[pclmulqdq]

There is very little that is more unifying to so many people than Beethoven's music. I'm sure you are aware that the 9th symphony was played to mark the re-unification of Germany, and the fall of the Soviet Union, famously replacing the word "freude" (joy) with the word "freiheit" (freedom). It was chosen as the EU anthem for a good reason.

I personally think that was the message: this is a man whose father's brutal abuse likely caused his future deafness and an awful case of bipolar depression. His music was always lauded, but he was personally the subject of intense ridicule throughout his life and career. And as a result he gave us lots of music that represented that torment vividly, and plenty more that told us to rise above it.

[voicedYoda]

I thought his deafness was attributed to his lead poisoning

[pclmulqdq]

No, he had a rare bone disease that may have been associated with repeated trauma.