Ludwig van Beethoven

   

Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized December 17, 1770 d. March 26, 1827) was a German composer, the predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Life and work

Main article: Beethoven: life and work

Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany to Johann van Beethoven (1740-92) and Magdalena Keverich van Beethoven (1744-87). The father worked as a musician in the Electoral court at Bonn.

Beethoven's first music teacher was his father, 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, as well 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 remainder of his life: rather than working for the church or a noble court (as most composers before him had done), he was a freelance, supporting himself with public performances, sales of his works, and stipends from noblemen who recognized his ability.

Beethoven's personal life was troubled. Around age 28 he started to become deaf, a calamity which led him for some time to contemplate suicide. Beethoven was attracted to unattainable (married or aristocratic) women, whom he idealized; he never married. A period of low productivity around 1812-1816 is thought by some scholars to have been the result of depression, resulting from Beethoven's realization that he would never marry. Beethoven quarreled, often bitterly, with his relatives and others, and frequently behaved badly to other people. He moved often from dwelling to dwelling, and had strange personal habits such as wearing filthy clothing while washing compulsively. Beethoven's health was often bad, and it failed entirely in 1826, the year before his death at age 56.

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 often applied to Beethoven's creation of masterpieces in the face of his severe personal difficulties.

Beethoven's career as a composer is conventionally divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods. In the Early period, he is seen as emulating his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart, at the same time exploring new directions and gradually expanding the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the Early period are the First and Second Symphonies, the first six string quartets, the first two piano concertos, and about a dozen piano sonatas, including the famous "Pathetique".

The Middle period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis centering around deafness, and is noted for large-scale works expressing heroism and struggle; these include many of the most famous works of classical music. The Middle period works include Symphonies Nos. 3-8, the last three piano concertos and Violin Concerto, the string quartets #7-11, many piano sonatas (including the "Moonlight", "Waldstein", and "Appassionata"), and the opera Fidelio.

Beethoven's Late period began around 1816 and lasted until Beethoven 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 Missa Solemnis, the last six string quartets and the last five piano sonatas.

Musical style and innovations

Main article: Beethoven's musical style and innovations

Beethoven is viewed as a transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history. He built formally on the principles of sonata form and motivic development that he had inherited from Haydn and Mozart, but expanded their scope, writing longer and more ambitious movements. The work of Beethoven's middle period is celebrated for its frequently heroic form of expression, and the works of his late period for their intellectual depth.

Personal beliefs and their musical influence

Beethoven was much taken by the ideals of the Enlightenment. He initially dedicated his third symphony, the Eroica, to Napoleon in the belief that the general would sustain the democratic and republican ideals of the French Revolution, but in 1804 crossed out the dedication as Napoleon's imperial ambitions became clear, replacing it with "to the memory of a great man". The fourth movement of his Ninth Symphony is a setting of Schiller's ode An die Freude ("To Joy"), an optimistic hymn championing the brotherhood of humanity.

Scholars disagree on Beethoven's religious beliefs and the role they played in his work. For discussion, see Beethoven's religious beliefs.

Beethoven as fictional character

Beethoven's larger-than-life persona has led many authors and filmmakers to incorporate him into works of fictionalized biography, among them Beethoven Lives Upstairs by Barbara Nichol and Scott Cameron and the popular 1994 film Immortal Beloved.

Beethoven was the title character in the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's concept album, Beethoven's Last Night. In it, he makes a deal with the Devil to ease the suffering of a child sitting outside his door.

See also

External links

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