Steibelt apparently spoke slightingly and tauntingly about Beethoven upon arriving in Vienna, and mocked a trio which Beethoven had recently had published. He came to Vienna, in fact, with the deliberate intention of challenging Beethoven. Thereโs reason to suppose that Steibelt didnโt use real improvisation in his piano duels; rather, he carefully prepared the โimprovโ beforehand. Beethoven spotted this and publicly accused him of doing this (which was like cheating at cards, in the musical world).
Beethoven not only beat the challenge; he also mocked Steibelt into smithereens, using Steibeltโs own style - only infinitely more powerful and technical. If only I could turn the result into a pithy little phraseโฆ
โHe who mocks a Beethoven capsizes in a greater stormโโฆ?
Hmmmโฆ it doesnโt really roll off the tongue.
N.B. Steibeltโs nickname was โDer Sturmโ (after the piano rondeau for which he was most famed at the time).
Iโll stop there. Iโm quite capable of going on and on and on about Beethoven - to the boredom of everyone else - and Iโm trying not to go there!
