Ludwig van Beethoven: biography of the composer


Ludwig van Beethoven - German composer

Ludwig van Beethoven, a German conductor, musician and composer, is one of the most fundamental figures in musical classicism.

Years of life: 12/1770/16. – 1827.03.26.

The composer's work includes all genres that existed during the period of his activity: works for choirs, music for dramatic performances and opera.

He created brilliant works between the classical and romantic periods, remaining the last representative of the Viennese classical school.

For children, it is important to answer the question - what instrument did Beethoven play? The composer owned several musical instruments, including organ, viola, piano, piano, violin and cello.

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Ludwig van Beethoven - German composer, conductor, pianist.

Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Bonney , Germany, into a family of hereditary musicians. Father, Johann Beethoven, was an active man, sometimes hot-tempered. Worked as a singer. He contributed in every possible way to his son’s education. Mother, Maria Magdalene Keverich (nee), daughter of the chef of Elector Johann Philipp von Walderdorf.

Beethoven early mastered playing the violin, harpsichord, and organ . The first teacher, in addition to his father's home lessons, was K. Nefe, the head of the court chapel. Christian Nefe taught Beethoven the classics: Handel, Haydn, Bach, Mozart.

From the age of 12, Beethoven wrote his compositions . The first is a variation of Dressler's march. At the same age he began his musical career - he received the position of court organist. The talented young man was noticed in Vienna. Mozart, who was popular at that time, predicted a great future for the composer. Beethoven also took lessons from the famous musician.

In 1785, Beethoven was at the disposal of Max Franz II , and later moved to Vienna and gained popularity with Archduke Rudolf, Count Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz. Each of the listed rulers tried to invite Beethoven to play music at balls as often as possible.

In 1814 - the period of general popularity of the composer. The main musical activity now took place only in Vienna, although smaller cities from time to time were honored with the honor of receiving a new star of the musical Olympus of Germany.

During this period, Beethoven's previously identified illness progressed - deafness took away the opportunity to earn a living, create and enjoy life. Beethoven did not give up his concert activities until the last moment, and continued to write music even after the victory of his illness - he dictated notes to his father-in-law.

Beethoven's works of the 18th-19th centuries:

  • Sonata No. 8 for piano “Pathetique”
  • Sonata No. 14 “Moonlight” for piano;
  • Oratorio “Christ on the Mount of Olives”;
  • “Kreutzer Sonata” for violin and piano;
  • “The third symphony – dedicated to Napoleon I – “Heroic”;
  • Ode "to joy";
  • "Ninth Symphony";
  • Opera "Fidelio";

About the composer's work: the first period - the formation of a composer - is characterized by works for the organ and the general public. The works are sublime, heroic in nature, often dedicated to a patron or famous public figure.

The late period of Beethoven's work is a harmonious series of piano sonatas. There are a total of 32 of them in the composer’s arsenal. The music becomes heavier, probably overshadowed by the composer's illness, which influenced the author's worldview. His dying work, the Ninth Symphony of 1823, differs from earlier works. It became a strange and painful point in a life as short as the biography of the German composer.

Beethoven on music:

  • Music is a popular need.
  • Music is a mediator between spiritual life and real sensuality.
  • There is nothing higher, more beautiful than bringing happiness to many people.
  • The heart is the real lever of all great things. What comes from the heart must lead to the heart.

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Famous pieces of music

Throughout his creative career, Beethoven wrote a huge number of musical works, the most famous of which are:

  • 9 symphonies, only two of them received a name: the 3rd symphony “Eroic” in 1804 and the 6th symphony “Pastoral” in 1808,
  • 32 sonatas, of which 16 are for young men, and 60 pieces for piano, of which the most notable are: “Moonlight Sonata”, “Pathétique Sonata” and “Appassionata”,
  • 8 symphonic introductions to performances, one of them is No. 3 “Leonora”,
  • musical accompaniment of the performances: “King Stephen”, “Egmont” and “Coriolanus”,
  • “triple concertos” concerts for cello, violin and piano,
  • 10 pieces for violin and piano and 5 pieces for piano and cello,
  • the only opera in two parts, Fidelio,
  • the only ballet from which only the introduction (overture) is performed, “The Creation of Prometheus”,
  • "Solemn Mass"
  • No. 14 piano sonata “The Seasons”,
  • music for 40 poems and musical adaptations of songs of the peoples of Ireland and Scotland.

Brief biography of Beethoven

The information is compiled from the most important moments in the life and work of a musician.

Where he was born

In the German city of Bonn, which is located on the Rhine River, in the winter of 1770, the first-born, Ludwig, was born into the family of Johann van Beethoven and Maria Magdalene Keverich.

Father and mother

Beethoven's father and grandfather, Johann and Ludwig, were musicians and singers.

The grandfather of the future musician, Ludwig the Elder, was a Flemish singer who moved to Bonn, where he was lucky enough to become a musician at the court of the Elector of Cologne himself.

There, in the chapel, Johann, who had a pleasant tenor, got a job as a singer. There Johann meets the daughter of the cook Keverich, Maria Magdalena, with whom he later married.

Childhood

Ludwig’s childhood could not be called joyful, because after him 6 more brothers and sisters were born, and he had to help his mother with the housework.

On top of that, my father drank alcohol very often, which created a completely unhealthy atmosphere in the house.

Johann was a completely unbridled person, allowing himself to be assaulted, and in addition, the family never had enough money due to constant drinking bouts. Even his grandfather could not cope with the violent temper of Ludwig’s father, which may have later become the cause of four children’s deaths.

Alcohol, beatings, poverty and stress affected the health of the mother and the bearing of children, so everyone died almost in infancy.

Education and upbringing

On days when there was calm, Ludwig loved to listen to his grandfather's musical performance in the chapel, which did not go unnoticed by his father, who began to educate the boy in music.

But Johann’s goals were by no means noble; he was so impatient to quickly make a fortune from a talented child, so the learning process took place in a cruel atmosphere.

Ludwig was strictly forbidden to walk in the yard; he often had to spend hours playing the violin and piano, and as a form of disobedience, the father went so far as to beat the child.

On top of that, Johann limited his son’s attendance at compulsory primary education, which subsequently affected the composer’s literacy. Gaps in education are visible in the surviving records of the musician; there are serious errors in counting and spelling.

The beginning of creativity

Ludwig gives his first concert, under the supervision of his father, in Cologne, but the proceeds turned out to be too small, which greatly disappointed Johann, and he entrusts his son to study with his familiar musicians.

But Mary Magdalene tried to support her son in every possible way, inviting him to transfer the music that appeared in his head to paper.

In 1782, young Ludwig met K. G. Nefe, an organist, composer and esthete, who took patronage of the talent, making him his assistant at court. Nefe teaches Ludwig, instilling a love for music and literature, philosophy and foreign languages. The young musician dreams of meeting and working together with Mozart, and this dream was destined to come true.

In 1787, Ludwig van Beethoven made his first trip to Vienna, where he demonstrated improvisations to Mozart, who, stunned by the young man’s performance, predicted his enormous popularity in the future. After this, the maestro agreed to Beethoven’s requests to give several professional lessons.

But fate decreed otherwise. Ludwig's mother became seriously ill, and therefore had to urgently return home. Mary Magdalene dies, and Ludwig has to take full care of his two younger brothers. For his children, Johann was a bad father, he was only interested in a reckless, alcohol-soaked life, and the young musician had no choice but to turn to the Elector for help, asking for monthly financial assistance. This period of life was very difficult, suddenly complicated by typhus and smallpox.

Ludwig's unsleeping talent later allowed him to gain access to any musical gatherings and respect from wealthy families in his hometown. This allowed him to visit Vienna again in 1792, where the young man took lessons from famous composers: Haydn, Albrechtsberger, Schenck and Salieri. Using his acquaintances and knowledge, Beethoven became part of the circle of virtuoso musicians and titled persons.

True, to the pampered residents of Vienna, the composer’s music seemed very incomprehensible and monstrous, which greatly discouraged and irritated them. Then, without thinking twice, Ludwig goes to Berlin, where, as it seemed to him, he hoped to meet understanding.

Disappointment awaited there as well. Beethoven did not find what he was looking for. Corrupted morals and hypocrisy disguised as piety irritated him, and, despite the improvisations accepted by the court of Frederick II and the offer to stay in Berlin, the musician returned to his beloved Vienna. The musician did not leave there voluntarily for several years, devoting himself entirely to his notes, creating three compositions a day.

Beethoven was an open revolutionary who was not afraid to express his views to everyone and everywhere. Even his appearance screamed about it, with its unruly curls, out of fashion, not changing to please anyone. The internal and external states existed harmoniously.

This harmony of rebellion was skillfully captured on canvas in 1920 by the familiar artist Stieler.

This portrait of Beethoven is considered the most popular of all lifetime images.

At the age of 26, Beethoven suffered a real problem: hearing loss. He had previously complained of frequent irritating noises and ringing in the ears, which indicated a developing disease - tinnitus.

Doctors' advice on maintaining peace and quiet did not improve the condition at all, and the composer, in a moment of despair, wrote a will. But the demonstrated strength of character characteristic of the composer did not allow him to kill himself. Realizing his impending deafness, the maestro decided not to waste time and work on his Third Symphony - “Eroic”.

Heyday

Since 1812, Beethoven has been creating his best monumental works for cello and his beloved piano, composing Symphony No. 9, “Solemn Mass” and the cycle for vocalists “To a Distant Beloved,” and processing songs of the peoples of Scotland, Russia, and Ireland.

In 1824, the 9th Symphony was first performed in public, with the maestro receiving thunderous applause, waving scarves and hats in greeting. This was allowed only when meeting with imperial persons, so the gendarmes were not slow to stop such freedom.

last years of life

In the winter of 1826, the maestro was struck by pneumonia, in addition to dropsy and jaundice. The fight against the disease continued for about three months, but this time it turned out to be weaker, and early in the morning Beethoven died.

He was only 56 years old. An autopsy showed that the maestro had by that time developed cirrhosis of the liver and pancreatitis.

The funeral procession of thousands saw off their beloved unique composer in complete silence. At the burial site, a pyramidal monument was erected with the image of a lyre, the sun and the name of the genius on it.

The beginning of a great journey

In 1780, the boy finally found his first real friend. Pianist and organist Christian Gottlieb Nefe became his teacher. Beethoven's biography (you are reading a summary of it now) pays a lot of attention to this person. Nefe’s intuition suggested that the boy was not just a good musician, but a brilliant personality capable of conquering any heights.

And the training began. The teacher approached the learning process creatively, helping the student develop impeccable taste. They spent hours listening to the best works by Handel, Mozart, Bach. Nefe strictly criticized the boy, but the gifted child was distinguished by narcissism and self-confidence. Therefore, sometimes stumbling blocks arose, however, later Beethoven highly appreciated the teacher’s contribution to the formation of his own personality.

In 1782, Nefe went on a long vacation, and he appointed eleven-year-old Ludwig as his deputy. The new position was not easy, but the responsible and intelligent boy coped well with this role. Beethoven's biography contains a very interesting fact. The summary says that when Nefe returned, he discovered how skillfully his protégé handled the hard work. And this contributed to the fact that the teacher left him nearby, giving him the position of his assistant.

Soon the organist had more responsibilities, and he transferred some of it to young Ludwig. Thus, the boy began to earn 150 guilders a year. Johann's dream came true; his son became support for the family.

Interesting facts about Beethoven

There are several interesting facts about Beethoven:

  1. Due to hearing loss, the composer comes up with a way to hear the sound: he holds one end of a thin flat stick in his teeth, and leans the other against the edge of the instrument and feels the note through the vibration that appears.
  2. When the disease took hold of his hearing, the deaf musician created a “conversation notebook” through which people communicated with him. Since the musician was not an admirer of people in power, he spoke about them in every possible way with unflattering and sometimes terrible words. This was dangerous, since at that time the royal spies were scurrying everywhere, and Beethoven’s friends constantly warned him in notebooks about their presence. But the maestro’s irony and lack of restraint did not allow him to remain silent, to which the answer was written to him in the notebook - “The scaffold is crying for you!” Some of these notebooks were destroyed.
  3. Vienna-based forensic pathologist and expert Reuters conducted an analysis of Beethoven's hair in 2007, which showed that the cause of the maestro's death was lead poisoning due to improper treatment.
  4. Unlike his contemporary, the composer Rossini, who covered himself with a blanket to compose, Beethoven stimulated his brain by pouring ice water over his head.

Significant event

Beethoven's biography for children describes an important moment in the boy's life, perhaps a turning point. In 1787, he had a meeting with the legendary figure – Mozart. Perhaps the extraordinary Amadeus was not in the mood, but the meeting upset young Ludwig. He played the piano for a recognized composer, but heard only dry and restrained praise addressed to him. Nevertheless, he told his friends: “Pay attention to him, he will make the whole world talk about himself.”

But the boy did not have time to be upset about this, because news arrived of a terrible event: his mother was dying. This is the first real tragedy that Beethoven's biography speaks of. For children, the death of a mother is a terrible blow. The weakened woman found the strength to wait for her beloved son and died soon after his arrival.

Outstanding Achievement by a Musician

Ludwig van Beethoven played an outstanding role in the development of the musical genres of his predecessors. He allowed as much freedom as possible into the performance of quartets, symphonies and sonatas, creating a sense of space and time.

The composer introduced each instrument with his works in such a way that the performer simply had to master it thoroughly.

Thus the harpsichord was pushed aside, which made the piano the main instrument, which with its expanded range extinguishes its modest grace and requires professional dedication.

The composer also introduced an innovation into the melody - an unexpected impulsive and contrasting performance, with changes in tempos and rhythms, which was sometimes difficult for contemporaries to accept.

Beethoven became a musical revolutionary, eclipsing the former traditional orientation with his creations, creating a new direction in the art of music.

Option 2

Many geniuses had a rather difficult fate and perhaps it was thanks to this that they became what they became. A very typical example is the biography of Ludwig van Beethoven, who seemed to many people of his time to be an introverted misanthrope, although in reality he was completely immersed in his music, he existed for the sake of music and ultimately left his works for centuries.

He was born in the city of Bonn in December 1770 in the family of a poor soloist of the court chapel. Ludwig was left without a mother quite early, and the family had two more younger brothers. At the same time, the composer’s father was an alcoholic and rather despotic, since he taught young Beethoven music from childhood in order to make him into a kind of Mozart and make money from it.

Such selfish goals actually bore fruit and not only banal benefits, but also the development of the talent of the young composer. Beethoven wrote his first composition at the age of 12, and at the age of 20 he composed a ballet.

Beethoven initially did not receive a classical education due to his position and the need to earn money from an early age. Nevertheless, he mastered music well on his own, improvised a lot, and thereby attracted connoisseurs of the art of his time. This fact allowed him to go to Vienna (the musical center of the time) in 1792 and become part of the creative elite.

His gloomy figure was reflected in all the composer’s music; the works always had some kind of harsh atmosphere, which is still considered a distinctive component of these creations. His character was also influenced by deafness, which gradually set in from the age of 26, but Beethoven skillfully hid this illness for about 10 years, although it was deafness that largely influenced his behavior and works. However, the musician is looking for a way to create new music, he is immersed in his own world, which allows him to create, being practically deaf, and create incredibly rich works.

Beethoven remained poor throughout almost his entire earthly career; he did not have a wife, but some of his works appeared due to tender feelings for some students. In particular, the famous Moonlight Sonata is just such a work. In 1826, the composer contracted an illness and in 1827 left this world, as they say, sitting in his house and watching a thunderstorm outside the window.

4th grade. By music

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