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To: JBW1949
"Von" meant you were a member of the nobility in the German and Austrian world. "Van" meant you were a member of the nobility in the Dutch world.

The two worlds didn't translate. Beethoven tried to litigate the matter of the custody of his nephew in the Austrian court of the nobility, but when the judges discovered that Van and Von weren't the same thing, the case was moved to the court of the commoners.

He was always Van because his family entered the German-speaking world from the Netherlands.

14 posted on 05/25/2025 1:06:43 PM PDT by Publius
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To: Publius

Well, I’ve never been much into classical music myself (I’m from Tennessee...More into country music)...It seems I just always heard his name pronounced “von”...


16 posted on 05/25/2025 1:10:56 PM PDT by JBW1949 (I'm really PC.....Patriotically Correct)
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To: Publius

Well, I’ve never been much into classical music myself (I’m from Tennessee...More into country music)...It seems I just always heard his name pronounced “von”...


17 posted on 05/25/2025 1:10:56 PM PDT by JBW1949 (I'm really PC.....Patriotically Correct)
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To: Publius
Don't let the Brabanters hear you calling them Dutch!

Not Dutch nobility but from a particular location in Brabant, now Belgium - "Von" is descent, "Van" is birthplace.

35 posted on 05/25/2025 4:57:14 PM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ecce Crucem Domini, fugite partes adversae. Vicit Leo de Tribu Iuda, Radix David, Alleluia!)
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