoven was impressed...

8. Rudolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831)

Rudolphe Kreutzer and Beethoven may never have been great friends, but the celebrated violinist clearly made an impression on the composer as he dedicated his greatest Violin Sonata to him... Picture: Getty

9. Johann von Goethe (1749-1832)

Beethoven greatly admired German Johann von Goethe's works and set some of the great writer's works to music, including his tragedy, Count Egmont... Picture: PA Photo

10. Count Oppersdorff (1778 - 1818)

Count Oppersdorff was a wealthy music-lover with an orchestra of his own, was the money behind Beethoven's Fourth and Fifth Symphonies... Picture: Thinkstock

11. Baron Pasqualati (1777 - 1830)

Beethoven rented in wealthy patron of the arts Baron Johann Pasqualati's Vienna apartment for over a decade and wrote many of his most important works within its four walls... Picture: John Suchet

12. Prince Razumovsky (1752 - 1836)

Prince Razumovsky was Russian ambassador in Vienna, as well as great patron of the arts who commissioned three String Quartets, known today as the Razumovsky Quartets, Opus 59... Picture: Getty

13. Archduke Rudolph (1788-1831)

Archduke Rudolph, youngest son of Emperor Leopold II and youngest brother of Emperor Franz, was Beethoven's greatest patron... Picture: Getty

14. Daniel Steibelt (1765 - 1823)

A native of Berlin, Daniel Steibelt was one of Europe's most renowned piano virtuosos. He was a typical Prussian - formal, correct, proper. In 1800 he came to Vienna, no doubt with the aim of advancing his musical reputation... Picture: Getty

15. Baron van Swieten (1733 - 1803)

Baron Gottfried van Swieten was a good friend of Mozart and great patron of the arts who Beethoven dedicated his First Symphony to... Picture: Getty

16. Count Waldstein (1762 - 1823)

Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein was the young Beethoven's first great patron in Bonn - and his name will live for ever as the dedicatee of Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata opus 53... Picture: Getty

17. Franz Schubert (1797-1828): Beethoven's biggest fan?

Once a stern critic of German music, Franz Schubert became passionate devotee of Beethoven later in life, so much so that he asked on his deathbed to be buried with his idol...