Baron Van Swieten is a character based on government official Gottfried van Swieten.Born in Leiden, Holland on October 29, 1733, his family moved to Vienna after his father was named Empress Maria Theresa's personal physician. After serving as a diplomat in Brussels, Paris, Warsaw, and Berlin, he assumed the Prefect of the Imperial Library, a post which his father had also held, upon his return to Vienna. Among his innovations was the card catalogue.He befriended Mozart, whom he first met when Mozart was 11 years old, sharing with him manuscripts from his sheet music collection. It was van Swieten who arranged Mozart's funeral, and helped to care for his sons. On December 6, 1791, the day after Mozart died, van Swieten, a close ally of Emperor Joseph II, was booted from his powerful post as Councillor of State and Director of the State Education Commission by Joseph's successor, Leopold II.His involvement with composers did not end with Mozart. He translated the source material of The Creation and The Seasons for Joseph Haydn, commissioned works from Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and was one of Ludwig van Beethoven's patrons; his First Symphony is dedicated to van Swieten. He died on March 29, 1803 in Vienna. Show less «