In 1809, with the help of Napoleon’s brother and a little luck, Beethoven orchestrated a salary of 4,000 florins a year for life – by 1811, thanks to Napoleon himself, its purchasing power was approximately 1/5 its 1809 value.  From financial security for life, to having to battle to get paid at all, Vienna’s wild inflation of the 1810’s would force Beethoven to extremes to keep his head above water and would turn him from Napoleon fanboy, to hater, to populist sell-out.