After Beethoven angrily walks out of a concert, the duke withdraws his patronage and cancels his scheduled performance. Beethoven refuses to apologize despite the pleas of his younger brother Kaspar. Already struggling financially and gradually losing his hearing, he has also been unable to complete a new composition for years.

Toni Brentano, a longtime acquaintance, persuades the duke to give Beethoven another opportunity. She has returned to Vienna to settle her late father’s estate while her husband Franz, a banker facing bankruptcy, attempts to claim and sell the property. Toni encourages Beethoven to compose again and gives him a book containing Schiller’s Ode to Joy.

Inspired by Toni, Beethoven withdraws to the woods to work, but his worsening deafness makes conducting increasingly difficult. Meanwhile, Franz and his lawyer alter a document bearing Beethoven’s signature to suggest that Franz supported the composer and now owns the copyrights to his music. Franz hopes the forged record will earn the duke’s confidence and help rescue his bank.

The duke discovers the deception and summons Beethoven to verify the document. If Beethoven denies it, Franz will be imprisoned; if he accepts it, he will surrender ownership of his life’s work.

As Beethoven struggles with the decision, Kaspar lies dying of tuberculosis. Beethoven admits that Toni’s friendship has taught him what acceptance feels like. Kaspar tells him that he has always loved him and trusts him to choose well before asking him to care for his son.

Before the duke, Beethoven claims responsibility for the document and accepts it as his own. The duke spares Franz from prosecution but banishes him from Vienna. Toni remains with her children and visits Beethoven one last time. Unable to hear her, he asks her to write down what she wishes to say, but she can only tell him that he is a precious friend.

Left alone, Beethoven appears in formal concert dress and conducts the chorus in Ode to Joy. (2026 version)