Beethoven Performances

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Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer. A composer is someone who writes music. He was born in the city of Bonn, which is now in Germany. Very little is known about Beethoven’s childhood. He was baptized on December 17, 1770 and was probably born a few days before that. Beethoven's father was a musician who worked at the court of the Elector of Cologne. Though at first quite prosperous, the Beethoven family became steadily poorer with the death of his grandfather in 1773 and the decline of his father into alcoholism. By age 11 Beethoven had to leave school. At 18 he was responsible for earning money to support his family. 

His father, a singer, gave him his first lessons in piano and violin. 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. He also began to write music and take lessons in composition. In 1787 he went to Vienna, Austria, intending to study with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. However, Beethoven soon received news that his mother was dying, and he had to return home. Five years later he left Bonn permanently and went to Vienna to study with Joseph Haydn and later with Antonio Salieri.

Beethoven’s first concert in Vienna was on March 29, 1795, as a piano soloist. Even before he left Bonn, he had developed a reputation for fine performances. In Vienna young Beethoven soon had a long list of rich patrons who loved music and were eager to help him.  In 1800 he gave his first public concert with his own music., where he conducted his First Symphony. By now several publishers were trying to persuade him to let them publish his new works. Beethoven was becoming famous as a composer. During this period Beethoven produced his most famous piano sonata: "Moonlight Sonata". This was written for his girlfriend, 16-year-old Giulietta Guicciardi. When he asked for Giulietta's marriage, her parents refused and married her to another 20-year-old man instead. 

Beethoven continued to write compositions: a Violin Concerto, symphonies, piano concertos, string quartets and chamber music. Two of his greatest symphonies were produced in 1806: Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 6 "Pastorale". The first one was known for its dark and deep tone, especially in its first movement. The second was famous for its depiction of the countryside. He earned money by making rich people happy, with his music, dedicating works to them in return for fees, and by selling his music to publishers. Occasionally he earned money from concerts. It was not a regular income. He would have liked the job of Kapellmeister to the emperor. He was not able to get this job, but in 1809 three rich aristocrats: the Archduke Rodolph, Prince Lobkowitz and Prince Kinsky gave him an income for the rest of his life on condition that he stayed in Vienna. This meant that Beethoven did not have to worry so much about money

In a letter dated June 29, 1801, Beethoven told a friend in Bonn about a terrible secret he had for some time. He knew that he was becoming deaf. He was finding it hard to hear what people were saying. Just at the moment when he was starting to become known as one of the greatest of all composers, it was a terrible blow to realize that he was losing his hearing.

By 1814, Beethoven had reached the height of his fame. The Viennese people thought of him as the greatest living composer, and he was often invited by royal people to their palaces. It was the year in which he played his famous Piano Trio Op. 97 The Archduke. That was the last time he played the piano in public. His deafness was making it impossible to continue.

Beethoven never married. Although he had many friends, he seemed to be a lonely man, and he was often irritable and known for 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. 

Most critics divide Beethoven’s work into three general periods, leaving out the earliest years of his apprenticeship in Bonn.

The first period, from 1794 to about 1800, includes music generally typical of the classical era. The influence of such musicians as Mozart and Haydn is evident in Beethoven’s early work, though he added his own subtleties, including sudden changes of dynamics.

The second period, from 1801 to 1814, includes works which expanded in length, complexity, and depth of feeling. His Third Symphony, known as the Eroica, and Fourth Piano Concerto are fine examples of this period.

The final period, from 1814 to the end of his life, is characterized by a concentration of musical ideas and 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, including his titanic Ninth Symphony.

His Ninth Symphony is called the Choral Symphony because there is a choir and soloists in the last movement. At the time people did not understand this either, because a symphony is normally a work for orchestra, not a work with singers. Beethoven chose the words for the symphony from a poem by the German poet Friedrich Schiller: Ode to Joy. It is all about living together in peace and harmony, so that it sends an important message to people. This is why it has been chosen in recent years as the National Anthem for the European Union. The Ninth Symphony was performed at a concert on May 7, 1824. After the performance the audience applauded enthusiastically, but Beethoven could not hear the applause and one of the singers had to turn him around so that he could see that people were clapping.

Many critics and listeners regard Beethoven as the finest composer who ever lived. His music was unique and emotional. Never before had instrumental music, which had previously been considered inferior to vocal music, been brought to such heights. His works include nine symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, five piano concerti, 17 string quartets, a violin concerto, 10 sonatas for violin and piano, and an opera.

Beethoven died in Vienna on March 26, 1827. His funeral was attended by around 20,000 people. More has been written about Beethoven than any other composer, and he is likely the most famous of them all. The masterpieces he created continue to be performed nearly two centuries after his death.