Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most famous and acclaimed composers of all time. His music is still widely popular today and his popularity seems to be timeless. He was a very important person during the transition between Classical and Romantic eras. He is just as famous today as he ever was and many people are fascinated by his life.

Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Germany and he was the grandson of Lodewijk van Beethoven who was of Dutch origin. Ludwig van Beethoven was named after his grandfather. Beethoven’s grandfather was a bass singer and eventually music director and had a major influence on the musical influence of Beethoven. The only surviving record of Beethoven’s birth is his baptismal record and this is recorded on December 17, 1770. Many babies born in this area around the same time frame were baptized a day after birth and this is one of the reasons that many people believe that Beethoven was born on December 16. It is also said that his family celebrated his birthday on the 16th of December every year adding to the confirmation of this date.

Beethoven’s father was also involved in music and became his first musical influence. Beethoven also had many other musical teachers in his early years. Beethoven’s first musical performance was in 1778 when he was just 7 years old. After 1779, Beethoven began working with the most important musical teacher in his life, Christian Gottlob Neefe. Neefe is the person responsible for teaching Beethoven composition and helped him compose his first piece of music. Beethoven began working for Neefe without pay and eventually he got hired as a full time employee with pay. The first three piano sonatas he wrote were published in 1783 and were dedicated to Maxmilian Frederick who was one of the major influences on Beethoven at the time and strongly encouraged his musical talents.

Beethoven eventually traveled to Vienna to possibly study with Mozart in 1787. There are many discrepancies if Mozart and Beethoven ever met and it is unclear the status of their relationship if there was one at all. When Beethoven was in Vienna for just a couple of weeks he was informed that his mother had fallen extremely ill and Beethoven was forced to return home where his mother died shortly after his arrival. His father was already an alcoholic and the death of his mother only exasperated his father’s alcoholic condition. Beethoven remained in Germany for the next five years to care for his younger brothers.

In 1796 Beethoven expanded his appeal by touring Europe and he closely followed the path where Mozart traveled before him. This is the time frame that Beethoven found great fame and he was even awarded with gold after composing music for a king. In 1797 Beethoven became extremely ill and it is unknown the exact condition he experienced, but it is assumed he was afflicted with Typhus. This is the time frame that Beethoven started noticing difficulties with his hearing. He eventually had to stop touring for concerts due to his increasing problems with his hearing. He described the problems with his ears as tinnitus or ringing in the ears. He eventually lost his hearing entirely and this made him very uncomfortable in social situations which he tried to avoid at all costs.

One of the most affluent people that Beethoven ever composed for was Archduke Rudolph who was the son of Emperor Leopold II. Rudolph studied under Beethoven for a couple of years in the early 1800’s and they had a very long friendship. Beethoven wrote many compositions for Rudolph including The Archduke Trio, and Missa Solemnis. Some of the letters that were exchanged between Beethoven and Rudolph are on display in a museum in Vienna.

The “Middle” period of Beethoven’s legacy was marked with mixed reviews. He returned to Vienna and composed Third Symphony In E Flat. Some people raved and called it expert work, while others were confused by the complexity. Third through eight symphonies were created during this time. The first version of Fidelo was a complete failure and Beethoven had to begin to make corrections on this piece before presenting it again.

In 1800 Beethoven was introduced to Giulietta Guicciardi and they had a relationship. He dedicated Moonlight Sonata to her. Her father prevented them from being together and she quickly married someone else.

Ludwig van Beethoven had a very interesting life in addition to his musical legacy. Beethoven died on March 26, 1827 after being bedridden for months. His music is still heard by masses of people each and every day. He has left a very strong imprint on the World that is hard to match.