He would pay homage to heroism in the early stages of his musical career. He was a supporter of Napoleon and dedicated his Third Symphony, "Eroica," to him. When Napoleon was crowned Emperor, Beethoven fiercely removed this dedication from his score. 8. Ta-ta-ta-taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... But he had also dedicated the work to the memory of his friend Joseph Haydn, who died in 1809. So by removing the dedication, he was also removing any claim he might have had to be paid for performing the work. This is because musicians at the time didn't get paid unless they were hired by someone who knew of their fame. In addition, he had used money he had been given as payment in full for some copyrights to fund the first performance of his new symphony. And finally, there's a story that when Napoleon was asked what he thought of Beethoven's music, he is said to have replied: "I don't like it." At which point, Beethoven is reported to have thrown his violin across the room in anger. As you can see, Beethoven was not a fan of Napoleon or his policies, so it's no surprise that he turned down an offer to come to France and play before the revolution started. But one must remember that Germany at the time was still part of the Austrian Empire, which means that politics were involved in this decision too.