Johann Van Beethoven And The Father Of Beethoven's Life

Beethoven was born and raised in the city of Bonn, although this date of birth is uncertain he was baptised on December 17, 1770 and in the culture at the time, babies were baptised within 24 hours of birth; so one could argue he was born December 16. Beethoven stubbornly believed he was born in 1772 and denied it even when shown official papers that proved otherwise. His father Johann van Beethoven was a musician in the court of the Elector of Cologne but was known more for his alcoholism. Beethoven 's mother, Maria Magdalena van Beethoven was many times described as a gentle, shy, and warm hearted women. Beethoven was the oldest in his family he had 7 siblings, but only two of his younger brothers survived, Caspar, born in 1774, and Johann,

Meanwhile, Beethoven attended a Latin grade school named Tirocinium, where one of his classmates said, "Not a sign was to be discovered & of that spark of genius which glowed so brilliantly in him afterwards”. Struggling in school beethoven was a average student and some biographers believed he may have had mild dyslexia. In 1781, at the age of 10, Beethoven dropped out of school to study music full time with Christian Gottlob Neefe, the newly appointed Court Organist. Beethoven was introduced to Bach, by Neefe and had completed his first composition at the age of twelve Beethoven published his first composition. By 1784, Beethoven 's father was no longer able to support his family so Ludwig van Beethoven formally requested an official appointment as Assistant Court Organist. Beethoven was soon put on the court payroll despite his youth and had a annual salary of 150 florins; equivalent to 83.80 US

He suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "roar" in his ears that made it hard for him to appreciate music and he would avoid conversation. The cause of Beethoven 's deafness is unknown, but it had variously been attributed to syphilis, lead poisoning, typhus, or possibly even his habit of immersing his head in cold water to stay awake. Over time, his hearing loss became worst, at the premiere of his Ninth Symphony, he had to be turned round to see the tumultuous applause of the audience, hearing nothing. In 1802, he became depressed, and considered committing suicide. He left Vienna for a time for small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt, where he wrote the "Heiligenstadt Testament", in which he resolved to continue living through his art. He continued composing even as his hearing worsened. After a failing his perform in 1811 his own "Emperor Concerto”, he never performed again. As a result of his hearing loss, Beethoven kept conversation books discussing music and other issues, and giving an insight into his thought. Even today, the conversation books form the basis for investigation into how he felt his music should be performed, and his relationship to art - which he took very seriously. Beethoven was best known for his use of the piano wide range and for his nine symphonies, which have been called the cornerstones of Western civilization. Two of the most famous are the Fifth Symphony and the Ninth Symphony because of their