Nicholas Chong is Assistant Professor of Musicology at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. He is the author of The Catholic Beethoven (2024). Daniel K L. Chua is Chair Professor of Music at Hong Kong University. He is the author of five monographs including The 'Galitzin' Quartets of Beethoven (1995), and Beethoven and Freedom (2017).

• Introduction Nicholas Chong and Daniel K. L. Chua; Part I. Narratives: Rethinking Beethoven's Enlightenment: 1. Catholic enlightenment in the age of Beethoven: Bonn, Vienna, and Habsburg reform Shaun Blanchard; 2. Desecularizing Beethoven Daniel K. L. Chua; 3. Anton Schindler and the origins of the 'Enlightened' Beethoven Nicholas Chong; 4. The religious dimension of Beethoven reception Helmut Loos; Part II. Beethoven in Bonn: 5. Raised to be a courtier Julia Ronge; 6. The enlightened practice of sacred music in Bonn and the role of Andrea Luchesi Anna Sanda; 7. Bonn Aufklärer Nikolaus Simrock and Beethoven Joanna Cobb Biermann; 8. Beethoven's 1790 funeral cantata for Joseph II and enlightenment inspirations Bruce C. MacIntyre; 9. The codependent polarity between light and darkness: Beethoven's Bildung in the midst of censorship Peter Höyng; Part III. Beethoven in Vienna: 10. Beethoven on the bookshelf: print literature, religion, and the Gellert Lieder Desmond Sheehan; 11. The stile antico and musical historicisms in Beethoven's Vienna, 1790–1825 Jen-yen Chen; 12. Beethoven, Bohemia, and catholic enlightenment Axel Körner; 13. Friendship, death, and transfiguration in the context of the late enlightenment: Beethoven's Elegischer Gesang, op. 118 Birgit Lodes.