Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized December 17, 1770 - March 26, 1827) was a classical composer. Many people believe he was the single greatest composer of all time. He is undoubtedly one of the best known and most loved. His most famous works include his 5th Symphony, 9th Symphony, the piano piece "Für Elise", the "Pathètique" Sonata and the "Moonlight" Sonata.

Biography

Beethoven was born in Bonn, Holy Roman Empire (present-day Germany). His mother was Magdalena Keverich and his father was Johann Beethoven. They named their son after his grandfather. Beethoven's musical talent manifested itself early, and his father attempted, unsuccessfully, to exploit the boy as a prodigy.

Beethoven moved to Vienna when he was 22, where he studied under Franz Joseph Haydn. In Vienna he earned a reputation as a piano virtuoso and improvisor, and began publishing his own compositions soon after. By the early 1800s he had established his reputation as a great and daring composer.

Beethoven began to lose his hearing at least by 1801. He continued composing nonetheless, and his 9th Symphony, amongst many other works, was composed after he had become totally deaf. His hearing problems were accompanied by a severe form of tinnitus. The cause of his deafness is not known for certain, but has been attributed to syphilis, lead poisoning, a chill he caught in 1796 which lead to a disease believed to be typhus, or possibly even his habit of immersing his head in cold water to stay awake.

Musical style and innovations

Beethoven is viewed as a transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history. Above all, his works distinguish themselves from those of any prior composer through his creation of large, long architectonic structures characterized by the extensive development of musical material, themes, and motifs, usually by means of "modulation" (key change) through a variety of keys or harmonic regions. This expanded harmonic realm creates a sense of a vast musical and experiential space through which the music moves, and the development of musical material creates a sense of unfolding drama in this space. In this way Beethoven's music parallels the simultaneous development of the novel in literature, a literary form focused on the life drama and development of one or more individuals through complex life circumstances, and of contemporaneous German idealism's philosophical notion of self, mind, or spirit that unfolds through a complex process of contradictions and tensions between the subjective and objective until a resolution or synthesis occurs in which all of these contradictions and developmental phases have been resolved or encompassed in a higher unity. Whereas the development section of a sonata movement by Mozart or Haydn, Beethoven's major immediate predecessors and influences, is usually at most a few measures to a few minutes long, Beethoven's development sections may last as long as ten minutes. The first movement alone of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony is as long as an entire typical several-movement Mozart symphony.

Although Beethoven wrote many beautiful and lyrical melodies, another radical innovation of his music, compared especially to that of Mozart and Haydn, is his extensive use of forceful, marked, and even stark rhythmic patterns throughout his compositions and, in particular, in his themes and motifs, some of which are primarily rhythmic rather than melodic. Some of his most famous themes, such as those of the first movements of the 3d, 5th, and 9th Symphonies, are primarily non-melodic rhythmic figures consisting of notes of a single chord, and the themes of the last movements of the 3d and 7th Symphonies could more accurately be described as rhythms than as melodies. This use of rhythm was particularly well suited to the primacy of development in Beethoven's music, since a single rhythmic pattern can more easily than a melody be taken through a succession of different, even remote keys and harmonic regions while retaining and conveying an underlying unity.

He continued a trend towards larger orchestras that has persisted through the history of classical music. In his 5th Symphony he introduced a striking motif in the very opening bar, which he echoed in various forms in all four movements of the symphony, and also ran the third movement into the fourth without interruption. Both features were innovations. His 9th Symphony included a chorus in the 4th movement for the first time.

He wrote one opera, Fidelio. It has been said that he wrote beautiful choral music without regard for the limitations of human singers, treating the voice as if it were a symphonic instrument.

Beethoven's development and works are typically divided into three periods: an early, youthful period in which his works show especially the influence of Mozart and Haydn; a middle, mature period in which he developed his distinctive individual, mature style, sometimes characterized as "heroic"; and a late period, in which he wrote works of a highly evolved, individuated, sometimes fragmented and unorthodox style sometimes characterized as "transcendent" and "sublime".

In contrast to Mozart, he labored visibly over his work, leaving intermediate drafts that provide considerable insight into his creative process. Early drafts of his 9th Symphony used rough vertical marks on the score in place of actual notes, to indicate the structure he had in mind for the melody.

Personal beliefs and their musical influence

Beethoven was much taken by the ideals of the Enlightenment. He initially dedicated his third symphony, the Eroica, to Napoleon in the belief that the general would sustain the democratic ideals of the French Revolution, but later crossed out the dedication as Napoleon's imperial ambitions became clear. The fourth movement of his Ninth Symphony is a setting of Schiller's ode An die Freude ("To Joy"), an optimistic hymn championing the brotherhood of humanity.

Symphonies

Beethoven completed nine numbered symphonies. His first symphony, in C, is reliant upon Haydn models. His Symphony No. 2 in D extends Beethoven's understanding of the symphony. His first famous symphony was No. 3 in E-flat, better known as the Eroica. Originally dediated to the French First Consul, Napoleon, Beethoven angrily ripped off the dedication after the Frenchman declared himself emperor.

The Symphony No. 4 in B-flat is a remarkable example of good humor. Even more famous in Symphony No. 5 in C minor, which starts with a famous piece which people say sounds like fate knocking at the door. The sixth symphony, in F, is better known as the Pastoral. It is based on country life, and made up of five movements, of which the most famous are the Andante molto mosso, Scene by the Brook, and the first Allegro, Merry Gathering of Country Folk.

The seventh and eighth symphonies are more rhythmic, the second movement of the eighth being based on the metronome, an invention by Beethoven's friend Johann Maelzel. The final complete symphony is Symphony No. 9 in D minor, composed in 1823 (and occasionally referred to as Choral), whose last movement, as mentioned, was a setting of Schiller's poem celebrating joy. A choir and four vocal soloists appear in this movement.

Beethoven also made sketches for a tenth symphony (Barry Cooper later made a performing version of its first movement, though it is mainly conjecture). He also composed the so-called "Battle Symphony", Wellington's Victory, work in two movements commemorating the Duke of Wellington's defeat of Napoleon in Spain. It is considered to be something of a pot-boiler, and less than satisfactory.

Works

Beethoven's greatest works are the 32 piano sonatas and Diabelli Variations, the nine symphonies, the five piano concertos, the violin concerto, the Missa Solemnis and the late string quartets. For a complete list, see List of works by Beethoven.