In this paper I will discuss the life and works of Ludwig van Beethoven. This paper will cover his life as a person, his life as a musician and finally the lives and careers he influenced. Beethoven is worthy of this paper because he is one of the single greatest contributors to music as a whole.
Ludwig van Beethoven was born at 515 Bonngasse, Bonn, on December 16, 1770. The previous sentence is the closest guess as to where and when Beethoven was born. There are records of Beethoven being baptized on December 17, 1770. “…the exact date of his birth is not known…” (William) Beethoven’s mother is not well documented however it is known that she died when he was sixteen. Beethoven’s father however is somewhat documented. His father is said to have been a violent drunk who would force Ludwig to play music for his own enjoyment. At the age of 17, in 1787, after playing music some in public performances and being taught by various teachers, Ludwig left Bonn and went to Vienna, the music capitol of the world at the time. This move resulted in Mozart taking Ludwig as his pupil. Beethoven later described Mozart’s piano playing as “…fine but choppy, with no legato.” (Lockwood) The death of Beethoven’s mother prompted him to move back to Bonn and support his family. Here he made friends with Stephan von Breuning and “Doctor Franz Wegeler, who wrote one of the first biographies of Beethoven” (William) Doctor Wegeler was obviously very close with Beethoven, it is believed that he was one of the first people Beethoven told of his fear of oncoming deafness. During the end of Beethoven’s stay in Bonn, Joseph Haydn was travelling through and heard a performance of Beethoven’s and was impressed enough to invite him to join him and bec...
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... movement in c minor and the second in E major.
This composer is one of the most important people in the history of music. As stated in the above paragraph his out of the box thinking has quite literally influenced any and all composers since his time. From early on his pianist abilities were revolutionary and changed the game. His revolutionary move to become a freelance composer only added to his revolutionary style. As with all true heroic stories he had to overcome something, Beethoven had his greatest adversary within himself as his hearing failed and he slowly became deaf. After becoming deaf Beethoven continued to composer and added a very emotional feel into his music. All the way up until his death, Beethoven continued to contribute to music history. It isn’t hard to argue that Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most important musicians of all time.
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...
Beethoven is viewed as a transitional figure between the classical and romantic eras and from 1800 to 1809 he write some of the most revolutionary compositions in the history of western music. This essay therefore will aim to discuss the numerous ways in which Ludwig Van Beethoven expanded the formal and expressive content of the high classical style he inherited.
Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven. Two composers who marked the beginning and the end of the Classical Period respectively. By analysing the last piano sonata of Haydn (Piano Sonata No. 62 in E-flat major (Hob. XVI:52)) and the first and last piano sonatas of Beethoven (Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor Op. 2, No.1, Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor Op. 111), this essay will study the development of Beethoven’s composition style and how this conformed or didn’t conform to the Classical style. The concepts of pitch and expressive techniques will be focused on, with a broader breakdown on how these two concepts affect many of the other concepts of music. To make things simpler, this essay will analyse only the first movements of each of the sonatas mentioned.
with what would be his greatest downfall; deafness. This occurred in 1802 when doctors learned that he was in fact becoming deaf and there was nothing that could be done to help. This impairment reshaped his music. This led the way to a very tense and exciting side of his pieces. Beethoven's music differs with Mozart's in that is more intense and has a greater range of pitch and dynamics. Beethoven's greatest pieces are his symphonies, which can be heard today as often as in his days. Beethoven was a very good innovator
Beethoven was a pioneer of his time. During the classical period most composers were at the hands of monarchs. Composers had to create whatever the monarchs wanted, they really did it have a choice in what they wrote. Beethoven on the other hand was not reliant on patrons of the arts. Beethoven created and sold what he made, not what some aristocrat told him to make. These traits of Beethoven make it possible for him to be classified in both the classical and romantic music periods.
Beethoven, I believe, was ahead of his time. To me, he is the greatest composer of all time. His music is not just sounds of music played together in harmony, but a way of life. The music he created for the world is not just to listen to it, but grabs onto the emotion he was setting up. Beethoven's unordinary style cannot ever be copied by any composer or music artist.
Ludwig van Beethoven is who everyone thinks of first when someone asks if you know any composer from classical music. Beethoven changed the sound of music in the early 1800’s from bland and meaningless, to exciting and heartfelt. You felt Beethoven’s pain through his music. Was Beethoven’s deafness to blame for his spark of genius that changed the course of classicism, to romanticism? Was it not for his lonesome solitude, and lack of hearing that drove him to create the masterpieces that are still resonating through current times?
Beethoven was a man with a great amount of talent and influence in his world which does set him apart somewhat from others. He also had a great deal of pain in his life which sets him apart from very few others in this world.
Ludwig Van Beethoven was one of the greatest classical music composers of all time. He was born around December 16, 1770 to a middle class family in the city of Bonn in the Electorate of cologne. His exact date of birth is unknown but he was baptized on December 17, 1770 and during this time it was law and custom for babies to be baptized within 24 hours of birth. His father Johann Van Beethoven was a court singer and his mother was Maria Magdalena Van Beethoven. Ludwig had four other siblings. The first Ludwig had passed away 6 days after he was born. Anton Karl was born on April 1774, Nikkolaus Johann October 1776 and Maria Margareta Josepha in 1786.
It is clear that Beethoven’s stands as being significant in development of the string quartet to a massive extent in creativity and innovation. His early quartets show great influence of those from the Classical period and with his own, has influenced his contemporaries and later composers. The quartets published later in his life show even greater imagination and use of expression. It is also through similar uses of texture, harmony, rhythm and counterpoint that composers of the Romantic period and the 20th century wrote their own string quartets. Beethoven’s however prove a huge advancement in how string quartets are written and the intensity of emotions that they portray.
Ludwig Van Beethoven was regarded as one of the greatest musical composers of the 19th century. Beethoven’s compositions are considered to be a watershed moment in western musical history. According to scholar Scott G. Burnham, “The overmastering coherence felt in Beethoven’s music became an imposing measure of the greatness of musical artworks.” Part of Beethoven’s greatness can be linked to the inner turmoil he dealt with throughout his life. Part of this turmoil was caused from his hearing disability which ultimately resulted in his deafness. Beethoven felt isolated due to his illness, but this isolation greatly affected the music he composed. The Fifth Symphony was a testament to that. Out of Beethoven’s nine different symphonies, the Fifth symphony is regarded as one of his greatest compositions. The Fifth Symphony is a total of 4 movements, and has a four-note opening motif in C- minor which is considered to be fate knocking at the door.
Luke 6:45 states, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” This is very true of Ludwig van Beethoven because what he believed affected his music. Beethoven was an extremely famous composer who helped transition the Classical era into the Romantic era. Composing from age 12 until his death in 1827, his music reflected his character. Although he is often considered a musical genius, which he is, his lack of God, and his lack of a spiritual life centered in Christ, affected his music, his view of life, and how he was remembered.
In this essay, I’m going to discuss two composers- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. I will first tell you about the life of these men. Then, I’ll compare and contrast their music, the time period of which they lived in, the purpose of their music and more.
...cal and romantic eras. He is one of the most well-known composers of all time. By the last decade of his life, Beethoven was almost completely deaf. He gave up conducing and peforming for audiences, and instead took to composing.
Beethoven was born in Bonn Germany. At 14, he held the occupation of a court organist. Sadly, his father was a drunken singer, and barely supported his family. Consequently, the money Beethoven earned assisted his family. In 1778, he traveled to Vienna and met Wolfgang A. Mozart who instantly acknowledged his brilliance. However, on account of his mother’s illness, he returned to his home town, and had to support his brothers after her death. He gave music lessons in Bonn, in addition to playing the viola in the theater orchestra. Settling in Vienna in 1792, he studied with masters such as Joseph Haydn. He appeared as a pianist and gaine...