Ludwig van Beethoven||Ludwig Beethoven Biography
About Ludwig Beethoven Life History classical composers
Ludwig van Beethoven: Ludwig Beethoven is considered to be one of the best classical composers in history. He is known for creating his huge symphonies. He created 9 symphonies, not as prolific as Mozart or Haydn, but the quality of these symphonies is beyond belief.
Beethoven was born on December 17, 1770, in Bonn, Germany to Johann Van Beethoven, of Flemish origins, and Magdalena Keverich Van Beethoven. Until recently, December 16, was shown in many reference works as Beethoven’s ‘date of birth, since we know that he was baptized on December 17, and children at that time were generally baptized the day after their birth. However, modern scholarship declines to believe such assumptions.
Beethoven’s first music teacher was his father, who worked as a musician in the Electoral court at Bonn but was also an alcoholic who beat him and unsuccessfully attempted to exhibit him as a child prodigy. However, Beethoven’s talent was soon noticed by others. He was given instruction and employment by Christian Gottlob Neefe, also as financial sponsorship by the Prince-Elector. Beethoven’s mother died when he was 17, and for several years, he was responsible for raising his two younger brothers.
Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792, where he studied with Joseph Haydn and other teachers. He quickly established a reputation as a piano virtuoso, and more slowly as a composer. He settled into the career pattern he would follow for the rest of his life: instead of working for the church or a noble court (as most composers before him had done). He was a freelancer, supporting himself with public performances, sales of his works, and stipends from noblemen who recognized his ability.
Beethoven’s career as a composer is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods. In the early period, he’s seen as emulating his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart, at an equivalent time exploring new directions and gradually expanding the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the primary period are the first and second symphonies, the primary six string quartets, the primary two piano concertos, and a few dozen piano sonatas, including the famous, Pathetique.
About History of Ludwig Beethoven & 9th Symphony
The Middle period began shortly after Beethoven’s crisis centering around deafness, and is noted for large-scale works expressing heroism and struggle which include many of the most famous works of classical music. The Middle period works include six symphonies (Nos. 3 – 8), the last three piano concertos and his only violin concerto, six string quartets (Nos. 7 – 11), many piano sonatas (including the Moonlight, Waldstein, and Appassionata), and Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio.
Beethoven’s Late period began around 1816 and lasted until he ceased to compose in 1826. The late works are greatly admired for their intellectual depth and their intense, highly personal expression. They include the Ninth Symphony (the Choral), the Missa Solemnis, the last six string quartets, and therefore the last five piano sonatas.
Beethoven’s personal life was troubled. Around the age of 28, he started to become deaf, a calamity that led him for some time to contemplate suicide. He was attracted to unattainable (married or aristocratic) women, whom he idealized but never married. A period of low productivity from about 1812 to 1816 is assumed by some scholars to have been the result of depression, resulting from Beethoven’s realization that he would never marry. Beethoven quarreled, often bitterly, together with his relatives et al., and regularly behaved badly with people. He moved often from dwelling to dwelling and had strange personal habits like wearing filthy clothing while washing compulsively. He often had financial troubles.
It is common for listeners to perceive an echo of Beethoven’s life in his music, which often depicts struggle followed by triumph. This description is usually applied to Beethoven’s creation of masterpieces in the face of his severe personal difficulties.
He was often in poor health, and in 1826 his health took a drastic turn for the more severe. Beethoven died around 1827 of liver disease.
