A contemporary in the 18th century, this is the title one can give to the illustrious and talented composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who not only created music but also an understanding of the importance of freedom and independence. Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1700 in Bonn, Germany to a family of musical talents. While his birthday is not specified in most of his biographies, he was baptized on December 17, 1770. Ludwig was named after his grandfather, who was a choir director for the Church of St. Pierre in Louvain, Belgium. Ludwig’s parents were Johann van Beethoven and Maria Magdalena Keverich, who had a relationship despite Ludwig Sr’s vehement protests that Keverich was not fit for his son Johann who belongs to the nobility. Sadly Johann and Maria did not have a happy relationship, but they had seven children with three only reaching adulthood. These three were Ludwig, Kaspar, and Nikolaus. Ludwig inherited his father and grandfather’s talent in music as he started learning music when he was four or five years old. He first learned how to learn a violin and a clavier under his strict and abusive tutor, his father . Throughout his father’s tutoring, Ludwig learnt how to play any piece his father gives him. However, Johann knew it was not enough for Ludwig to become a maestro in his own right. He then began to search for teachers to see if Ludwig had other musical talents such as composing. It was through Tobias Pfeifer that Ludwig learnt piano and with Franz Rovantini for the violin. In 1779, Ludwig became the student of Bonn opera director Christian Gottlob Neefe. Neefe saw Ludwig’s talent and eventually employed him to be his assistant and as orchestral cembalist in 1781. The positions allowed Ludwig to understand the complexities of operas and chamber and orchestral music. Three years after his employment, he was named by Maximilian Franz as deputy organist. Ludwig then began to visit other neighboring countries starting with Vienna, Austria in 1787. In Austria, he met with fellow composer and maestro Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who in some records became his mentor for a short period. Mozart even noted that Beethoven was the one to watch for in the future .
Vienna, by the time Ludwig moved from Bonn, was becoming a musical capital for many artists and musicians. It is in Vienna where he first began his first public concerts such as the one in Burgtheater in March 1795, a piano concerto in B, op. 19. Ludwig also did his first piano trios with the help of publisher Artaria. In May 1795, the first piano sonata op. 1 was released with the second released the next year. The second sonata has been dedicated to Haydn and met a positive response. In 1796, Ludwig began several concerts around Europe, starting in Prague to Bratislava. It was in Berlin where he composed two cello sonatas in 1797 as op. 5. In the next year, Ludwig published several chambers and keyboard masterpieces, opp 7, 9 and 10. By 1799, he published op. 18 string quartets, followed by the First Symphony concert in Burgtheater in April 1800. Ludwig dedicated the Moonlight Sonata or the op. 27, no. 2 in 1801 to Guilietta Guicciardi. The 1800s also paved the way for Ludwig to create the Septet op. 20, 6 String Quartets op. 18, the Pathetique op. 13, 2 additional violin sonatas opp. 23 and 24, and finally the Die Geschopfe des Prometheus. Sadly, it was around 1801 when Ludwig acknowledged the fact that he was going deaf. Nonetheless, this did not stop him from creating works such as the Piano Concerto no. 3, the Eroica and his only opera piece, Fidelio in 1805.
Beethoven can be classed alongside Handel, Haydn and Mozart due to their harmonies as his works presented to the listeners Ludwig’s mind and his mind. He also presented in his music the uniqueness of man that could change with several tones and pitches. In his later years, Ludwig found a new spiritual calling with his music. In 1812-1813, he used his music as a means of self-expression. His work in this period that signified his transition was the Wellington’s Victory in 1813. He slowly waned in 1815-1817 as several tragedies befell on Ludwig’s life due to the death of his brother Caspar and guardianship issues over his nephews. He still managed to continue several works that made their names in history such as the Hammerklavier Sonata, and the Missa solemnis. In his last years, Ludwig found himself to be struggling with illnesses while taking care of his nephew and working on string quartets. He sadly died on March 26, 1827 at the age of 57 due to liver damage. While there are still controversies about his cause of death, Ludwig van Beethoven made his mark known as one of the maestros of classical music.
Works Cited
Cooper, Barry. Beethoven. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
Hubbard, W.L. The American History and Encyclopedia of Music: Musical Biographies Part One. Whitefish: Kessinger Publishing, 2005. Print.
Randel, Don Michael. The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996. Print.
Skowroneck, Tilman. Beethoven the Pianist. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print.
Viegas, Jennifer. Beethoven's World. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 2008. Print.
