The Life Of Ludwig Van Beethoven

Beethoven had a traumatic childhood even if he grew up surrounded by music. Ludwig van Beethoven was born around December 16, 1770, and baptized on December 17 in Bonn, located in the now-nonexistent Electorate of Cologne (“Ludwig van Beethoven”). His parents, Johann van Beethoven and Maria Magdalena van Beethoven, had to bury two children before Ludwig, and celebrated his successful birth. Maria bore Johann two more sons after Ludwig: Caspar Carl, born in 1774 and Nickolaus Johann, born in 1776 (“Ludwig van Beethoven”). Johann van Beethoven worked as a court singer on the staff of the Elector of Cologne. His father and Beethoven’s grandfather, Ludwig van Beethoven, worked as Kappelmeister of the Elector of Cologne and became known as the best …show more content…
However, his greatest and most well-known pieces appear later in his life. In the year 1793, Beethoven started to take lessons from Haydn and Prince Lichnowsky. The two men put him up against the city’s best pianists in improvisation contests, and Beethoven soon became known as the ‘finest piano virtuoso in Vienna’ (Suchet, “1770-1802” & Morris, 56). 1794 brought about Beethoven’s first publication, the Op. 1 trios, which he dedicated to Lichnowsky. Artaria, a popular publishing company, had to remake them three times to meet the wants of the people (Morris, 67-68). By 1795, Beethoven debuted his first piano concerto in Vienna and published the Op. 2 sonatas (“Ludwig van Beethoven”). Within the span of one year, he wrote ‘five trios for strings and a trio for piano, clarinet and violin; a quintet for strings and another for piano and winds; two cello sonatas, three violin sonatas, and seven piano sonatas. There were also scattered songs and a concert aria for soprano’. Later in 1796, he went on a five-month tour through Bohemia, Saxony and Prussia, which earned him money. Illness struck Beethoven during the summer of that same year, which began his hearing loss process (Morris, 70-71 & Suchet, “1770-1802”). Piano sonatas, three string trios, three violin sonatas, a septet and the Pathétique Sonata were added to Beethoven’s arsenal of music by 1798 (Suchet, “1770-1802”). On April 2, 1800, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 …show more content…
Even though his relationship with Antonie did not last, Beethoven went on to perform the Battle and Seventh Symphonies at the Hofburg palace in 1813 and continued his composing as before. The Archduke Trio op. 97 by Beethoven played in public for the first time in 1814, and his opera Fidelio played in front of the Congress of Vienna (Suchet, “1813-1827”). Another tragedy struck when Beethoven’s brother, Caspar, died in 1815. Custody of Karl became a battle between Beethoven and his mother, Johanna. Eventually, Beethoven won the battle and began to care for his young nephew. During this time, he began work on a Sixth Piano Concerto (“Ludwig van Beethoven” & Suchet, “1813-1827”). Only two works were published by Beethoven in 1816: An die ferne Geliebte, a sensual mix of different songs, and a Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 101 (Morris, 178-179). 1817 brought the beginnings of the Hammerklavier Sonata (Suchet, “1813-1827”). As Beethoven aged, he became more agitated, selfish and dubious to near madness, and argued with everyone in his home, including his students and servants. He even threw a chair at Prince Lichnowsky, a dear friend of his, in aggravation (“Ludwig van Beethoven”). A year later, Beethoven began composing his Ninth Symphony, and even started pulling together ideas for a Tenth Symphony after finishing the Hammerklavier Sonata (Suchet, “1813-1827”). By 1819, Beethoven started composing the Missa Solemnis, which he created for the throning of