Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770, in Bonn, which would be in present day Germany. Ludwig had six siblings; however, only he and two brothers survived past infancy. His first musical instructor was his father, a tenor employed at the court of the Elector of Cologne who gave piano and violin lessons to supplement his income. He gave his first public concert in March of 1778, and his father, Johann, wishing to promote his son as a child prodigy much like Mozart, falsely reported Ludwig’s age as seven on the publicity posters. Beethoven began studying with Christian Gottlob Neefe in 1779, and he taught Beethoven composition, leading him to write his first published work, a set of keyboard variations.
In 1787 Beethoven left for Vienna for the first time, hoping to study with Mozart; however, it is unknown whether or not they actually met. His mother became ill only two weeks into the visit there, and he returned home. She died, and he became responsible for the care of his two younger brothers when his father was drawn even farther into the alcoholism he suffered with. In 1792 he was able to leave again for Vienna with the financial aid of the Elector. He began study under Haydn, who had been taught himself by Mozart, and it was through this influence that Beethoven was able to learn from “The Master” himself, something he had set out to do years early in Vienna.
Beethoven began a concert tour of Vienna in 1796, and during this he presented his first symphony as well as other works. To his listeners, it was fresh and new, extravagant, and even a little risqué. However, his tour was a huge success, both financially as for his reputation as a pianist and composer. He toured through 1797 but began noticing a hearing loss. By 1798 he had to abandon his concert tour entirely due to his deafness. His deafness has been attributed to many things, none of which has been proven: syphilis, lead poisoning, the habit that he had of immersing his head in cold water to stay awake, typhus, and an autoimmune disorder. His deafness did not stop Beethoven from composing; however, performing became increasingly difficult. In 1811 he attempted to perform his own Piano Concerto No. 5 and failed. He never performed publicly again.
In 1800 Beethoven met Guilietta Guicciadi through the Brunsvik family, and he fell in love. His Sonata No. 14, the “Moonlight Sonata” is dedicated to Ms. Guicciadi. However, she married Count Wenzel Robert von Gallenberg in 1783, and it is believed that her father had disapproved of a union with Beethoven due to his common lineage. Although Guiccciadi returned to Beethoven when her marriage was over, Beethoven did not resume the relationship, and, instead rebuffed her. Another love of Beethoven’s was Josephine Deym, whom he met through lessons he had given years earlier. His relationship with her was renewed after the death of her husband in 1804. There is some evidence that he proposed to her, but the relationship ended in 1807, and again, it is speculated that the reason was her noble birth as well. This situation may have occurred yet a third time with Therese Malfatti, the woman to whom he dedicated “Fur Elise” in 1810, and another woman to whom he may have proposed. In 1812 he wrote letters to his “Immortal Beloved,” and it is believed that these letters may have been written to a married woman he loved named Antonie Brentano.
In the spring of 1811 Beethoven became very ill with fevers and became bedridden. This was the beginning of his failing health. He continued to compose, however, any many works were still written, even after a lengthy illness between 1815 and 1817. Beethoven died on March 26, 1827. He was bedridden most of his last months, and an autopsy revealed significant liver damage, which may have been due to alcohol. However, high levels of lead had also reportedly been found in hair samples. His cause of death is yet unknown. He was buried in the Wahring cemetery in Vienna, with 20,000 citizens lining the streets for the funeral.
The music of Ludwig van Beethoven varied through the years and was indicative of his life at the time his compositions were written. Beethoven’s earliest works were efforts to master the classics of the age, namely those of Mozart and Neefe. This is evidenced in three of his earliest Piano Sonatas and Piano quartets that he wrote before 1792. This trend continued during with his work with Haydn. Larger works of this time included a symphonic movement in C minor, a violin concerto, an early version of his B-flat Piano concerto, a concertante for piano, flue, and bassoon and an oboe concerto . When Beethoven first arrived in Vienna to study under Haydn, he composed little, and instead he established himself as a great pianist and performer in various salons. He did rework several of his earlier compositions at this time, including the three piano trios under op.1 and three piano sonatas under op. 2., and these are good examples of his early Viennese flavor.
The middle period, as it has been called, saw Beethoven break from his “classical” shell, and his works broke all convention of the current time. The release of his Third Symphony, “Eroica,” is paramount in cultural history. The symphony was was, at one time, dedicated to Napoleon, in his earlier reign in France, to signify the spirit of the French revolution. However, when Napoleon declared himself emperor, Beethoven renamed his work the “Heroic Symphony to celebrate the memory of a great man.” Other works during this productive time included the Razumovsky quartets, his Ninth Sonata for violin, the Waldstein piano concerto, the Assassionata Quartet, and the Kreutzer Sonata. Also, he wrote for overtures for the opera, as well as overtures to Collin’s Coriolan and Goethe’s Egmont. Toward the end of what is known as Beethoven's middle period, there was a lack of production and composing on his part, and this is attributed to some illness as well as some difficulty with obtaining custody of his nephew upon his brother’s death.
The time known as Beethoven’s final period begins around 1816. At this time his works become greater in depth and certainly greater in complexity. Works during this time include Hammerklavier Sonata, the Ninth Symphony with its choral finale, and the Missa Solemnis. He also composed the last five string quartets during this time, and the Grosse Fuge. That his works became darker and more emotional was quite evident, and this reflects the struggles he had been through in his personal life, both physically and emotionally. As this time, and his life, came to a close, a composer like the world had never known, had shared his life and works with all.
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