Ludwig van Beethoven
Uploaded by iwuvjoleywoley on Oct 12, 2004
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany during the year of 1770. Beethoven was the eldest son of a singer in the Kapelle of the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. He came from a musical family, and his early musical training was under his father's guidance. His father subjected him to a brutal regimen, hoping to exploit him as a child prodigy. While this plan did not succeed, young Beethoven's gifts were recognized and nurtured by his teachers and by members of the local aristocracy. His father also taught him piano and violin. Beethoven showed remarkable talent at an early age. His general education was not continued beyond the elementary school. He was practically illiterate in math. He had worked for a court in Bonn so his first contacts were in aristocratic circles. He needed financial support from them. In 1787 Beethoven first visited Vienna, at that time the center of the music world. His first task in Vienna was to establish himself as pianist and composer. He achieved both rapidly. There he performed for Mozart, whom he greatly impressed.
Beethoven moved in 1792 to Vienna, where he had some lessons from Haydn and others, quickly establishing himself as a remarkable keyboard-player and original composer. In 1792 Haydn invited him to become his student, and Beethoven returned to Vienna, where he was to remain permanently. However, Beethoven's unorthodox musical ideas offended the old master, and the lessons were terminated. Beethoven studied with several other eminent teachers, including Antonio Salieri, but was developing according to his own singular genius and could no longer profit greatly from instruction. Public concerts were not yet the way of life in Vienna, but Beethoven did begin a series of charity concerts. Later in 1800 he gave his first concert for his own benefit. His first symphony, Trios for Piano Violin and Cello, were designed to impress Viennese society. Each trio is in 4 movements. Beethoven created parity among the instruments in these trios.
The year 1801 marked the onset of Beethoven's tragic affliction, his deafness, which became progressively worse and, by 1818, when he became totally deaf. ...