I don't know if Beethoven did the dishes but Handel did. In fact, Handel was inspired to write one of his greatest works when his buddy Franz Joseph Haydn visited him, bringing along Haydn's young protégé, Luigi Boccherini, and entreated Luigi to help Handel with the dishes. Luigi was washing a plate when it slipped from his hands and broke, whereupon the young man swore like a sailor and Handel responded with an oath of his own: "Hell! Hey, Lu, you're coarse!" The rest is history.