When he returned to Vienna permanently in 1792, Mozart was already dead. Beethoven had outlived the encounter that might have shaped him differently, and he went to Haydn instead. The relationship with Haydn was productive but cool. Beethoven studied with the older master for about a year, but Haydn was frequently traveling and Beethoven supplemented his instruction with private lessons from other musicians, including Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, a specialist in counterpoint. Prince Karl von Lichnowsky became his principal patron in those early years, housing the young composer in his palace and providing financial support in exchange for access to Beethoven’s company and music.
Vienna in 1792 was a city that could contain and launch a musician of Beethoven’s ambition. It was the capital of the Habsburg Empire, one of the major powers of Europe, and its musical culture was among the richest on the continent. Aristocratic patrons competed to host concerts and to associate themselves with distinguished musicians. Publishers were active and profitable. Concert halls and salons provided performance venues. For a young man arriving from Bonn with demonstrated talent and a letter of introduction from the Elector of Cologne, the possibilities were real.
Beethoven’s early years in Vienna were marked by rapid success and growing recognition. His piano playing was celebrated; his ability to improvise was considered extraordinary even by the standards of a city that had heard many great pianists. His early published works found audiences and publishers. By the late 1790s he was a recognized figure in Viennese musical life, sought after as a teacher by students from the aristocracy and as a performer by patrons who wanted the cachet of hosting him.