Jeroen Krabbé, who plays the part of Schindler, was going to play the part of Beethoven. Later on the part went to Gary Oldman and Krabbé was asked to play Schindler.
At his first public recital, Ludwig was eight years-old (some sources report seven) and his father announced him as six, yet the movie conveys, via voiceover, that Ludwig was "12 and his father told the court he was nine".