demusic1-3, Exercise 1: German and Viennese

Model answer (check the details):

Beethoven was born in Bonn, in the Rhineland, to a family working at the local court, and he grew up speaking German and playing in German musical circles. At 22 he moved to Vienna, where he spent the rest of his life, writing for Viennese patrons, publishers and audiences. When he lived, Germany was not a single state, and Vienna was the capital of the Habsburg monarchy.

So he can be called German by birth, language and background, and Viennese by career. The label "German music" therefore covers a group of composers who shared a language and a culture across several states, not a set of people from one country.

What it says about the label: it is useful, but it is a modern simplification, and a good history says which sense it uses.