Ludwig Van Beethoven

Ludwig Van Beethoven Biography

Ludwig Van Beethoven was a composer, pianist, and conductor, born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. Beethoven was baptized on December 17, 1770, which is why historians place his birth a day earlier, on December 16 of 1770. Ludwig Van Beethoven has been considered the greatest composer of all time by many specialized critics.

Beethoven was deaf and yet managed to compose the greatest symphonies in history. From an early age, he was an exceptional pianist and managed to elevate classical music like no one had ever done before.

Ludwig Van Beethoven was the first son of Johann Van Beethoven and Maria Magdalena Keverich, who had two more children: Karl Kaspar and Nikolaus Johann.

Beethoven’s childhood can be considered particularly difficult. He did not have a functional home, due to the father figure, who assumed dictatorial attitudes mired in alcoholism. His father had had a musical career without transcendence, so he managed in a despotic manner to force Beethoven to triumph in the musical field at a very early age.

Throughout history, not all the cases in which the parents pretend to satisfy their frustrations by influencing excessively in the life of their children have had remarkable results. However, and despite the constant pressure exerted by Beethoven’s father, Ludwig showed an innate talent, very exceptional, especially the with the piano.

In 1778, at the age of eight, Beethoven gave his first concert in Cologne, Germany, sponsored by the elector of the city, who at the same time gave him the job as the organist, where he began a childhood dedicated exclusively to music.

It is often said about Beethoven that he used to be lonely, romantic and hostile; and a great part of his personality was forged in the adolescence, time in which the music occupied his absolute dedication, moving away from the friends, the games, and immersed in a much more complex familiar atmosphere still.

“Consider difficulties as stepping stones to a better life.” Ludwig Van Beethoven.

In 1787, helped by the elector, Beethoven traveled to Vienna (Austria), a journey that would change the course of his life. Nevertheless, a great part of their aspirations undergoes a remarkable impact after the death of his mother they would go back to Bonn.

After his return to Bonn, Beethoven finds a Dantesque picture in his family. His father succumbed absolutely to alcohol, which did not let him keep a stable job and support his brothers. So then, Beethoven assumes the responsibilities of home, plays the violin and gives piano lessons to support his family, likewise accumulates for a little more than five years, a great resentment and a remarkable frustration.

For Ludwig Van Beethoven, Bonn represents his suffering, not only in childhood but also in adolescence. It symbolizes the pain of his mother and dreams of the possibility of traveling.

In 1792, the elector would finance Beethoven’s return to Vienna, which was known as “the European capital of music.” Beethoven in Vienna received classes from who was the teacher of the already consecrated Mozart, the famous composer Salieri

. Also, he received classes from Haydn, considered a musical eminence.

At the age of twenty-five, Beethoven would compose his first considerable works: Pathetic and Moonlight, which catapulted him to the point of being able to offer for the first time a concert in public as a professional composer.

The success of Beethoven was already resounding in all Vienna and surroundings. The clergy, the nobility, and the court celebrated his compositions. Beethoven, concerned that his success will be eclipsed by the figure of his teacher Haydn, separated from his classes and begins to receive them in secret from Schenk and Albrechstberger. Regarding his style, Beethoven combined classicism and romanticism perfectly, in his intention to compose for the nobility and the church; already by those times, Beethoven thought about composing for himself, abandoning a little his style, acquiring an epic tone.

The fact that Mozart died years before immersed in the acutest poverty, motivated the Austrian aristocracy to protect Beethoven; to whom an annual annuity was assigned. In addition, the editors valued his works in high economic sums.

Ludwig Van Beethoven would begin to face two new ghosts: his constant amorous disappointments, and, a loss of auditory capacity that would become more severe until it became total deafness. Beethoven then is decidedly devoted to his career as a composer, leaving an invaluable legacy for history.

In 1805, he premiered his work Fidelio, his only composition for opera, which would not become popular until 1816. Three years later, Vienna and Europe celebrate his 5th Symphony, his supreme work.

“Without introduction, its four movements range from the tense construction of the first to the solemnity of the second, passing through the instrumental tension of the third and the apotheosis of the fourth, an unheard-of crescendo of more than 50 measures.”

In 1824, after having composed 8 symphonies, Beethoven successfully premiered his glorious and magnificent 9th symphony, the famous choral. “it is called choral because of the vocal choir of the 4th movement, the famous ode to joy, a poem by Schiller adapted by Beethoven.”

Ludwig Van Beethoven would pass away in Vienna on March 26, 1827, at the age of 57.