The life of Ludwig van Beethoven:
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Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn (Germany) on december 16th-17th, 1770 and died on March 26th, 1827. He was a well known german composer and pianist. In his early 20's he relocated to Vienna and stayed there. He studied with Joseph Haydn and swifly gained a reputation as a virtuose pianist. In the late 1790's his hearing began to deteriorate and eventually he became completely deaf, but that never stopped him from composing any of his masterpieces.
Ludwig van Beethoven was the grandson of bass singer Lodewijk van Beethoven (1712-1773) who was of Flemish origin. The father of Ludwig van Beethoven was Johann van Beethoven (1740-1792). Johann was a tenor and a piano/violin teacher. So it's obvious musical talents were common in this family. Johann van Beethoven had 7 children in total, however only 3 boys survived: Ludwig, Caspar Anton Carl and Nikolaus Johann.
Ludwig was born at Bonn, Bonngasse 20, which is now the Beethoven-Haus Museum. He was baptized on the 17th of December 1770 so he was likely born the day before eventhough there are no birth records left to prove this. He was baptized as a Roman Catholic.
Beethoven was taught music by his dad but he had other local teachers as well : The court organist Gilles van den Eeden, the friend of the family Tobias Friedrich Pfeiffer (who taught Ludwig to play the piano) and lastly Franz Rovantini (who was a relative and who taught Ludwig the violin). Soon it became obvious that Beethoven was a natural when it came to music and Johann who was aware of this fact tried to exploit his son as a child prodigy. He even claimed his son was 6 when he did his first public performance in March 1778, but Ludwig was in fact 7 at the time.
In 1779 Beethoven began to study composition with his most important teacher: The Court Organist Christial Gottlob Neefe. In 1783 he finished and published his first composition (WoO 63). He also published 3 piano sonatas in the same year ("Kurfürst") which were dedicated to Elector Maximilian Frederick who in fact financially supported Beethoven because he acknowledged the amazing talent he had.
Later in 1787 Beethoven traveled to Vienna in the hopes of learning and studying with Mozart. There are no records however if they ever met or not. Regrettably while in Vienna he learned that his mother was seriously ill so he decided to return to Bonn. His mother died soon after and his father descended into alcoholism. As a result Ludwig decided to take care of his 2 younger brothers so he stayed in Bonn for another 5 years.
Later he met the von Breuning family where Beethoven learned more about german and classical literature. In the same years he became friends with Count Ferdinand von Waldstein who also was his financial supporter.
In 1792 Beethoven moved to Vienna to study with Joseph Haydn. In the following years Beethoven composed a variety of works but they weren't published (most of them are now listed as works without opus). Rather then immediately establishing himself as a composer he started out with playing the piano and took some more violin lessons from Ignaz Schuppanzigh.
Beethoven decided to stay in Vienna and got financial support from a number of noblemen such as Prince Joseph Franz Lobkowitz, Prince Karl Lichnowsky and baron Gottfried van Swieten. In 1793, Beethoven got the reputation as a piano virtuoso. In 1795 Beethoven did his first public piano concerto performance. Shortly after he published the first of his compositions to which he assigned an opus number (The piano trios of Opus1) and they were a (financial) success. He dedicated the works to his patron Prince Lichnowsky.
1796 was the year that Beethoven decided to embark with Lichnowsky on a tour of central european cultural centers to show off his virtuoso. Prague, Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin all got to see Beethoven's compositions and piano performings. In Berlin he composed 2 cello sonatos (Opus 5) and dedicated them to King Friedrich Wilhelm II. Again the tours were a financial success so Beethoven decided to embark on a new tour in November that same year visiting Pressburg and Pest.
In 1797 he stayed in Vienna to compose but got struck by a serious disease (likely Typhus) in the summer of that year. Around this time he also started to notice the deterioration of his hearing abilities. This was also the reason that Beethoven stopped touring after 1798.
Beethoven composed his first 6 string quartets (Opus 18) between 1798 and 1800, and published/dedicated them to Prince Lobkowitz in 1801. His First Symphony was also around that time. He also completed his Septet (Opus 20) in 1799 which was a highly popular work.
Beethoven's work was influenced by both Haydn's and Mozart's works but was unique and genious all together. In 1800 Beethoven's music was highly in demand by patrons and publishers.
Around that time Beethoven was introduced to Giuletta Guicciardi. They had a mutual love relationship. He also dedicated his sonato No.14 to Giuletta, also known as the Moonlight Sonata. They had marriage plans but the father of Giuletta didn't allow this marriage. In 1803 she married Count Wenzel Robert von Gallenberg (1783-1839).
Besides composing Beethoven also gave piano lessons to the daughters of Hungarian Countess Anna Brunsvik. This is where Beethoven met Josephine. But Josephine married Count Josef Deym shortly after and had 4 children with him. It was not a happy marriage. After Deym died in 1804 it was no surprise that Beethoven's relationship with Josephine intensified. Some evidence says that Beethoven may have proposed to her after the death of Deym. She turned the marriage proposal down eventhough the feelings were mutual (most likely because she was born of nobility and he was a commoner). The relationship ended in 1807.
In 1812 Beethoven was at Teplitz since he was ill and needed some time off to get better. It was there that he wrote 3 love letters to an "Immortal Beloved" which was most likely Antonie Brentano, a married woman he met in 1810.
Beethoven started to educate more students including Ferdinand Ries (who became a composer later and wrote the book "Beethoven Remembered") and Carl Czerny (who became a renowned music teacher and also taught Franz Liszt).
In 1801 Beethoven completed a ballet called The Creatures of Prometheus which was a tremendous success. In the spring of 1802 he completed the Second Symphony, which was performed in April 1803 along with the Third Piano Concerto and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives. Around that time his brother Carl also became a more important part in his life as the manager of his financial affairs.
Beethoven's financial situation continued to improve but his hearing continued to deteriorate. He was diagnosed with "tinnitus", a "ringing" in his ears that makes it hard to perceive and appreciate music. For this reason he also avoided a lot of conversations. On advice of the doctor he started living in the small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt to try to come to terms with his condition. Beethoven becoming deaf didn't stop him from composing but made playing at concerts more difficult. In 1811 he had a failed attempt to perform his own Piano Concerto and as a result he never played in public again. By 1814 Beethoven was basically completely deaf. Because of this Beethoven kept and maintained conversation books. When his friends talked to him they would write it in his book so Beethoven could communicate with them. They are now used as a source for investigation into his thinking and emotions but unfortunately 264 out of 400 conversation books were destroyed and some are altered.
Archduke Rudolph was arguably the most important patron in the life of Beethoven. Rudolph was the son of Emperor Leopold II, who started in 1804 to study piano and composition with Beethoven. Beethoven dedicated 14 compositions to Rudolph including the Archduke trio (1811) and his great Missa Solemnis (1823). Rudolph also dedicated one of his own compositions to Beethoven.
In 1808 Beethoven received an offer for a position as Kapellmeister at the court in Cassel. This offer came directly from the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, Jérôme Bonaparte. Beethoven's friends and patrons Rudolph, Count Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz promised Beethoven a pension of 4000 florins a year if he stayed in Vienna instead. Beethoven stayed but in the end only Rudolph payed his share. So Beethoven had to financially rely on selling composition rights as well.
At some point Beethoven said "I am not satisfied with the work I have done so far. From now on I intend to take a new way". This is where the Third Symphony in E flat originated from ("Eroica"). Its reviews were mixed however. The middle period works include the Third through Eight Symphonies, the "Waldstein" and "Appassionata" piano sonatas, the string quartets 7 to 11, Christ on the Mount of Olives, the opera Fidelio, the Violin Concerto, and many others. All these works contributed to Beethoven's reputation as a great composer.
At the start of 1813 Beethoven had some serious emotional issues that caused a delay in new compositions. Most historians believe it is caused by his lack of success in the romance department. His brother Carl got sick in 1813 so Beethoven decided to take care of his brother. All of this resulted in financial issues since Beethoven used all his money to take care of his brother.
In June 1813 Beethoven started to compose again and created Wellington's Victory. It was premiered that year along with his Seventh Symphony. It was a hit. He also composed a piano sonato for the first time in 5 years (No.27, Opus 90).
The period 1815-1817 was a slow one. Beethoven got sick with a fever that lasted for more than a year. His brother Carl was sick as well and Beethoven spent a lot of his own money on the care of his brother. Carl died on November 15th, 1815. After the funeral Beethoven started fighting for the custody of Karl (son of his brother Carl and Johanna) since he considered Johanna unfit for the task. It was a long struggle and Beethoven stopped at nothing to blacken the name of Johanna and eventually got full custody. Beethoven only produced a couple of works in this period: 2 cello sonatas, a piano sonata and a collection of folk song settings. He started to work on the Ninth Symphony in 1817.
In 1818 Beethoven's health got better once again eventhough his hearing was almost completely gone. He composed the Hammerklavier Sonata during that time.
In 1819 he began to work on the Diabelli Variations and the Missa Solemnis. The missa was completed in 1823. Money was slowly pouring in again in 1822 which helped Beethoven finish his Ninth Symphony. It was premiered on May 7th, 1824. It was a huge success (though not financially).
Beethoven then finished writing the string quartets for Golitsin, also known as the Late Quartets. The work was considered too far ahead of its time. His health was getting worse at the same time and in April 1825 he was bedridden for one month. After he got better he completed the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Sixteenth Quartets.
Sadly illness struck again and for the last time. Beethoven was staying in bed for most of his remaining months. Many friends came to visit and on March 16th, 1827 he died during a thunderstorm. A later autopsy revealed that he had serious liver damage caused by heavy alcohol consumption but at this day there's still a dispute about the actual cause of his death: Alcoholism, infectious hepatitis, lead poisining, syphilis, sarcoidosis or Whipple's disease.
Around 20,000 Viennese citizens came to the funeral of Beethoven on March 29th, 1827. He was buried in the Währing cemetery in Vienna. In 1888 his remains were moved to Vienna's Zentralfriedhof.
Beethoven suffered a lot from his bad health. He was dealing with hearing loss, which eventually led to complete deafness. He might also have suffered from bipolar disorder and irritability from chronic abdominal pain. Nevertheless he had a strong character which was often mentioned by many of his close friends.
Beethoven was baptized as a Roman Catholic but he was interested in the views of the Enlightenment. It has been suggested but not proven that Beethoven was a Freemason.
Beethoven's work for orchestra includes 9 symphonies and about a dozen pieces of occassional music. He wrote 9 concerti, 4 shorter works and one opera (Fidelio). His compositions for piano include 32 piano sonatos (and lots of shorter pieces), and he also created 10 violin sonatas, 5 cello sonatas, a french horn sonata and numerous lieder.
He also wrote chamber music: 16 string quartets, 5 works for string quintet, seven for piano trio and about a dozen for a variety of wind instruments.
In his early period he was influenced by Haydn and Mozart. Important works: First and Second Symphonies, Opus 18, Opus 13, the first 2 piano concertos and the first dozen piano sonatas.
In his middle period he focuses on Heroism and struggle. Important works: Six symphonies (3-8), the last 3 piano concertos, the Triple Concerto and the Violin Concerto, five string quartets (7-11), several piano sonatas (including moonligh sonata, Waldstein and Appassionata), the Kreutzer violin sonata and Beethoven's only opera Fidelio.
In his late period he focuses on intellectual depth and personal expressions. Important works: The String Quartet, Opus 131, the Ninth Symphony, Missa Solemnis, the last five string quartets and the last five piano sonatas.
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