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Thank you. It's late evening on May 11, 1809 in Vienna, Austria. 39-year-old composer Ludwig van Beethoven hurries through the streets of the Austrian capital

as artillery shells fly overhead.

Two decades ago, the French Revolution broke out,

leading to a series of wars as France's European neighbors have tried to intervene

and restore the French monarchy.

Recently, Austria joined the coalition against France, and the French responded by invading.

Earlier today, the French army began bombarding Vienna with artillery,

forcing Ludwig to abandon his apartment.

Now he's making for a safer place where he might shelter from the explosions.

Ludwig reaches the house he's headed for, bangs on the door.

His brother opens it, grabs Ludwig's arm, and pulls him into the house, ushering him down the stairs and into the basement.

The explosions still sound terrifyingly close, even to Ludwig's partially deaf ears.

To stop the loud noises damaging his hearing even further, he picks up two cushions and ties them tightly to his head.

The rudimentary ear must work. The French bombardment

shouldn't make his deafness any worse, and that's a small blessing, because Ludwig

still has more music he wants to write before he loses his hearing for good. Ludwig van

Beethoven will survive the French attack on Vienna, and during the French occupation

of the city, he will write one of his best-known pieces of music, Piano Concerto No. 5.

...