Apparently Beethoven's early teacher in Bonn, Neefe, was the head of the Bavarian Illuminati in Bonn.
The Illuminati were...
"...Founded in 1776 by a Bavarian professor named Adam Weishaupt, the Illuminati joined radical politics and Jesuit-style hierarchy to fanatical secrecy. The aims of the order were ambitious, all right: They intended to change the world and had a plan to do it. The means were not to be by violent revolutions. The idea was to form a cadre of enlightened men who would steathlily infiltrate governments everywhere and slowly bring them to a kind of secular-humanist Elysium under the guidance of a secret ruling body." (from Slate)
The Illuminati supposedly dissolved in 1785 when B was only 14. But this Slate article supposes that B. was dramatically changed by its influence on he and his friends. Another article (which quotes from the Maynard Solomon book) points out that B used Masonic "code talk" throughout his life.
I think it's interesting to think of B as part of some conspiracy to take over the world or whatever, but I would have thought he was too busy composing to attend political-infiltration-technique seminars....but if this blog suddenly goes off-line you'll know why...
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