Ludwig van Beethoven

1770-1827
The Greatest Composer of All Times

(Who was also brutally punished by his father)

Sumedha Manabarana

Ludwig van Beethoven was born on 17 December, 1770 in the Beethoven-Haus in Bonngasse 515, Germany. He is widely considered as the greatest composer of all times. As a child, Beethoven was very shy. But he showed signs of remarkable musical talents at a very young age as five. He published his first composition at the age of twelve.

House where Beethoven was born

His parents lived separated from their relatives under rather tight circumstances. That his baptismal feature took place on the next-door neighbour's house testifies to their hard times. He studied some reading, writing, arithmetic and Latini at the Bonn Tirocinium. In 1781, he left school to study music with his most important teacher Christian Gottlob Neefe. Beethoven said "Music comes to me more readily than words."

His father, Johann van Beethoven, was an average court singer who sang in the chapel of the Archbishop of Cologne. He was liquored in every cheek most of the time. He wanted Beethoven to be the next Mozart. He was often thinking how Leopold and Maria Pertl Mozart travelled around Europe with their 7 year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performing concerts, bringing in money and fame. Beethoven was talented, but musically he was no Mozart. Beethovens father was over ambitious. He wanted Beethoven to show skills which were far beyond his level of maturity.

When Beethoven did not produce the sounds his father wanted to hear, his father gave him cruel punishments. Beethovens father employed very cruel methods to teach Beethoven. When Beethoven played wrong notes or could not perform the way his father wanted, he slapped, flogged, punched Beethovens head and locked him up in the basement of the cellar several times. The neighbours heard Beethoven weeping almost daily while he played the clavier, standing atop a footstool to reach the keys. He would often beat Beethoven than teach him. These barbaric punishments affected Beethoven for the rest of his life.

In 1786, Beethoven was yearning to go to Vienna in Austria in Austria. By this time, Vienna was the undisputed cultural capital of Europe. He wanted to meet Wolfgang Mozart who was the reigning god of classical music. Beethoven was able to get a chance to meet Mozart and play piano for him. Mozart was stunned by Beethovens performance. Mozart immediately left the room and went into the room where his wife was entertaining friends. He told his wife Watch out this boy. One day, he will give the world something to talk about. Beethovens performance was indeed that amazing.

In 1789, the French Revolution of 1789 was raging. The French general Napoleon Bonaparte, the French military and political leader, defeated France's enemies. This inspired Beethoven with ideas of freedom and equality. However, when Napoleon declared himself emperor, Beethoven was furious and decided not to dedicate his Third Symphony (Symphony No. 3 in E flat major [Op. 55], also known as the Eroica [Italian for "heroic"] to this dictator.

One specialty about Beethoven was that he didnt mind whether the things were difficult or easy to play. His writings were intensely uncomfortable and others often struggled to play them. Some said that his writing were unplayable and wanted Beethoven to try re-writing them, but he didnt care. By 1796, at the age of 26, Beethoven was struggling against his deafness, but he continued his works.

Beethoven made his long-awaited public debut in Vienna on March 29, 1795. Symphony No. 1 in C major on April 2, 1800, Six String Quartets," published in 1801, The Creatures of Prometheus in 1801, Symphony No. 3 in Napoleon's honor in 1804 were some of his greatest and immortal works. By 1809, Beethoven was 39 years old. It was almost hard for Beethoven to hide his defect. After 10 years as a star on the European stage, he gave a series of disastrous recitals. He could not hear what he was playing anymore. That was the end of his playing in public.

After quitting playing, Beethoven turned to compose full time. In 1811, he created a symphony by pressing his ears to the wood of his piano. This was Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, which was the seventh of his nine symphonies. Most of his finest works were composed during last 10 years of his life. Beethoven never married nor had children. However, around 1812, he was in love with a married woman named Antonie Brentano.

Beethoven died on March 26, 1827 at the age of 56 from post-hepatitic cirrhosis of the liver.

Some of his finest works:

The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, in 18041808. Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor (WoO 59 and Bia 515) for solo piano, (also known as "Fr Elise"): (The original manuscript on 27 April 1810) Missa Solemnis (Solemn Mass), Opus number123, debuted on April 7, 1824 String Quartet No. 14 (Opus number121) The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, 1824 (His final Symphony)