And what fine hair it is.  A lock of light brown hair streaked with gray and encased in a locket of glass is the highlight of San Jose’s Beethoven Center but there are countless other fascinating reasons to check out this unique place located in the Martin Luther King Jr. Library of  San Jose State University.  Hoyt Smith and I visited the Center on Saturday and were treated to a VIP tour from Center Director Bill Meredith.  Bill is one of those desert island guys.  By that I mean someone who can regale you with stories of Beethoven and his times for, I’m guessing, weeks on end or at least until you’re rescued.  He started by demonstrating the four beautiful keyboard instruments on display.  A clavichord, a harpsichord, and 2 early pianos, exact matches to those that Beethoven would have known and played.  Next we saw the only extant life mask of Beethoven.  The bronze mask pictures Beethoven frowning but, as Bill points out, you would frown too if you had plaster all over your face!  But the thing is that this image became the basis for just about every painting or sketch of Beethoven from then on.  Thus a scowling Beethoven lives forever in our imaginations.  The Beethoven Center was founded by Ira Brilliant based on his remarkable collection of Beethoven first editions.  Worth a trip to San Jose State anytime. Check the hours and more here.