Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in

1770 in the city of Bonn, Germany.

Beethoven's father was aware of the success Mozart

had as a young child. The father wanted his son to be

successful, too. Beethoven's father cruelly made young

Ludwig practice for hours at a time. His dream was to

have his son make the family rich.

After long nights of drinking,

Beethoven's father would sometimes

drag his son out of bed to practice

the piano or play for guests.

Young Ludwig gave his first

public performance when he was

just seven years old.

Beethoven began piano, violin,

and organ lessons.

At a young age, Beethoven's first

mentor and man who recognized his

great talents, Gottlob Neefe, sent

Beethoven to Vienna where he was

introduced to and briefly studied

under other great composers such as

Mozart and Haydn.

Unlike Mozart, Beethoven’s compositions

were very messy.

Like most artists, composers,

writers, and poets,

Beethoven’s works mirrored

his emotions and

experiences, sometimes even

reflecting his views about

other people.

The Third Symphony

Originally he planned to

dedicate The Third Symphony

to Napoleon, whom he had

long admired because he

inspired Beethoven with ideas

of freedom and equality.

However, Beethoven became

disillusioned when Napoleon

crowned himself Emperor in 1804.

Ferdinand Ries, a student and early biographer related

the scene: "I was the first to bring him the news that

Bonaparte had proclaimed himself emperor, whereupon

he flew into a rage and cried out: 'Is he too, then, nothing

more than an ordinary human being? Now he, too, will

trample on the rights of man, and indulge only his

ambition!' Beethoven went to the table, took hold of the

title page by the top, tore it in two, and threw it on the

floor. The first page was rewritten and only then did the

Symphony receive the title Sinfonia Eroica."

The "Eroica" Symphony represents a

turning point not only in Beethoven's

career, but also in the history of music.

Its unprecedented length, technical

challenges, relationship to political events

of the day, and uncompromising stance

seemed to aim beyond entertainment,

forcing Beethoven's contemporaries to

rethink what a symphony should be and do.

Beethoven began to suffer from hearing loss while

composing his 2nd Symphony. Several years

later, he had become completely

deaf. Throughout the years, he suffered from

buzzing in his ears which grew to agitate his

temper. However, his hearing loss did not deter

Beethoven from his composing. He continued

with his work and in fact, composed many of his

greatest works after he had already grown almost

completely deaf.

To hear sounds, Beethoven cut

off the legs of his piano and

placed the instrument on the

floor. He did this to feel the

vibrations in

the floor when

he played.

Beethoven could not bear the indignity of

asking people to "speak louder, shout, for I

am deaf," and felt he must retreat from

society. He even contemplated suicide: "A

little more and I would have ended my life.

Only my art held me back. It seemed to me

impossible to leave the world until I had

produced all that I felt was within me."

Can you identify the following piece?

The initial motif of the symphony

has sometimes been credited with

symbolic significance as a

representation of Fate knocking at

the door.

Go to NPR to hear it: http://www.npr.org/templates/dmg/dmg.php?mediaURL=/pt/20060605_pt_beethoven5&mediaType=RM

Für Elise

Für Elise is another famous and widely

recognized masterpiece. Unknown to

most people, this title was not the

original title of the piece. When the work was first

published in 1867, it was done under the title Klavierstück

in A mull, which translates as "Keyboard piece in A

minor." However, Beethoven had autographed the piece

in German with the title and dedication: "For Elise on

April 27, 1810, as a remembrance of L. v.

Beethoven." After its publication, people began to

recognize the work as Für Elise in accordance to its

autograph.

To hear it, go to

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BCr_Elise .

Under “The Music,” click on Für Elise next

to the speaker.

Symphony No. 9

was written when

Beethoven was completely

deaf. The last movement

is based on a poem Beethoven loved by

Friedrich Schiller called “Ode to Joy.”

Beethoven used a chorus of singers with this

work. No one before him had ever dared break

the rules of composition by adding singers to a

symphony.

He conducted the first performance of his Ninth

Symphony. He was so excited while conducting

that he rushed the pace, but the musicians

were familiar enough with the piece that they

could luckily keep up. When finished

conducting, Beethoven, with his back to the

audience and deaf, felt that his work was a

failure. What he didn’t know was that the

audience was loudly cheering for his

masterpiece. A musician near him turned him

around to see the audience’s jubilant reaction.

When asked about his hearing loss, he

responded: "I will hear in heaven."

'Sinfonia Eroica’-- Symphony No. 3

Composed in 1803

Symphony No. 5

Composed in 1807-08

Für Elise

1810

"Choral” -- Symphony No. 9

Composed in 1822-24