Ludwig Van Beethoven

Book Report: Ludwig van Beethoven

German composer and pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven, was born December 1770 and spent most of his life in Vienna, Austria. His first teacher was his alcoholic father, who worked as a musician at the Court of Bonn. Teaching him day and night, Ludwig suffered from his father's harsh and erratic behavior. For a time, he and his father played at the Church. As his father's alcoholism increased, Ludwig became the main musician.

Beethoven's talents were discovered at an early age, and he was sent to Vienna to study under different teachers including Mozart and Hayden. There, Beethoven quickly adopted a reputation of a great piano player, a child prodigy. He gave his first public performance at the age of eight and published his first works at the age of twelve: nine variations, in C Minor, for piano. Christian Goftlob Neefe was sure that Beethoven's talents would make him the new Mozart of the time.

At the age of fourteen, Beethoven was appointed to the Court of Maximillian Franz, Elector of Cologne, as an organist. His promising career, however, would have to be put on hold in order to raise his two younger brothers. This turn of events took place because his mother had died of tuberculosis and his father had further deteriorated into alcoholism.

Finally, in 1792 Beethoven studied with Joseph Hayden in Vienna along with Johan George Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. By 1795, he was an established piano virtuoso working not for the church or noble court but for members of the aristocracy, who paid for his compositions and subscribed to his concerts. He also gained income from public concerts, music lessons, and selling his works.

In 1800 Beethoven presented his first symphony though it was considered risquй and strange to his listeners. It was at this time that he began to suffer from tinnitus, making it difficult for him to fully participate in and enjoy his music. Music was his life and he was deeply depressed and angry at the thought of being deaf. He even became suicidal. His relationship to his music was very serious, and though he continued to compose music, he never performed again following a failure to perform his Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" in 1811.

Following many personal crises in his life, Beethoven's music reflected his mood. His masterpieces depicted struggle followed by triumph. Later, his worked was influence by the ideals of Enlightenment, leading him to dedicate the symphony "Erotica" to Napoleon. The symphony "Ode to Joy" was believed to be about the brotherhood of humanity. His works are admired for intellectual depth, intense expression, and experimental forms. He is considered one of the greatest minds of humanity. His ambitious works made him prominent in the transition between eras of Classical and Romantic music.

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 composition and the use of large-scale structure.

Through listening to the pieces by Beethoven that were assigned in class, I can detect the complexities in his pieces that Morris mentions in the biography. Many juxtapositions of sound occur, like a happy trill or playful section of a piece in a minor scale. Beethoven likes creating a story behind his pieces and causing them to come alive. In some of the compositions I've listened to, there is a 'talking' in the piece created by higher, softer measures mimicking lower, loud measures after the latter are played. Beethoven's pieces have also shown a quality a drama. In the 5th and 7th symphonies and in Fur Elise there are many dramatic points that give power to his compositions. The use of his bass instruments helps bring the level of drama to the piece. With the drama comes suspense created either by the dramatic, powerful chords or breaks within the piece. Ludwig van Beethoven's pieces sound rich and many times contain extraordinarily fast sections in the composition. It almost seems impossible for a person to play that fast and still keep the rhythm and beauty of the piece. This just heightens the complexity of Beethoven's composition. The fact that he could produce so many beautiful and entertaining pieces that shaped music of the time period and still effect music and society today is fascinating. Beethoven is one of my favorite classical composers.

Beethoven: The Universal Composer by Edmund Morris enlightened

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