Beethoven Statue

This sculpture of the famous German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) and was created by the German-American sculptor Henry Baerer (1837–1908) and can be found just west of The Mall opposite the Bandshell.  A beautiful cast-iron bandstand once stood at this site.  Concerts at the Victorian-era bandstand were especially popular with the large and growing German-American community in te late nineteenth century. In 1884, on the occasion of its 25th Anniversary, the Beethoven Mannerchoir commissioned the monument to Beethoven at a cost of $6,000 and gave it to the city.

Beethoven in Central Park by Alfred Noyes

The thousand-windowed towers were all alight.
Throngs of all nations filled that glittering way;
And, rich with dreams of the approaching day,
Flags of all nations trampled down the night.
No clouds, at sunset, die in airs as bright.
No clouds, at dawn, awake in winds as gay;
For Freedom rose in that august array,
Crowned with the stars and weaponed for the right.

Then, in a place of whispering leaves and gloom,
I saw, too dark, too dumb for bronze or stone,
One tragic head that bowed against the sky;
O, in a hush too deep for any tomb
I saw Beethoven, dreadfully alone
With his own grief, and his own majesty.