<P> When Ludwig van Beethoven dies , his assistant and close friend Schindler deals with his last will and testament . It reads that his estate , music and affairs will be left to his `` immortal beloved '' , but there remains a question as to who Beethoven 's `` immortal beloved '' , an unnamed woman mentioned in one of his letters , may be . Schindler embarks on a quest to find out who this woman is . He meets the women who played a part in Ludwig 's life ; through their stories , retrospective footage of Beethoven from his younger years until his death is featured as the film progresses . The conclusion ultimately is that the individual is Johanna Reiss , the daughter of Anton Van Reiss , a prosperous Viennese upholsterer . In the film , she becomes pregnant by Beethoven ; when by an accidental turn of events he does not marry her in time , she marries his brother , Kaspar . The love turns to hate , worsened by the long legal battle over custody over their son , Karl van Beethoven ( whom everyone believes is Beethoven 's nephew ) . Finally , Ludwig gets custody over his ' nephew ' , but the strict upbringing and promotion of the boy as another child prodigy -- which Karl himself knows all too well he is not -- leads to him attempting suicide . Beethoven is blamed and his reputation is ruined . </P>
<P> When Ludwig van Beethoven dies , his assistant and close friend Schindler deals with his last will and testament . It reads that his estate , music and affairs will be left to his `` immortal beloved '' , but there remains a question as to who Beethoven 's `` immortal beloved '' , an unnamed woman mentioned in one of his letters , may be . Schindler embarks on a quest to find out who this woman is . He meets the women who played a part in Ludwig 's life ; through their stories , retrospective footage of Beethoven from his younger years until his death is featured as the film progresses . The conclusion ultimately is that the individual is Johanna Reiss , the daughter of Anton Van Reiss , a prosperous Viennese upholsterer . In the film , she becomes pregnant by Beethoven ; when by an accidental turn of events he does not marry her in time , she marries his brother , Kaspar . The love turns to hate , worsened by the long legal battle over custody over their son , Karl van Beethoven ( whom everyone believes is Beethoven 's nephew ) . Finally , Ludwig gets custody over his ' nephew ' , but the strict upbringing and promotion of the boy as another child prodigy -- which Karl himself knows all too well he is not -- leads to him attempting suicide . Beethoven is blamed and his reputation is ruined . </P>
who is the immortal beloved in the movie
who is the immortal beloved in the movie
Johanna Reiss , the daughter of Anton Van Reiss , a prosperous Viennese upholsterer
Johanna Reiss , the daughter of Anton Van Reiss , a prosperous Viennese upholsterer