Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven, also known as “ The General of Musicians,” was born on December 16, 1770. However, this date is not exact because it is believed that Beethoven’s father lied about his son’s age in order to portray him as an infant prodigy. As a result, Beethoven is convinced he was born on December 16, 1772 at the Rheingasse home, which belonged to the Fischers, who were close friends of the family (Orga 8).
Johann van and Maria Magdalena Beethoven bore five children of which three survived. Ludwig van Beethoven was the first child to survive, probably making him the most cherished especially in his father’s eyes. The other two surviving siblings were Casper and Nikolaus. They were said to have played extremely important roles in Beethoven’s life. Johann van said to be a lesser man than his father Ludwig Louis van Beethoven, who was a trained musician and later appointed Kapellmeister. Many believed he could not compare to his dad because he did not have a high-ranking job, instead his income was based on giving piano, singing, and violin lessons to the public (Kerman 354).
Johann wanted his first son to be great, especially in the music field, so he pushed him to learn the piano and violin at a very early age. For instance, Beethoven had his first public appearance at the age of eight on March 26, 1778. He performed at a concert with one of his father’s other pupils. His performance consisted of concertos and trios on the keyboard. Beethoven continued to play at concerts, as well as taking music lessons with instructors other than his father. When visiting the Fischer Family one day Johann proclaimed, “My son Ludwig is my only comfort now in life. He is improving in his music to such an extent that he is admired by everyone. I foresee that in time he will be a great man in the world” (Orga 29). During this time he also attended elementary school in Bonn, but he did not exceed grade school. Beethoven learned all he could by age ten and from then on he lived off his wits and curiosity (Orga 28).
In 1779, Beethoven met his first very important teacher at Bonn by the name of Christian Neefe. Neefe automatically saw Beethoven’s talent and had a strong liking to him from the beginning. Moreover, when he took a short leave of absence from Bonn, he appointed Beethoven, at only eleven years o...
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... His funeral was held on the 29th of March and about 15,000 guests attended his burial. The surrounding schools were closed that day in respect of the composer. Also, out of respect the choir sang the Miserere in an arrangement from one of his Equali for trombones. Following the singing, about 200 horse carriages accompanied the coffin on its final journey (Orga 8).
To conclude, Beethoven was know as “The General of Musicians,” “The Young Genius,” and the most admired composer in the history of western music. His musical ability, his passion, and his harsh losses all helped to contribute to his undying success as a great pianist and composer. Even today his works are still studied and listened to around the world.
Works Cited
Kerman, Joseph. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 Vols. London: MacMillan Pub. Ltd., 1980. 2: 354-60.
Grout, Donald Jay. A History of Western Music. 3rd ed. New York: Cornell UP, 1981.
Marek, George R. Beethoven: Biography of a Genius. New York: Funk and Wagnall’s Publishing Company, 1969.
Orga, Ates. Beethoven: The Illustrated Lives of the Great Composers. London: Omnibus Press, 1983.
Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770 to Johann van Beethoven and his wife, Maria Magdalena. He took his first music lessons from his father, who was tenor in the choir of the archbishop-elector of Cologne. His father was an unstable, yet ambitious man whose excessive drinking, rough temper and anxiety surprisingly did not diminish Beethoven's love for music. He studied and performed with great success, despite becoming the breadwinner of his household by the time he was 18 years old. His father's increasingly serious alcohol problem and the earlier death of his grandfather in 1773 sent his family into deepening poverty. At first, Beethoven made little impact on the musical society, despite his father's hopes. When he turned 11, he left school and became an assistant organist to Christian Gottlob Neefe at the court of Bonn, learning from him and other musicians. In 1783 he became the continuo player for the Bonn opera and accompanied their rehearsals on keyboard. In 1787, he was sent to Vienna to take further lessons from Mozart. Two months later, however, he was called back to Bonn by the death of his mother. He started to play the viola in the Opera Orchestra in 1789, while also teaching in composing. He met Haydn in 1790, who agreed to teach him in Vienna, and Beethoven then moved to Vienna permanently. He received financial support from Prince Karl Lichnowsky, to whom he dedicated his Piano Sonata in C minor, better known as The Pathétique .
Born in 1770 Beethoven grew up with a great interest in music and his father gave him piano lessons at an early age. Even so, he was never close to his father, probably because of the abuse he endured. When his father became unable to care for his family due to an alcohol addiction, Beethoven felt it was his responsibility to take care of his three remaining siblings and his mother. So, at age 12 he began publishing music to help support his family. Unfortunately, his lack of money was always an issue throughout his life. At age 22...
Berg, Darrell M. "Beethoven, Ludwig Van." The World Book Encyclopedia 1996. Vol. 2. Chicago, IL: World Book, 1996. 213-14. Print.
During Beethoven’s time there were a lot of political and historical events occurring. One significant event is Napoleon coming to power in France. This event had a direct impact on Beethoven, who at this time directly
Beethoven’s early life was one out of a sad story book. For being one of the most well-known musicians one would think that sometime during Beethovens childhood he was influenced and inspired to play music; This was not the case. His father was indeed a musician but he was more interested in drinking than he was playing music. When his father saw the smallest sliver of music interest in Beethoven he immediately put him into vigorous musical training in hopes he would be the next Mozart; his training included organ, viola, and piano. This tainted how young Beethoven saw music and the memories that music brought. Nevertheless Beethoven continued to do what he knew and by thirteen he was composing his own music and assisting his teacher, Christian Neefe. Connections began to form during this time with different aristocrats and families who stuck with him and became lifelong friends. At 17 Beethoven, with the help of his friends, traveled to Vienna, the music capitol of the world, to further his knowledge and connection...
Despite the fact that Beethoven’s hearing was slowly diminishing, he continued to write works that surprised the people in Vienna and other famous composers of the time. Years passed of fame and praise of his work from all different kinds of people. In November of 1815, however, his brother died, leaving behind his wife and their 9 year old son named Karl (Budden and Knapp). This was particularly stressful not only for his brother’s death but also because he had wished that his son’s guardianship was “to be exercised by both his wife and his brother, Ludwig” (“Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Biography”). Beethoven took this role of being a guardian as important to him, but as he was becoming deaf and older, so it seemed harder for him to take care of the child like his brother wished. As the years went by, so did his hearing and in 1816 he was completely deaf however by the time he went completely deaf he had written 8 Symphonies and many other great works. Many people by this point would have given up and lost hope because the one aspect that they passionately pursued was destroyed, but Beethoven overcame his disability and continued to make music despite being completely and utterly deaf. His 9th symphony was created and finished in 1823 by him using what many musicians call their “Inner ear” and because “he was not attached anymore to physical sound, [he could] just use his imagination” (Jones). After the completion of his 9th symphony he created an estimated 26 works and in 1827 had sketches for a 10th symphony (Harrison); however, the sketches were to remain sketches. Beethoven started to become ill with a disease, still unsure of which it was today, and died in Vienna on March 26th, 1827. The funeral was held three days after and approximately anywhere from ten thousand people to thirty thousand showed up for his funeral (Budden and
Schauffler, Robert Haven. Beethoven The Man Who Freed Music. New York: Tudor Publishing Co., 1929. Book.
On March 26, 1827, Beethoven passed away. His autopsy revealed that his cause of death was due to post-hepatitic cirrhosis of the liver. His deafness was believed to be caused by contracting typhus in the summer of 1796. In his will that he had wrote a couple days before he passed, he left his estate to his nephew Karl. Ludwig Van Beethoven is considered to be one of the greatest composers of all time. The fact that he was composing such beautiful music pieces while was deaf made him a genius.
Born to a drunkard father and an unhappy mother, the young Beethoven was subjected to a brutal training in music at the hands of his father, who hoped that the boy would prove to be another prodigy like Mozart. Failing in this, the young Beethoven nevertheless embraced music and studied for a short time in 1792 with Franz Joseph Haydn in Vienna. Hailed as a genius and a master of improvisation at the piano, Beethoven soon made a name for himself, and by 1794 was known throughout Europe. He faithfully learned the Classical Viennese styles and traditions in music, and then proceeded throughout his career to completely revolutionize them. His earliest compositions reflect the classical restraint of Haydn and Mozart, yet there were always flashes of what was to come. The emotion he displayed while playing his own music was unheard of in his day, and the fiery intensity of his early Piano Sonata in C minor, known as the "Pathetique" is one of the first works in which Beethoven gives vent to his own dramatic musical voice.
Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer, generally considered one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition. Born in Bonn, Beethoven was reared in to the capricious discipline of his father, a singer in the court chapel. In1789, because of his father's alcoholism, the young Beethoven became a court musician in order to support his family. His early compositions under the tutelage of German composer Christian Gottlob Neefe, particularly the funeral on the death of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph || in1790, signaled an important talent, and it was planned that Beethoven study in Vienna, Australia, with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Although Mozart's death in 1791 prevented this, Beethoven went to Vienna in 1792, and he became a pupil of an Australian composer named Joseph Haydn.
His music is very recognisable as of is harmonies. He was born January 31 1797 in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria. At a very young age he showed lots of musical talents. He plays piano, violin, organ and as an amazing singer. He joined a school to become part of the courts chapel choir. In 1812 his voice broke and his singing career was then over. As of this he went to his father’s school and became a teacher. He became head master for 4 years but continued to compose music. He eventually got sick of teaching and performed in pubic for the very first time. He played Italian Overtue in C Major in his family town. In 1821 money stared coming. Yet 1 year late his life changed again. This time not in a good way. He contracted a severe virus which is unknown. In 1928, the year of host death he hosted his first and last concert. Now he was extremely ill he moved in with his brother. He died later in November. It was only after he died that he was actually noticed for his musical talents.40 years later a memorial was made in his home town next to Beethoven’s body. Overall he composed 600 songs and 9 symphonies. In only 31
After arriving in 1792 he studied composition and counterpoint under Haydn, Schenk, Salieri and Albrechtsberger. At the same time, he tried to establish himself as pianist and composer. His good relations with the towns aristocracy soon led to a secured income. In 1809, with the sole condition that he stayed in Vienna, Prince Kinsky, Prince Lobkowitz and Archduke Rudolp even guaranteed Beethoven a yearly income. B...
By this time, Beethoven wasn 't a very approachable man. He was known to be about 5’4”, messy and crazy hair, pocketed face from smallpox, and a split personality. François Mai better describes Beethoven’s personality, he states, “He had episodes of depression accompanied by suicidal ideas, and rarer episodes of elation with flights of ideas. The latter are reflected in some of his letters. He had a low frustration tolerance and at times would become so angry that he would come to blows with others such as his brother Carl, or he would throw objects at his servants.”
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. His works are traditionally divided into three periods. In his early period, he focused on imitating classical style, although his personal characteristics of darker pieces, motivic development, and larger forms are already evident or foreshadowed. In his middle period, he is beginning to go deaf, and has realized that he cannot reverse the trend. His works express struggle and triumph. He stretches forms, with development sections becoming the bulk of his works. He is breaking from tradition and laying the groundwork for the romantic style period. In his late period, he breaks almost completely with classical forms, but ironically starts to study and use baroque forms and counterpoint. He is almost completely deaf, and his works become much more introspective with massive amounts of contrast between sections, ideas, and movements. He dies in Vienna in 1827.
Ludwig van Beethoven was an extraordinary music composer, especially considering he was deaf most of his life and career. He was born in Germany on December 16, 1770. Many obstacles were hurled at him, but he triumphed over them, and even deafness didn’t stop him from composing some of the worlds greatest, and most recognized music compositions (Rosenwald 167). His life, music, and his musical styles and techniques all contribute to his life story.