preview

Ludwig Van Beethoven's Creativity

Decent Essays

Creativity can sometimes be the result of torment. Ludwig van Beethoven was a famous classical composer with a hard life. Throughout his entire life, he suffered from various diseases, hearing difficulties, mental disorders and social problems, (Russell and Nibley 25 ). Yet despite all of these terrible ailments, he was able to compose music that is considered some of the best ever composed, and that is still appreciated today.
Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany on December 17, 1770 (F.C.C). His father, Johann, was an alcoholic who used to bully and beat Ludwig and drag him crying out of bed to practice piano. His mother, Maria, in contrast, was kind and intelligent (Russell and Nibley 11 - 12). He was a natural musician and performed when he was seven on piano and at eight had piano, violin, and viola lessons. When he was eleven, he was deputy court organist (Russell and Nibley 12). He showed talent at an early age so when he became deaf, it was a tragic loss for him. Even though Beethoven became deaf, he still managed to become well skilled at composing, a job which requires hearing. …show more content…

Testing on Beethoven’s hair indicated tremendous amounts of mercury in his system. Mercury could have been prescribed as a remedy for his various illness when he was a child. This poisoning could explain his early deafness and his odd behavior (Russel and Nibley 1,7). Beethoven’s middle years were spent supporting his family because his father and mother had died when he was young (Russell and Nibley 14). He was influenced by many people who helped and encouraged him during these years. Beethoven supposedly got his musical traits from his grandfather (Russell and Nibley 11). Then as a young organist, Christian Gotlob Neefe, taught Beethoven and was a good mentor and friend. Later, in 1792, Beethoven left Bonn to live in Vienna, where Josef Haydn served to promote Beethoven to the Viennese cultural community (Russel and Nibley

Get Access