In the movie, when Mr. Holland is talking about Beethoven being deaf, he is playing a in the background. One would assume that this was meant to be a Beethoven song, as he is talking about Beethoven and how he writes for the piano. However the piece is actually Chopin's Prelude in E Minor Op. 28 No.4. I don't know why they could'nt get a Beethoven piece, there are plenty of them out there.