Ludwig van Beethoven Essay

Music had driven Beethoven's life from a small child to an adult. It helped him overcome an alcoholic father, his mother's death, failed love, and provided a means of support for his family. It carried him through personal crises including the loss of his hearing and won him critical acclaim in social circles. His life ended in 1826 following complications of a cold and chronic health problems. He used his music to preach through art and has remained a model to later composers in the use of classical principles of

In fact it was in 1824, only three years prior to his death, that he completed another of his very popular works, his “Ninth Symphony.” Soon after the completion of his “Ninth Symphony”, Beethoven had fallen ill and ultimately died at the age of 56 on March 26, 1827. Despite having to drop out a school in order to help feed his family and having to suffer complete hearing loss, Ludwig von Beethoven was still able to master the styles established by Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as well as have profound impact on music that is still studied to this

Beethoven had reached complete deafness in the 1810’s. At this time he piano playing and conducting were deteriorating. At the age of 44 he was no longer able to play in public, but insisted on conducting still. Often times the performances were chaotic and he was hard to comprehend by musicians. He had a custody battle for his nephew Karl, in which he won. This caused disaster as Beethoven craved attention and companionship. After 1818, Beethoven conducted some of his greatest works even though he was completely deaf. Beethoven’s music was influenced by Haydn and Mozart although he had his own unique style. He was one of the greatest composers ever and had to overcome his complete deafness and suffering to put out these great works.

1819 is the year in which his hearing was thoroughly depleted. He could no longer play the piano virtuously and had to communicate by text. As a result, he spent a majority of his time composing. Beethoven would sketch out his compositions in a book. These books have been maintained and it is evident that he would work on several pieces at once. During this time, his compositions ranged from simple melodies to more elaborate and edited works. In 1804 Beethoven completed his Third Symphony. This piece was originally a tribute to Napoleon Bonaparte, but when Beethoven found that Napoleon was proclaimed an emperor he deleted the dedication. At this point in his life, Beethoven seriously considered marriage. His first love was for a woman named Giulietta Guicciardi. When this relationship eventually broke, he sought the hand of Giulietta’s cousin, Josephine. The bond between them broke and the engagement was ended. Beethoven’s final attempt with a woman was with his doctor’s daughter, Therese Malfatti. As is expected, this relationship also failed and Beethoven reached the final part of his life as a bachelor. The rate and quality of his compositions slowed and he became more and more isolated. Another depressing and negative event in Beethoven’s life took place in 1815. His brother died. Caspar Anton Carl left behind a son and a widow and instructed

Beethoven already started to lose his hearing way before his dedication to Napoleon. Becoming deaf made his life miserable, but he tried to come to terms with his condition. The most likely reason for his loss of hearing is probably because of lead poisoning. There were high amounts of lead found in his hair. Beethoven was often irascible and may have suffered from bipolar disorder and irritability brought on by chronic abdominal pain that has been attributed to possible lead poisoning Over time his hearing loss

Nevertheless, going back to the years known as the early period (around 1800), Beethoven was still trying to master the high classical style. Up until 1813, Beethoven develops and enhances the high classical style into a more dynamic and individualistic style. As he learns to develop the music into new undiscovered grounds, he also suffers from reminders of the pains of the

the longest gestation periods of any Beethoven work, the first in which all movements are

Beethoven’s hearing was getting so bad, he could not hear orchestras in theaters unless he was sitting really close, he struggled with hearing the voices of singers, and he had difficulty hearing the high notes (50). Away from music, Beethoven struggled with hearing people that spoke in low tones and people that spoke very softly (50). Beethoven did not want the word to get out that he was losing his hearing, he believed his music career would be tainted if people knew about his hearing condition. Beethoven was able to hear some music and speech up to about 1812, but at the age of 44 Beethoven had little to no hearing, he could not hear speech or music (51).

Beethoven is perhaps the most famous musician of all time. His influence on later composers was extremely huge, to the extent where many composers were intimidated by his music. Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770 into a family of musicians. His father and grandfather were both musicians at the court of Elector in the German town of Bonn. His grandfather was very respected, but his dad not so much given that he was an alcoholic. At a young age, Beethoven was put in charge of his family’s finances and started a job at the court. He composed music and helped look after the instrumentation. Around the same time, he began to write music. In 1790, an important visitor passed through Bonn: this was Franz Joseph Haydn. He was on his way to London for a visit when he stopped to meet Beethoven and agreed to take him on as a student when he came back from London to Vienna. In 1792, Beethoven moved to Vienna to study with Hayden. Apparently, it did not go as planned. Hayden was old fashion and a little overbearing, while Beethoven was rebellious and headstrong. Beethoven found support among the rich arts who lived in Vienna. Prince Lichnowsky gave him board and lodging at his place for in return, Beethoven would compose music and preform at evening parties.

He was born in the German town of Bonn on the 16th of December 1770. His grandfather Ludwig and his father Johann were both musicians. Johann was to act as little Ludwig's first music teacher, but Ludwig soon changed to the court organist C. G. Neefe. Passing eleven years of age, Ludwig deputized for Neefe, and at twelve had his first music published. He then stayed as Neefe's assistant until 1787, when at seventeen, he took off for Vienna. Even though Vienna was to be his home for the rest of his life, this first visit was short. On hearing that his mother was dying, he quickly returned to Bonn. Five years later he finally moved to Vienna to live and work.

When we talk about Beethoven people often recall him as one that was great. When you think of Beethoven you can consider him a transitional composer and that is mainly because he is the crucial transitional figure linking the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history. Beethoven's innovation was the ability to briskly establish imperishability in bringing together different keys and unexpected notes to join them. Beethoven's music was correspondent to the agreement of the music in literature. Most of his music focused on life drama of one or more individuals through hard life circumstances. Beethoven’s role as a transitional composer between the classical and romantic periods took

The first way that Beethoven changed music was by creating romanticism. Ludwig is viewed as the most transitional figure between the eras of classical and romanticism of musical history. Even though his first period was more conventional he grew tired of this and made his second time period

Beethoven’s works are typically divided into three different periods. During the first period, to 1802, Beethoven incorporated the musical language of his time while developing his own unique compositional voice. During this time, he wrote six String quartets, the first ten piano sonatas, the first three piano concertos and the first two symphonies. The second period last until about 1816 and showcases his individualism more than ever before. During this period, he wrote Symphonies Nos. 3-8, the last two piano concertos, the Violin Concerto, the String Quartets Opp. 59, 74 and 95, and the Piano Sonatas through Op. 90. The third period is recognized as

The early piano sonatas of Beethoven deserve special mention. Although his first published examples of concertos and trios and the first two symphonies are beneath the masterpieces of Mozart and Haydn, the piano sonatas bear an unmistakably Beethovian stamp: grandiose in scope and length, and innovative in their range of expression. The sonatas were able to move expression from terrible rage to peals of laughter to deep depression so suddenly. Capturing this unpredictable style in his music, a new freedom of expression which broke the bounds of Classical ideals, was to position Beethoven as a disturbed man in the minds of some of his contemporaries. Furthermore, he was to be seen as the father of Romanticism and the single most important innovator of music in the minds of those after him. (Bookspan 27).

On 17 December 1770, Ludwig van Beethoven was born. He was an amazing and great classical musical composer. He is known for being the most famous composer of the classical and romantic periods of music. According to the “Enjoyment of Music” manual, Beethoven was born in Bohn, Germany. His father, with his grandfather, was the two singers at the court of a local prince, Friedrich Max. (Forney and Machlis 197).