Public domain

Terms differ by country and by when a work was made, so the position is messier than the phrase suggests. Something in the public domain in the United States can still be protected in the United Kingdom or the EU. A recording of a public domain composition carries its own separate copyright in that recording, which is how Beethoven ends up generating claims. Editions, translations and restorations each attract fresh rights too. Check the specific edition or recording you are using, in the territory where your audience sits.