- Ludwig van Beethoven, detail of an oil painting by Ferdinand Waldmüller, 1823.
(1770–1827). As the composer of some of the most influential pieces of music ever written, Ludwig van Beethoven created a bridge between the 18th-century classical period and the new beginnings of Romanticism. His greatest breakthroughs in composition came in his instrumental work, including his symphonies. Unlike his predecessor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for whom writing music seemed to come easily, Beethoven always struggled to perfect his work. Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, and was baptized on Dec. 17, 1770. (There is no record of his birth date.) His father and grandfather worked as court musicians in Bonn. Ludwig's father, a singer, gave him his early musical training. Although he had only meager academic schooling, he studied piano, violin, and French horn, and before he was 12 years old he became a court organist. Ludwig's first important teacher of composition was Christian Gottlob Neefe. In 1787 he studied briefly with Mozart, and five years later he left Bonn permanently and went to Vienna to study with Joseph Haydn and later with Antonio Salieri. Beethoven's first public appearance in Vienna was on March 29, 1795, as a soloist in one of his piano concerti. Even before he left Bonn, he had developed a reputation for fine improvisatory performances. In Vienna young Beethoven soon had a long list of aristocratic patrons who loved music and were eager to help him. Onset of Deafness and Ill HealthIn the late 1700s Beethoven began to suffer from early symptoms of deafness. Around the same time he developed severe abdominal pain. By 1802 Beethoven was convinced that his deafness not only was permanent, but was getting progressively worse. He spent that summer in the country and wrote what has become known as the “Heiligenstadt Testament.” In the document, apparently intended for his two brothers, Beethoven expressed his humiliation and despair. For the rest of his life he searched for a cure for his ailments, but his abdominal distress persisted and by 1819 his deafness had become total. Afterward, in order to have conversations with his friends, Beethoven had them write down their questions and replied orally. Beethoven never married. Although he had many friends, he seemed to be a lonely man, and he was prone to irritability and dramatic mood swings. He continued to appear in public but spent more and more of his time working on his compositions. He lived in various villages near Vienna and took long walks carrying sketchbooks in which he would write down his musical ideas. Scholars who have studied these sketchbooks have discovered the agonizingly long process that the composer went through in order to perfect his melodies, harmonies, and instrumentations. Three Periods of WorkMost critics divide Beethoven's work into three general periods, omitting the earliest years of his apprenticeship in Bonn. Although some pieces do not fit exactly into the scheme, these divisions can be used to categorize the composer's work. The first period, from 1794 to about 1800, consists of music whose most salient features are typical of the classical era. The influence of such musicians as Mozart and Haydn is evident in Beethoven's early chamber music, as well as in his first two piano concerti and his first symphony. Beethoven added his own subtleties, including sudden changes of dynamics, but in general the music was well constructed and not far from the sensibilities of the classical period. The second period, from 1801 to 1814, includes much of Beethoven's improvisatory work. His Symphony No. 3, known as the “Eroica,” and the Fourth Piano Concerto are fine examples of this period. The final period, from 1814 to the end of his life, is characterized by even wider ranges of harmony and counterpoint. The last string quartets contain some of the composer's most vivid new ideas. Beethoven created longer and more complicated forms of music. In his symphonies and string quartets, he often replaced the minuet movement with a livelier scherzo. He also used improvisatory techniques, with surprise rhythmic accents and other unexpected elements. - Ludwig van Beethoven, Concerto in D Minor, violin and piano.
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata in C Sharp Minor, Opus 27, No. 2, piano.
Many critics and listeners regard Beethoven as the finest composer who ever lived. His music was unique and emotional. Never before had instrumental music been brought to such heights. He also made great strides with chamber music for piano, as well as for string quartets, trios, and sonatas. His works include nine symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, five piano concerti, 17 string quartets, ten sonatas for violin and piano, one opera ( Fidelio), the Mass in C Major, Missa Solemnis, and other chamber music. Beethoven died in Vienna on March 26, 1827. His funeral was attended by hundreds of mourners. The bicentennial of his birth and the sesquicentennial of his death were celebrated with new performances and recordings of all of the master's works. An Enduring MysteryBeethoven remained a subject of interest long after his death not only because of his music but also because of unresolved questions concerning his troubled life. An enduring topic of speculation was the cause of his debilitating illnesses and his erratic personality. In the “Heiligenstadt Testament,” the composer seemed to anticipate the interest that this subject would continue to hold: “After my death,” he wrote, “if Dr. Schmidt is still alive, ask him in my name to discover my disease…so at least as much as is possible the world may be reconciled to me after my death.” Nearly two centuries later, a scientific analysis of strands of Beethoven's hair suggested a possible answer to this lingering question. Four years of study at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill., and the McCrone Research Institute in Chicago led researchers to conclude in 2000 that Beethoven had lead poisoning, which may have caused his gastrointestinal distress, irritability, and depression and possibly contributed to his death. The cause of his deafness, however, remained more uncertain, as causal relationships between lead poisoning and the disability are rare. |