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Beethoven - 5thbeethoven.
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Beethoven - 9e Beethoveen.
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Beethoven - Appas 1.
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Beethoven - Baga33 1.
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Beethoven - Beet129.
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Beethoven - Beeth9 4.
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Beethoven - Beethoven's 5th 1st Move.
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Beethoven - Furelise.
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Beethoven - Hammklv1.
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Beethoven - Op78 1.
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Beethoven - Pathiq A.
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Beethoven - Symphonie 3 Mvt 4.
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Beethoven - Symphonie 6.
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Beethoven - Symphony 5 In C Minor.
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Beethoven - Wldstn A.
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Biography
Further information
Life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven
Early life and talent
Kurf?stliches Schloss (Electoral Prince's Castle) in Bonn, where the Beethoven
family had been active since the 1730s
House of birth, Bonn, BonngasseBeethoven's parents were Johann van Beethoven
(1740 in Bonn–1792) and Maria Magdalena Keverich (1744 in Ehrenbreitstein–1787).
Magdalena's father Johann Heinrich Keverich had been Chef at the court of the
Archbishopric of Trier at Festung Ehrenbreitstein fortress opposite to
Koblenz.[2] Beethoven was, like their first child Ludwig Maria, named after his
grandfather Ludwig (1712–1773), a musician of Roman Catholic Flemish ancestry
who was at one time Kapellmeister at the court of Clemens August of Bavaria, the
Prince-Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, and who married Beethoven's grandmother
Maria Josepha Ball (1714–1775) in 1733.
Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. Of the seven children born
to Johann Beethoven, himself the only survivor of three, only second-born Ludwig
and two younger brothers survived infancy. Beethoven was baptized on December
17, 1770.[3][4] Although his birth date is not known for certain, his family
celebrated his birthday on December 16.
Beethoven's first music teacher was his father, who was a tenor in the service
of the Electoral court at Bonn. He was reportedly a harsh instructor. Johann
later engaged a friend, Tobias Pfeiffer, to preside over his son's musical
training, and it is said Johann and his friend would at times come home late
from a night of drinking to pull young Ludwig out of bed to practice until
morning. Beethoven's talent was recognized at a very early age, and by 1778 he
was studying the organ and viola in addition to the piano. His most important
teacher in Bonn was Christian Gottlob Neefe,[5] who was the Court's Organist.
Neefe helped Beethoven publish his first composition: a set of keyboard
variations.
A portrait of the thirteen-year-old Beethoven by an unknown Bonn masterIn 1787,
the young Beethoven traveled to Vienna for the first time, in hopes of studying
with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is not clear whether he succeeded in meeting
Mozart, or if he did whether Mozart was willing to accept him as a pupil; see
Mozart and Beethoven. In any event, the declining health of Beethoven's
mother, dying of tuberculosis, forced him to return home after only about two
weeks in Vienna. Beethoven's mother died on July 17, 1787, when Beethoven was
16.[6]
Due to his father's worsening alcohol addiction, Beethoven became responsible
for raising his two younger brothers.
The move to Vienna
In 1792, Beethoven moved to Vienna, where he studied for a time with Joseph
Haydn: his hopes of studying with Mozart had been shattered by Mozart's death
the previous year. Beethoven received additional instruction from Johann Georg
Albrechtsberger (Vienna's pre-eminent counterpoint instructor) and Antonio
Salieri. By 1793, Beethoven established a reputation in Vienna as a piano
virtuoso.[7] His first works with opus numbers, a set of three piano trios,
appeared in 1795. 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 supported himself through a combination
of annual stipends or single gifts from members of the aristocracy; income from
subscription concerts, concerts, and lessons; and proceeds from sales of his
works.
Beethoven’s patrons loved his music but were not quick to support him. He
eventually came to rely more on patrons such as Count Franz Joseph Kinsky, (d.
1811), Prince Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz (1772-1816) and Karl Alois
Johann-Nepomuk Vinzenz, F?st Lichnowsky, and as these patrons passed away or
reneged on their pledges, Beethoven fell into debt. In 1807, Prince Lobkowitz
advised Beethoven to apply for the position of composer of the Imperial
Theatres, but the nobility who had newly been placed in charge of the post did
not respond. Beethoven considered leaving Vienna: in the fall of 1808, he was
offered a position as chapel maestro at the court of Jerome Bonaparte, the king
of Westphalia, which he accepted. To persuade him to stay in Vienna, the
Archduke Rudolf, Count Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz, after receiving
representations from the composer’s friends, pledged to pay Beethoven a pension
of 4000 florins a year. Only Archduke Rudolf paid his share of the pension on
the agreed date. Kinsky, immediately called to duty as an officer, did not
contribute and soon died after falling from his horse. Lobkowitz stopped paying
in September 1811. No successors came forward to continue the patronage, and
Beethoven relied mostly on selling composition rights and a smaller pension
after 1815.
Loss of hearing
Beethoven in 1803Around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing.[8] He
suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard
for him to perceive and appreciate music; he also avoided conversation. He lived
for a time in the small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt, just outside Vienna.
Here he wrote his Heiligenstadt Testament, which records his resolution to
continue living for and through his art. Over time, his hearing loss became
profound: there is a well-attested story that, at the end of the premiere of his
Ninth Symphony, he had to be turned around to see the tumultuous applause of the
audience; hearing nothing, he began to weep.[9] Beethoven's hearing loss did not
prevent his composing music, but it made concerts—lucrative sources of
income—increasingly difficult.
Beethoven used a special rod attached to the soundboard on a piano that he could
bite—the vibrations would then transfer from the piano to his jaw to increase
his perception of the sound. A large collection of his hearing aids such as
special ear horns can be viewed at the Beethoven House Museum in Bonn, Germany.
By 1814 Beethoven was totally deaf, and when visitors saw him play a loud
arpeggio or thundering bass notes at his piano remarking, "Ist es nicht sch??"
(Isn't that beautiful?), they felt deep sympathy, and saw his courage and sense
of humor.[10]
Beethoven in 1823; copy of a destroyed portrait by Ferdinand Georg Waldm?lerAs
a result of Beethoven's hearing loss, a unique historical record has been
preserved: his conversation books. His friends wrote in the book so that he
could know what they were saying, and he then responded either verbally or in
the book. The books contain discussions about music and other issues, and give
insights into his thinking; they are a source for investigation into how he felt
his music should be performed, and also his perception of his relationship to
art. Unfortunately, two hundred and sixty four out of a total of four hundred
conversation books were destroyed (and others were altered) after Beethoven's
death by Anton Schindler, in his attempt to paint an idealized picture of the
composer.[11][12]
Illness and death
After Beethoven lost custody of his nephew, he went into a decline that led to
his death on Monday March 26, 1827[13] during a thunderstorm. [14]
This was Romain Rolland's description of Beethoven’s final day:
"That day was tragic. There were heavy clouds in the sky… around 4 or 5 in the
afternoon the murky clouds cast darkness in the entire room. Suddenly a terrible
storm started, with blizzard and snow… thunder made the room shudder,
illuminating it with the cursed reflection of lightning on snow. Beethoven
opened his eyes and with a threatening gesture raised his right arm towards the
sky with his fist clenched. The expression of his face was horrifying. His hand
fell to the ground. His eyes closed. Beethoven was no more."
Beethoven grave, Vienna ZentralfriedhofA Viennese pathologist and forensic
expert Christian Reiter (head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Vienna
Medical University) claimed that Beethoven's physician, Andreas Wawruch,
inadvertently hastened Beethoven's death. According to Reiter, Wawruch worsened
Beethoven's already lead poisoned condition with lead poultices applied after
repeated surgical draining of his bloated abdomen. Various theories attempt to
explain how Beethoven's lead poisoning first developed, and he was very sick
years before his death in 1827 at the age of 56.[15] Reiter's hypothesis however
is at odds with Wawruch's written instruction "that the wound was kept dry all
the time". Furthermore human hair is a very bad biomarker for lead contamination
and Reiter's hypothesis must be considered dubious, because of the lack of
proper scholarly documentation in his article.[16]
Character
Beethoven's personal life was troubled. His encroaching deafness led him to
contemplate suicide (documented in his Heiligenstadt Testament). Beethoven was
often irascible, and may have suffered from bipolar disorder,[17] and
irritability brought on by chronic abdominal pain beginning in his 20s which has
been attributed to his lead poisoning.[15] He nevertheless had a close and
devoted circle of friends all his life, thought to have been attracted by his
reputed strength of personality. Towards the end of his life, Beethoven's
friends competed in their efforts to help him cope with his incapacities.[18]
Sources show Beethoven's disdain for authority, and for social rank. He stopped
performing at the piano if the audience chatted among themselves, or afforded
him less than their full attention. At soir?s, he refused to perform if
suddenly called upon to do so. Eventually, after many confrontations, the
Archduke Rudolph decreed that the usual rules of court etiquette did not apply
to Beethoven.[19]
Romantic difficulties
The women who attracted Beethoven were unattainable because they were either
married or aristocratic. Beethoven never married, although he was engaged to
Giulietta Guiccardi. Her father was the main obstacle to their marriage.
Giulietta's marriage to a nobleman was unhappy, and when it ended in 1822, she
attempted unsuccessfully to return to Beethoven. His only other documented love
affair with an identified woman began in 1805 with Josephine von Brunswick,
young widow of the Graf von Deym. It is believed the relationship ended by 1807
because of Beethoven's indecisiveness and the disapproval of Josephine's
aristocratic family.[20]
In 1812, Beethoven wrote a long love letter to a woman he identified only as
"Immortal Beloved". Several candidates have been suggested, including Antonie
Brentano, but the identity of the woman to whom the letter was written has never
been proven.
Custody struggle
Beethoven in 1815[21] On 15 November 1815 Beethoven's brother Karl van Beethoven
died of tuberculosis leaving a son Karl, Beethoven's nephew. Although Beethoven
had shown little interest in the boy up to this point, he now became totally
obsessed with the possession of this nine year old child. The fight for custody
of his nephew brought out the very worst aspects of Beethoven's character.[22]
In the lengthy court cases Beethoven stopped at nothing to ensure that he
achieved this goal. At this time Beethoven stopped composing for long periods.
The Austrian court system had one court for the nobility, The R&I Landrechte,
and another for commoners, The Civil Court of the Magistrate. Beethoven
disguised the fact that the Dutch "van" in his name did not denote nobility as
does the Germanic "von",[23] and his case was tried in the Landrechte. Due to
his influence with the court, he felt assured of a favorable outcome. Beethoven
was awarded sole guardianship. Karl's mother, Johanna, a commoner and a widow
with little money, was not only refused access to her son, except under
exceptional circumstances, but Beethoven insisted that she pay for her son's
education out of her inadequate pension. While giving evidence to the Landrechte,
however, Beethoven inadvertently[24] admitted that he was not nobly born. The
case was transferred to the Magistracy on 18 December 1818, where he lost sole
guardianship.
Beethoven appealed, and regained custody of Karl. Johanna's appeal for justice
and human rights to the Emperor was not successful: the Emperor "washed his
hands of the matter". Beethoven stopped at nothing to blacken both[clarify]
their characters, as can be read in surviving court papers. When Karl could
stand his tyrannical uncle no longer, he attempted suicide on 31 July 1826 by
shooting himself in the head. He survived, and later asked to be taken to his
mother's house. This desperate action finally freed Karl from the bonds of
Beethoven.
Beliefs and their musical influence
Ludwig van Beethoven: detail of an 1804 portrait by W.J. M?lerBeethoven was
attracted to the ideals of the Enlightenment and by the growing Romanticism in
Europe. He initially dedicated his third symphony, the Eroica (Italian for
"heroic"), to Napoleon, believing that the general intended to sustain the
democratic and republican ideals of the French Revolution. But in 1804, when
Napoleon's imperial ambitions became clear, Beethoven took hold of the
title-page and scratched the name Bonaparte out so violently that he made a hole
in the paper. He later changed the work's title to "Sinfonia Eroica, composta
per festeggiare il sovvenire d'un grand'uom" ("Heroic Symphony, composed to
celebrate the memory of a great man"), and he rededicated it to his patron,
Prince Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz, at whose palace it was first performed.
The fourth movement of his Ninth Symphony features an elaborate choral setting
of Schiller's Ode An die Freude ("Ode to Joy"), an optimistic hymn championing
the brotherhood of humanity. Since 1972, an orchestral version of this part of
the fourth movement, arranged by the conductor Herbert von Karajan, has been the
European anthem as announced by the Council of Europe. In 1985 it was adopted as
the anthem of the European Community / European Union.
Scholars disagree about Beethoven's religious beliefs, and about the role they
played in his work: see Ludwig van Beethoven's religious beliefs. It has been
asserted, but not proven, that Beethoven was a Freemason.[25]
Like the earlier composer Handel, Beethoven worked freelance—arranging
subscription concerts, selling his compositions to publishers, and gaining
financial support from a number of wealthy patrons—rather than seeking out
permanent employment by the church or by an aristocratic court.
Music
Further information: Beethoven's musical style and innovations, Beethoven and C
minor, and List of compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven is acknowledged as one of the giants of Western classical music;
occasionally he is referred to as one of the "three Bs" (along with Bach and
Brahms) who epitomize that tradition. He was also a pivotal figure in the
transition from 18th century musical classicism to 19th century romanticism, and
his influence on subsequent generations of composers was profound.
Overview
He was one of the first composers to systematically and consistently use
interlocking thematic devices, or "germ-motives," to achieve inter-movement
unity in long compositions. Equally remarkable was his use of "source-motives,"
which recurred in many different compositions. He made innovations in almost
every form of music he touched. For example, he diversified even the
well-crystallized form of the rondo, making it more elastic and spacious, and
also bringing it closer to sonata form.
Beethoven composed in various genres, including symphonies, concerti, piano
sonatas, other sonatas (including for violin), string quartets and other chamber
music, masses, an opera, and Lieder. He is viewed as one of the most important
transitional figures between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history.
Beethoven adopted the principles of sonata form and motivic development that he
inherited from Haydn and Mozart, and he greatly extended them, writing longer
and more ambitious movements.
The three periods
Beethoven's compositional career is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late
periods. In this scheme, his early period is taken to last until about 1802, the
middle period from about 1803 to about 1814, and the late period from about
1815.
In his Early (Classical) period, he is seen as emulating his great predecessors
Haydn and Mozart, while 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 three
piano concertos, and the first twenty piano sonatas, including the famous "Path?ique"
and "Moonlight" sonatas.
His Middle (Heroic) period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis
brought on by his recognition of encroaching deafness. It is noted for
large-scale works that express heroism and struggle, many of which have become
very famous. Middle-period works include six symphonies (Nos. 3–8), the fourth
and fifth piano concertos, the triple concerto and violin concerto, five string
quartets (Nos. 7–11), the next seven piano sonatas (including the "Waldstein"
and the "Appassionata"), the "Kreutzer" Violin Sonata and Beethoven's only
opera, Fidelio.
Beethoven's Late (Romantic) period began around 1815. Works from this period are
characterized by their intellectual depth, their formal innovations, and their
intense, highly personal expression. For example, the String Quartet, Op. 131
has seven linked movements, and the Ninth Symphony adds choral forces to the
orchestra in the last movement.[29] Other compositions from this period include
the "Missa Solemnis", the last five string quartets (including the massive
"Grosse Fuge") and the last five piano sonatas, of which the "Hammerklavier"
Sonata is the best known.
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