Historical Background
After Beethoven's death in 1827, a three-part letter was found among his private papers addressed to a woman whom he called "immortal beloved". Written in the summer of 1812 from the spa town of Teplice, the letter has generated a great deal of speculation and debate amongst scholars and writers as to her identity. Among the candidates are (or were) Giulietta Guicciardi, Thérèse von Brunswick, Josephine Brunsvik, Antonie Brentano, and Anna-Marie Erdödy (some of whom appear in the film).
The film's writer and director, Bernard Rose, claimed that he had successfully identified the addressed woman as Johanna, a claim no scholar on Beethoven has endorsed. (The film also implies that Karl, Beethoven's nephew, was in reality his illegitimate son.) Biographer Gail S Altman disputed Rose's claim in a book devoted specifically to the question of the woman's identity and Beethoven's relationships in general. See also Lewis Lockwood: "Film Biography as Travesty: Immortal Beloved and Beethoven." The Musical Quarterly 81/2, 1997, pp. 190–198.
Read more about this topic: Immortal Beloved (film)
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