How Did Beethoven Shape The Identity Of Classical Music

When it comes to Beethoven’s life and his music, what makes him so memorable and so lasting is the creativity of his music and his personality. While reading the articles over Beethoven, I acknowledged that the development of his music distinguished his works from other composers. I believe this differentness is what allowed Beethoven to shape the identity of classical music. In his biography, we learned that his dad locked him up for extra practice, and beat him for making mistakes. Though I think this is a terrible thing to go through, his father must have realized his talents long before others. In a way, I feel that this made Beethoven disciplined and that it would carry on in the later part of his life. At the age of 10, Beethoven withdrew

1, Six String Quartets, The Creatures of Prometheus, and Symphony No. 3 (Eroica Symphony). These shaped Beethoven’s career because they were so unlike anything heard before. The originality and the format of each work launched Beethoven. The most important aspect I wanted to mention was Beethoven’s deafness. Though he could not hear, this did not stop him from doing what he loved most. Beethoven continued to compose. From 1803-1812, this was labeled as the heroic period for Beethoven. One opera, six symphonies, four solo concerti, five string quartets, seven piano sonatas, five sets of piano variations, four overtures, four trios, two sextets, and seventy-two songs were produced. This I believe is what people remember Beethoven for. This was his purpose! His deafness played an enormous role in his career, but was simply not determined by it. For any musician to lose their hearing must be the worst possible news to ever receive. But, for one to overcome and still compose off of thoughts within his head is basically “undoable.” Someway, somehow, Beethoven saw fit! I from the bottom of my heart respect

I also found that in the article by Daniel Barenboim, it states, “It must be understood that one cannot explain the nature or the message of music through words. Music means different things to different people and sometimes even different things to the same person at different moments of their life.” This is exactly how I feel about Beethoven’s music. Every sport, every genre, every subject, and so forth has to have a starting point. We look in basketball and think of Michael Jordan, we look in music and think of Beethoven, and we look in subjects and think of Albert Einstein. The concept I am trying to get across here is that Beethoven paved the way, but also opened doors for other. Haydn and Mozart deserve credit in this too. Quoted from Mozart, about Beethoven, we can witness he was well respected, “Keep your eyes on him; some day he will give the world something to talk about.” Beethoven did just that! The different feelings I have about Beethoven will not be the same as one of my peers, simply because we interpret things differently. My background, my environment, and even my mentors shaped me versus someone