"I Wrote My Will Yesterday"...Where Beethoven Went the Next Morning in "AI Drama – Resurrection Class"

 

“Yesterday, I wrote my will.”

EBS’s fully AI-produced series "AI Drama – Resurrection Class" turns its focus to Ludwig van Beethoven as the seventh historical figure in the project. This episode is set on the morning of October 11, 1802, the day after Beethoven wrote the famous “Heiligenstadt Testament.”

"Resurrection Class." Photo by EBS.

The series digitally restores historical figures and places them in front of a camera, imagining the messages they might have left behind. Rather than focusing on Beethoven’s achievements, the episode begins immediately after the writing of his will, tracing the moment when the composer first confronts the reality of losing his hearing.

In the drama, Beethoven leaves the unfinished letter on one side of his desk before turning on the camera and speaking about his condition. The story follows the hearing disorder that began in his late twenties, the years he spent hiding it, and the isolation of pretending to hear conversations he could no longer fully understand.

At the same time, he clings to fading sensations by recalling the sounds of forests, water and fragments of memory that still remain inside him.

Under the subtitle “Has God Abandoned Me?”, the episode closely examines the collapse of identity and loss faced by an artist whose life depended on sound. It captures the exact point where a man standing at the edge of despair chooses to continue creating instead of surrendering.

After that day, Beethoven would go on to compose works such as Symphony No. 3 “Eroica,” Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 9 “Choral,” continuing his career for nearly two more decades despite eventually losing his hearing completely.

The drama, however, focuses not on those legendary achievements, but on the single day that made them possible.

Dialogue in the episode was reconstructed using historical materials including the “Heiligenstadt Testament,” Beethoven’s letters to Wegeler, records from his student Ferdinand Ries and testimony from secretary Anton Schindler. Professor Min Eun-ki of Seoul National University’s College of Music participated as an advisor to verify both the interpretation of Beethoven and the historical context.

The production team emphasized that AI was not used to arbitrarily generate the narrative, but rather to visually realize carefully researched and written historical material.

The question remains:

Why did Beethoven sit down at the piano again the day after writing his will?

The answer will air May 17 on EBS1.

Reported by News Culture [e-mail]