id	author	title	date	pages	extension	mime	words	sentence	flesch	summary	cache	txt
currentmusicology-7195	Fitz Gibbon, Elaine	Beethoven Returns to Bonn: Origins, Belonging and Misuse in Mauricio Kagel’s Ludwig van (1969)	2021	33	.pdf	application/pdf	13484	621	57	As we approach the man—named Mr. Poll (possessing the maiden name of Beethoven’s grandmother)—the topic of his monologue becomes clear, for he proclaims, “I am the last and only living descendant of Ludwig van Beethoven, and on his mother’s side.” Holding court before the camera crew, Mr. Poll delivers a rambling history of the Beethoven family, during which he asserts their “ancient Flemish lineage” and ascribes to Beethoven’s grandfather an “iron resolve and great energy,” thanks to which “he finally achieved the exceptional position of Kapellmeister” of the Bonn Hofkapelle (2006, 55:50–56:37).35 Soon, however, this recounting of purportedly familial anecdotes transforms into a defensive assertion of his legitimate status as a Beethoven ancestor: I greatly admire Ludwig van Beethoven, I like listening to his records and we have got many documents and papers from his ancestors that prove that I really am the last descendant; all those others who claim to be his descendants are wrong.	cache/currentmusicology-7195.pdf	txt/currentmusicology-7195.txt