Hello dear Beethoven lovers. Today we will talk about the father of the great composer.
Date and place of birth
Johann van Beethoven- that was the name of the father of the great composer. In turn, Johann was the son (grandfather of the great composer) and his wife, Maria Josepha Ball.
He was born on November 14, 1740, most likely in the city of Mechelen (Flanders), like his father. However, there is an opinion among some Western biographers that Johann was not actually the biological son of Ludwig the Elder, but was adopted by him.
On the other hand, the number of biographers who put forward this hypothesis is negligible. Moreover, these biographers are based on, to put it mildly, dubious arguments, which we will not even talk about.
Therefore, it makes no sense for us to doubt that Johann was the biological son of Ludwig the Elder, exactly like the biological father of Ludwig the Younger (that same great composer).
Johann, by the way, was not only child Ludwig the Elder. Before him, Beethoven's grandfather had two more children, but they did not live long. The older sister Johanna lived only a year, and the date of the death of his older brother is generally unknown to us:
- Maria Ludovika Bernardine van Beethoven(August 27-28, 1734, Bonn - October 17, 1735, Bonn);
- Mark Joseph van Beethoven(April 24-25, 1736, Bonn - date and place of death unknown);
From childhood, Johann studied vocals under the guidance of his father, while simultaneously studying violin and viola. After visiting elementary school he spent a year or two at a Jesuit college.
Already in 1752, Johann sings (soprano) in the Bonn Chapel, though for free. Four years later (since March 25, 1756) he will officially work in the chapel for money. Probably, at that moment, his mutated voice had already dropped to the tenor register, which he will remain for the rest of his life. Moreover, Johann worked as a piano and vocal teacher at the same time.
How good a musician Johann was, we do not know. Some biographers claim that Ludwig's father had a wonderful voice, as, in turn, did his father, Ludwig the Elder. At the same time, other sources insist that Johann was a very mediocre musician, especially if you compare his vocal abilities with those of his father.
Unhappy family life
It is known that on May 12, 1767, Johann married a nineteen-year-old widow, who would later become the mother of the great composer, Beethoven. The wedding took place in the church of St. Remigius, where in 2.5 years their son Ludwig will be baptized.
Until now, biographers cannot answer (and are unlikely to answer) the question: under what circumstances exactly did the parents of the great composer meet. Most likely, Johann met Mary Magdalene during a trip to her homeland - in Ehrenbreitstein (Koblenz, Electorate of Trier).
It should also be noted that the cousin of Mary Magdalene was married to Johann Rovantini Johann's colleague in the Bonn Chapel. It is quite possible that Rovantini somehow contributed to the acquaintance of Beethoven's future parents, but this is not completely certain.
It is also worth noting that Ludwig the Elder was categorically against this marriage, although later he put up with it anyway, given that Mary Magdalene turned out to be a very good daughter-in-law.
For the first time after their marriage, Johann and Mary Magdalene lived in a house on the street Bongasse 515(now - Bongasse 20), where he would later be born great composer. At the same time, Ludwig the Elder, Johann's father, moved into an apartment located in a house on the same street - literally diagonally opposite Johann's house.
In total, Johann and Mary Magdalene had seven children, of whom only three survived, marked yellow in the picture below. Among them is the future great composer:
As you can see family life Johanna was, though fruitful, but absolutely unhappy, since the loss of four children in infancy (however, as in any other age) would be an unbearable loss for any person.
It is worth noting that for Mary Magdalene this was already the second unsuccessful marriage - in the first she lost not only her husband, but also a child, also in infancy. And the mother of the great Beethoven herself called her marriage to Johann "chain of sorrows".
Was Beethoven's father an alcoholic?
Unfortunately, Johann, unlike his respected father Ludwig and no less respected son (also Ludwig), was a complete disappointment for his family, primarily due to problems with alcoholism.
We do not know what exactly caused Johann to abuse alcohol. Perhaps bad genes played a role - his mother, Maria Josepha Ball(she is also the grandmother of the great Beethoven), was also obsessed with alcoholism, for which her husband, Ludwig the Elder, was forced to send her to a monastery for the rest of her life.
Given that Ludwig the Elder, in addition to working as a bandmaster, was engaged in the wine trade, there was always wine in their house. And this, of course, added fuel to the fire, both in the case of Johann's mother, who sold this wine, and in his own case.
On the other hand, the catalyst for Johann's dependence on alcohol could be his psychological weakness associated with a series of failures and family tragedies. However, most biographical sources indicate that even before the death of his first son, Johann abused alcohol. Moreover, some biographers even admit that it was Johann's alcoholism that became one of the reasons for such a low survival rate of his children.
However, there are biographers who even doubt that Johann van Beethoven has any signs of alcoholism.
In particular, the musicologist Joseph Schmidt-Georg claimed that Johann drank no more and no more often than any average resident of Bonn at that time.
However, the vast majority of biographers still claim the opposite, calling Johann an incorrigible alcoholic.
Moreover, about alcohol addiction Johann is evidenced by the fact that in 1789 the nineteen-year-old Ludwig (the son of Johann and the future great composer) gave the Elector solicitation with a request to force his father to pay his children half his salary.
The point was that at that time Mary Magdalene, Johann's wife and Ludwig's mother, had already died, and according to biographers, after this incident, Johann completely drank himself and could not support his family, and young Ludwig's salary (he also worked in the chapel) was not enough to support two younger brothers.
Although Johann at that time had already lost his singing voice and practically did not work in the choir, according to the laws of that time, he still had to be paid a certain salary for the rest of his life, like any other chapel musician. Therefore, Ludwig asked the elector to exile Johann from Bonn and withhold half of his salary in favor of the children - that is, himself and his younger brothers. However, Ludwig soon changed his mind about sending Johann and left in the petition only that part of the request that concerned the salary.
elector Maximilian Franz approved Ludwig's request, and as a result, Johann remained in Bonn. By the way, he received his salary personally in his hands and, oddly enough, unconditionally paid half of his income to Ludwig, as his eldest and most capable son. And Ludwig, in turn, rationally used this money, helping his younger brothers.
In fact, after the death of his mother, Ludwig became the head of his family, since Johann was no longer fully capable.
How do we remember Johann?
Johann was a failure in many respects at once. He did not have any family happiness or a career. There is no doubt that Johann dreamed of taking the place of his father-kapellmeister after his death. However, when Ludwig the Elder died (1773, on Christmas Day), another musician was appointed to his position, because probably all of Bonn already knew about Johann's bad habit.
After the death of Ludwig the Elder, the financial situation of Johann and his family as a whole also worsened, since his father helped him in every possible way during his lifetime. Of course, Ludwig the Elder left some kind of inheritance to Johann, but he is slowly selling it off and drinking it away. In turn, Mary Magdalene, while still alive, worked part-time by sewing the clothes of acquaintances and neighbors, but this could not be called a serious income.
On the other hand, Johann could have provided himself and his family with a good financial condition, if not for his bad habit. In particular, according to Fisher(the owner of the house where the Beethovens lived for some time), Johann often gave piano and vocal lessons to the sons and daughters of very wealthy and influential residents of Bonn, as well as some diplomats. Consequently, he could well become more successful financially. But his bad habit still took its toll.
Johann was often pitied only out of respect for his father. In particular, during the life of Mary Magdalene, an ugly incident occurred when Johann, in need of money, tried to deceive the heirs of the late count Caspar Anton von Belderbusch(1722-1784) - the first minister of the elector, masterfully forging his signature in the will.
The most offensive and ethically wrong thing was that the late count treated Johann very well during his lifetime and, moreover, a few years before his death, he became godfather his son - (1774-1815), younger brother Ludwig.
And yet, Johann, according to the testimony of some biographers, really did such a mean thing to his already deceased friend and patron. But even in this case, the exposed Johann was pitied and no legal action was taken against him.
IN last years In his lifetime, the father of the great Ludwig van Beethoven (then not yet so popular) became something of a tragicomic figure in Bonn. Once, during a drunken conflict, Johann was detained by law enforcement officers, and his son Ludwig was forced to pull him out of custody. Some biographers say that even Johann was not expelled from the chapel only out of respect for his past merits and for the merits of his father.
Unfortunately, we also have no idea about Johann's appearance, with the exception of one of the portraits that you saw at the beginning of the article.
One of the neighbors described Johann as "high and handsome man who powdered his hair in the last years of his life".
Another wrote that Johann was "of medium height, with an elongated face, a broad forehead, a round nose, broad shoulders, serious eyes, he had few scars and a thin pigtail".
Relationship between father and son. Death of Johann.
Unfortunately, based on the data of most biographers, we remember the father of the great Beethoven as an alcoholic who terrorized his son Ludwig with violin and harpsichord lessons.
Of course, there would be nothing wrong with music lessons, if only Johann, who noticed the improvisational talent of little Ludwig, did not conduct them with particular cruelty, pursuing selfish goals, motivated primarily by an improvement in financial situation.
Johann, apparently, sought to repeat the success Leopold Mozart teaching his son Ludwig how to play the musical instruments. However, unlike the father of the great Mozart, Johann van Beethoven conducted these lessons not with love, but with the aim of growing a “second Mozart” in order to cut down more money on his popularity.
In particular, in the picture below you see an invitation "notice", in which Johann clearly speculated, underestimating the age of his son by more than a year. Probably, Johann thus wanted to attract more public attention to the talent of his son:
In turn, the attitude of little Ludwig towards his father was appropriate. If great Mozart simply adored his father Leopold, calling him "Second to Himself after God" , then Ludwig, during the life of Johann, to put it mildly, did not like his alcoholic father.
Johann's life is over December 18, 1792- about a month after Ludwig's second departure for Vienna.
There is even evidence that Elector Maximilian Franz joked about the death of Johann that "After the death of Johann van Beethoven, the profits from the wine trade may suffer losses."
But, despite the disappointment in his father, according to contemporaries, his good-natured son, Ludwig van Beethoven, never insulted Johann in public and even got angry when something bad was said about his father.
Moreover, a handwritten copy of the ode Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach"Morgengesang am Schöpfungstage" or, if translated into Russian, "Morning Hymn to Creation (1783)". Johann personally rewrote these notes by hand. A little later Ludwig would write at the top of his father's manuscript in pencil: "Written by my dear father":
In any case, those music lessons that Johann gave little Ludwig, as well as permanent attraction them different teachers for his son, of course, influenced the formation of the personality of the great composer. Although Johann was a failure, he left us an amazing legacy in the person of his son, Ludwig van Beethoven.
Beethoven was born presumably on December 16 (only the date of his baptism is precisely known - December 17) 1770 in the city of Bonn in musical family. From childhood, they began to teach him to play the organ, harpsichord, violin, flute.
For the first time, the composer Christian Gottlob Nefe became seriously involved with Ludwig. Already at the age of 12, the first work was added to Beethoven's biography musical orientation- assistant organist at court. Beethoven studied several languages, tried to compose music.
The beginning of the creative path
After his mother's death in 1787, he took over the financial responsibilities of the family. Ludwig Beethoven began to play in the orchestra, listen to university lectures. Having accidentally encountered Haydn in Bonn, Beethoven decides to take lessons from him. For this, he moves to Vienna. Already at this stage, after listening to one of Beethoven's improvisations, the great Mozart said: "He will make everyone talk about himself!" After some attempts, Haydn sends Beethoven to study with Albrechtsberger. Then Antonio Salieri became Beethoven's teacher and mentor.
The heyday of a musical career
Haydn briefly noted that Beethoven's music was dark and strange. However, in those years, virtuoso piano playing brought Ludwig first glory. Beethoven's works differ from classic game harpsichordists. In the same place, in Vienna, famous works were written in the future: Moonlight Sonata Beethoven, Pathétic Sonata.
Rude, proud in public, the composer was very open, friendly towards friends. Beethoven's work of the following years is filled with new works: the First, Second Symphonies, "The Creation of Prometheus", "Christ on the Mount of Olives". However future life and Beethoven's work were complicated by the development of an ear disease - tinitis.
The composer retires to the city of Heiligenstadt. There he is working on the Third - Heroic symphony. Complete deafness separates Ludwig from the outside world. However, even this event cannot make him stop composing. According to critics, Beethoven's Third Symphony fully reveals his greatest talent. Opera "Fidelio" is staged in Vienna, Prague, Berlin.
Last years
Between 1802 and 1812, Beethoven wrote sonatas with special desire and zeal. Then whole series of works for piano, cello, the famous Ninth Symphony, Solemn Mass were created.
Note that the biography of Ludwig Beethoven of those years was filled with fame, popularity and recognition. Even the authorities, despite his frank thoughts, did not dare to touch the musician. However strong feelings for his nephew, whom Beethoven took under guardianship, the composer was quickly aged. And on March 26, 1827, Beethoven died of liver disease.
Many works by Ludwig van Beethoven have become classics not only for adults, but also for children.
About a hundred monuments around the world have been erected to the great composer.
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Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Bonn. future great German composer He was baptized on December 17 of the same year. In addition to German blood, Flemish blood flowed in his veins, his paternal grandfather was born in Flanders in 1712, for some time he served as a chorister in Louvain and Ghent, and then moved to Bonn. The composer's grandfather was a good singer, a very intelligent person and a well-trained instrumentalist. In Bonn, Beethoven's grandfather became a court musician in the chapel of the Archbishop of Cologne, then received the position of court bandmaster, he was highly respected by others.
Ludwig Beethoven's father's name was Johann, from childhood he sang in the archbishop's chapel, but later his position became precarious. He drank heavily and led a chaotic life. The mother of the future great composer, Maria Magdalena Laim, was a daughter. Seven were born in the family, but only three sons survived, the eldest of them was Ludwig.
Childhood
Beethoven grew up in poverty, his father drinking away all his small salary. At the same time, he studied a lot with his son, taught him to play the piano and violin, hoping that young Ludwig would become the new Mozart and provide for his family. Subsequently, Beethoven's father nevertheless added a salary with the expectation of the future of his hardworking and gifted son.
Education little Beethoven carried out by very cruel methods, the father forced a four-year-old child to play the violin or sit at the piano for hours. As a child, Beethoven played the violin uncertainly, preferring the piano. He liked to improvise more than to improve his playing technique. At the age of 12, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote three harpsichord sonatas, and at 16 he was already very popular in Bonn. His giftedness attracted the attention of some enlightened Bonn families.
The education of the young composer was unsystematic, but he played the organ and viola, performed in the court orchestra. His first real music teacher was the Bonn court organist Nefe. Beethoven first visited the musical capital of Europe, Vienna, in 1787. Mozart heard Beethoven's playing and predicted a great future for him, but soon Ludwig had to return home, his mother was dying, and the future composer was to become the sole breadwinner of the family.
Ludwig Van Beethoven(Ludwig van Beethoven) is one of the world's most performed composers. He became one of the most important figures in the world classical music. Beethoven did not single out any one musical direction. Like a real genius, he wrote in all genres that existed in his time.
Beethoven was born in Bonn in 1770, his father and grandfather were singers in the court chapel. In those days, Mozart, who was born 14 years earlier, lived and worked in Europe, and Beethoven's father decided to make the same great composer out of his son, starting learning to play the harpsichord and violin. Already at the age of 8, Ludwig gave his first performance in Cologne.
The young Beethoven giving concerts did not make a big splash, after which his father was disappointed and gave the boy to his friends for training. After the death of Beethoven's grandfather, the family was in dire need of money. Ludwig had to stop studying at school: however, he managed to learn French, Italian and Latin. Beethoven read a lot in an effort to know the wisdom of great people different eras, among his favorite authors were Homer and Plutarch.
Beethoven continued to compose music at the table. In 1787, he went to Vienna, where he received praise from Mozart, but again failed to study music - due to the death of his mother, Ludwig had to return home and at the age of 17 lead the family. Beethoven began to work in an orchestra and attend lectures at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Bonn.
In 1792, Ludwig was able to leave for Vienna and begin his studies with famous composer Haydn, and after him with Salieri. In the capital city, they started talking about him as a virtuoso pianist.
Beethoven's compositions are beginning to be in demand, however, as a person, the composer evoked conflicting feelings among those around him. Friends considered Beethoven kind person but everyone knew about his harsh nature. For example, he could break off the speech and leave if one of the listeners in the hall started talking. Once, in a fit of anger, the composer called the audience in the hall "pigs, which he will not play."
In 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing due to inflammation of the inner ear. Doctors recommended that he leave and retire, but peace did not lead to an improvement in well-being. Ludwig realized that the old rumor would not return to him. The musician was close to suicide, although he did not stop creating.
Beethoven, who lost his hearing, became gloomy and withdrawn. However, it was then, after 1802, that he wrote his most famous works. In 1824 Beethoven performed his the famous Symphony No. 9. He did not see the hall and did not hear the applause, so he was led by the hand to the audience. The ovation was so long that the police stopped it - only the emperor was worthy of such a greeting.
In 1827, Ludwig van Beethoven died, and more than 20,000 people came to say goodbye to the composer.
German composer, often considered the greatest creator of all times. His work is attributed to both classicism and romanticism; in fact, it goes beyond such definitions: Beethoven's compositions are primarily an expression of his genius personality.
Origin. Childhood and youth.
Beethoven was born in Bonn, presumably December 16, 1770 (baptized December 17). In addition to German, Flemish blood also flowed in his veins: the composer's paternal grandfather, also Ludwig, was born in 1712 in Malin (Flanders), served as a chorister in Ghent and Louvain, and in 1733 moved to Bonn, where he became a court musician in the chapel of the Elector-Archbishop of Cologne . It was clever man, good singer, a professionally trained instrumentalist, he rose to the position of court bandmaster and enjoyed the respect of others. His only son Johann (the rest of the children died in infancy) sang in the same chapel from childhood, but his position was precarious, because he drank heavily and led a hectic life. Johann married Maria Magdalena Lyme, the daughter of a cook. They had seven children, of whom three sons survived; Ludwig, the future composer, was the eldest of them.
Beethoven grew up in poverty. My father drank away his meager salary; he taught his son to play the violin and piano in the hope that he would become a child prodigy, the new Mozart, and provide for his family. Over time, the father's salary was increased based on the future of his gifted and hardworking son. For all that, the boy was uncertain about the violin, and on the piano (as well as on the violin) he liked to improvise more than to improve his playing technique.
General education Beethoven was as unsystematic as the musical. In the latter, however, big role practice played: he played the viola in the court orchestra, acted as a performer on keyboard instruments, including on the organ, which he managed to quickly master. C. G. Nefe, from 1782 the Bonn court organist, became the first real teacher of Beethoven (among other things, he went through the entire Well-Tempered Clavier of J. S. Bach with him). Beethoven's duties as court musician were greatly expanded when Archduke Maximilian Franz became Elector of Cologne and began to take care of musical life Bonn, where his residence was located. In 1787, Beethoven managed to visit Vienna for the first time - at that time the musical capital of Europe. According to the stories, Mozart, having listened to the young man's play, highly appreciated his improvisations and predicted a great future for him. But soon Beethoven had to return home - his mother lay near death. He remained the sole breadwinner of the family, which consisted of a dissolute father and two younger brothers.
The young man's talent, his greed for musical impressions, his ardent and receptive nature attracted the attention of some enlightened Bonn families, and his brilliant piano improvisations provided him with free entry into any musical gatherings. Especially the Breuning family did a lot for him, who took custody of the clumsy but original young musician. Dr. F. G. Wegeler became his friend for life, and Count F. E. G. Waldstein, his enthusiastic admirer, managed to convince the Archduke to send Beethoven to study in Vienna.
Vein. 1792–1802 In Vienna, where Beethoven came for the second time in 1792 and where he remained until the end of his days, he quickly found titled patrons of the arts.
People who met the young Beethoven described the twenty-year-old composer as stocky young man, inclined to panache, sometimes impudent, but good-natured and sweet in relations with friends. Realizing the insufficiency of his education, he went to Joseph Haydn, a recognized Viennese authority in the field instrumental music(Mozart died a year earlier) and for some time brought him to check exercises in counterpoint. Haydn, however, soon cooled off towards the obstinate student, and Beethoven, secretly from him, began to take lessons from I. Schenk and then from the more thorough J. G. Albrechtsberger. In addition, wanting to improve in vocal writing, he visited for several years the famous opera composer Antonio Salieri. Soon he joined a circle that united titled amateurs and professional musicians. Prince Karl Likhnovsky introduced the young provincial to his circle of friends.
The question of how much the environment and the spirit of the times influence creativity is ambiguous. Beethoven read the works of FG Klopstock, one of the forerunners of the Sturm und Drang movement. He was familiar with Goethe and deeply revered the thinker and poet. Political and public life Europe of that time was alarming: when Beethoven arrived in Vienna in 1792, the city was agitated by the news of the revolution in France. Beethoven enthusiastically accepted revolutionary slogans and sang of freedom in his music. The volcanic, explosive nature of his work is undoubtedly the embodiment of the spirit of the times, but only in the sense that the character of the creator was to some extent shaped by this time. A bold violation of generally accepted norms, a powerful self-affirmation, a thunderous atmosphere of Beethoven's music - all this would have been unthinkable in the era of Mozart.
Nevertheless, Beethoven's early compositions largely follow the canons of the 18th century: this applies to trios (strings and piano), violin, piano and cello sonatas. The piano was then the closest instrument to Beethoven, in piano works he expressed the most intimate feelings with the utmost sincerity, and the slow parts of some sonatas (for example, Largo e mesto from sonata op. 10, no. 3) are already imbued with romantic languor. Pathetic Sonata op. 13 is also an obvious anticipation of Beethoven's later experiments. In other cases, his innovation has the character of a sudden intrusion, and the first listeners perceived it as a clear arbitrariness. Published in 1801 six string quartets op. 18 can be considered the greatest achievement of this period; Beethoven was clearly in no hurry to publish, realizing what lofty examples of quartet writing left Mozart and Haydn. Beethoven's first orchestral experience was connected with two concertos for piano and orchestra (No. 1, in C major and No. 2, in B flat major), created in 1801: he, apparently, was also not sure of them, being well acquainted with the great Mozart's achievements in this genre. Among the most famous (and least challenging) early works- septet op. 20 (1802). The next opus, the First Symphony (published at the end of 1801), is Beethoven's first purely orchestral composition.
The approach of deafness.
We can only guess to what extent Beethoven's deafness influenced his work. The disease developed gradually. Already in 1798, he complained of tinnitus, it was difficult for him to distinguish high tones, to understand a conversation conducted in a whisper. Terrified at the prospect of becoming an object of pity - a deaf composer, he spoke about his illness close friend“Carl Amenda, and the doctors who advised him to protect his hearing as much as possible. He continued to rotate in the circle of his Viennese friends, took part in musical evenings, wrote a lot. He was so good at hiding his deafness that, until 1812, even people who often met him did not suspect how serious his illness was. The fact that during the conversation he often answered inappropriately was attributed to bad mood or distraction.
In the summer of 1802, Beethoven retired to a quiet suburb of Vienna - Heiligenstadt. A stunning document appeared there - the "Heiligenstadt Testament", a painful confession of a musician tormented by illness. The will is addressed to the brothers of Beethoven (with instructions to read and execute after his death); in it he speaks of his mental suffering: it is painful when "a person standing next to with me, hears a flute melody coming from afar, not audible to me; or when someone hears a shepherd singing and I can't make out a sound." But then, in a letter to Dr. Wegeler, he exclaims: “I will take fate by the throat!”, And the music that he continues to write confirms this decision: in the same summer, the bright Second Symphony, op. 36 gorgeous piano sonatas op. 31 and three violin sonatas, op. thirty.
Second period. "New way".
According to the "three-period" classification, proposed in 1852 by W. von Lenz, one of the first researchers of Beethoven's work, the second period approximately covers 1802-1815.
The final break with the past was rather the realization, the continuation of trends early period than a conscious "declaration of independence": Beethoven was not a theoretical reformer, like Gluck before him and Wagner after him. The first decisive breakthrough to what Beethoven himself called the "new way" occurred in the Third Symphony (Heroic), the work on which dates back to 1803-1804. Its duration is three times that of any other symphony written before. The first movement is music of extraordinary power, the second is a stunning outpouring of grief, the third is a witty, whimsical scherzo, and the finale - variations on a jubilant, festive theme - far exceeds in its power the traditional rondo-form finales composed by Beethoven's predecessors. It is often argued (and not without reason) that at first Beethoven dedicated the Heroic to Napoleon, but upon learning that he had proclaimed himself emperor, he canceled the dedication. “Now he will trample on the rights of man and satisfy only his own ambition,” were the words of Beethoven, according to the stories, when he tore the title page of the score with the dedication. In the end, the Heroic was dedicated to one of the patrons - Prince Lobkowitz.
Works of the second period.
During these years brilliant creations came out from under his pen one after another. The main works of the composer, listed in the order of their appearance, form an incredible stream of brilliant music, this imaginary sound world replaces for its creator the world of real sounds leaving him. It was a victorious self-affirmation, a reflection of the hard work of thought, evidence of a rich inner life musician.
We can only name the most important writings second period: violin sonata in A major, op. 47 (Kreutzerova, 1802-1803); Third Symphony, op. 55 (Heroic, 1802–1805); oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives, op. 85 (1803); piano sonatas: Waldstein, op. 53; in F major, op. 54, Appassionata, op. 57 (1803–1815); piano concert No. 4 in G major, op. 58 (1805–1806); Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, op. 72 (1805, second edition 1806); three "Russian" quartets, op. 59 (dedicated to Count Razumovsky; 1805–1806); Fourth Symphony in B flat major, op. 60 (1806); violin concerto, op. 61 (1806); Overture to the Tragedy of Collinus Coriolanus, op. 62 (1807); Mass in C major, op. 86 (1807); Fifth Symphony in C minor, op. 67 (1804–1808); Sixth Symphony, op. 68 (Pastoral, 1807–1808); cello sonata in A major, op. 69 (1807); two piano trios, op. 70 (1808); Piano Concerto No. 5, op. 73 (Emperor, 1809); quartet, op. 74 (Harp, 1809); piano sonata, op. 81a (Farewell, 1809–1910); three songs on poems by Goethe, op. 83 (1810); music for the tragedy by Goethe Egmont, op. 84 (1809); quartet in F minor, op. 95 (1810); Eighth Symphony in F major, op. 93 (1811–1812); piano trio in B-flat major, op. 97 (Archduke, 1818).
The second period includes the highest achievements of Beethoven in the genres of violin and piano concerto, violin and cello sonatas, operas; the piano sonata genre is represented by such masterpieces as the Appassionata and Waldstein. But even musicians were not always able to perceive the novelty of these compositions. It is said that once one of Beethoven's colleagues asked: does he really consider one of the quartets dedicated to the Russian envoy in Vienna, Count Razumovsky, to be music? “Yes,” the composer replied, “but not for you, but for the future.”
A number of compositions were inspired by the romantic feelings that Beethoven had for some of his high-society students. This may refer to the two sonatas "quasi una Fantasia", op. 27 (appeared in 1802). The second of them (later called "Lunar") is dedicated to Countess Juliette Guicciardi. Beethoven even thought of proposing to her, but realized in time that a deaf musician was not a suitable match for a coquettish secular beauty. Other ladies he knew rejected him; one of them called him "freak" and "half-crazy". The situation was different with the Brunswick family, in which Beethoven gave music lessons to two older sisters - Teresa ("Tezi") and Josephine ("Pepi"). It has long been discarded the assumption that the addressee of the message to " Immortal Beloved”, found in Beethoven’s papers after his death, was Teresa, but modern researchers do not exclude that Josephine was this addressee. In any case, the idyllic Fourth Symphony owes its idea to Beethoven's stay at the Hungarian Brunswick estate in the summer of 1806.
The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth (Pastoral) symphonies were composed in 1804–1808. The Fifth - probably the most famous symphony in the world - opens brief motive, about which Beethoven said: "So fate is knocking at the door." In 1812 the Seventh and Eighth symphonies were completed.
In 1804, Beethoven willingly accepted an order to compose an opera, since in Vienna the success of opera stage meant fame and money. The plot in brief was as follows: a brave, enterprising woman, dressed in men's clothing, saves her beloved husband, imprisoned by a cruel tyrant, and exposes the latter before the people. To avoid confusion with the already existing opera on this subject - Leonora Gavo, Beethoven's work was called Fidelio, after the name that the disguised heroine takes. Of course, Beethoven had no experience of composing for the theatre. The climaxes of the melodrama are marked by excellent music, but in other sections, the lack of dramatic flair does not allow the composer to rise above the operatic routine (although he was very keen on this: in Fidelio there are fragments that were remade up to eighteen times). Nevertheless, the opera gradually conquered listeners (during the life of the composer, three of its productions took place in different editions - in 1805, 1806 and 1814). It can be argued that the composer has not invested so much work in any other work.
Beethoven, as already mentioned, deeply revered the works of Goethe, composed several songs on his texts, music for his tragedy Egmont, but met Goethe only in the summer of 1812, when they ended up together at a resort in Teplitz. The refined manners of the great poet and the sharpness of the composer's behavior did not contribute to their rapprochement. “His talent struck me extremely, but, unfortunately, he has an indomitable temper, and the world seems to him a hateful creation,” says Goethe in one of his letters.
Friendship with Archduke Rudolph.
Beethoven's friendship with Rudolf, Archduke of Austria and stepbrother emperor, is one of the most curious historical plots. Around 1804, the Archduke, then aged 16, began taking piano lessons from the composer. Despite the huge difference in social status, the teacher and the student had a sincere affection for each other. Appearing for lessons at the Archduke's palace, Beethoven had to pass by countless lackeys, call his student "Your Highness" and fight his amateurish attitude to music. And he did all this with amazing patience, although he never hesitated to cancel lessons if he was busy composing. By order of the Archduke, such compositions as the piano sonata Farewell, the Triple Concerto, the last and most grandiose Fifth Piano Concerto, the Solemn Mass (Missa solemnis) were created. It was originally intended for the ceremony of raising the Archduke to the rank of Archbishop of Olmutsky, but was not completed on time. The Archduke, Prince Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz established a kind of scholarship for the composer, who made Vienna famous but did not receive support from the city authorities, and the Archduke turned out to be the most reliable of the three patrons. During the Congress of Vienna in 1814, Beethoven derived considerable material benefits for himself from communication with the aristocracy and kindly listened to compliments - he managed to at least partially hide the contempt for the court "brilliance" that he always felt.
Last years. Financial situation composer has improved markedly. Publishers hunted for his scores and commissioned works such as Grand Piano Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli (1823). His caring friends, A. Schindler, who was especially deeply devoted to Beethoven, observed the musician’s hectic and deprivation lifestyle and heard his complaints that he was “robbed” (Beethoven became unreasonably suspicious and was ready to blame almost all persons from his environment for the worst ), could not understand where he put the money. They did not know that the composer was postponing them, but he was not doing it for himself. When his brother Kaspar died in 1815, the composer became one of the guardians of his ten-year-old nephew Karl. Beethoven's love for the boy, the desire to ensure his future came into conflict with the distrust that the composer had for Karl's mother; as a result, he only constantly quarreled with both, and this situation painted a tragic light last period his life. In the years when Beethoven sought full custody, he composed little.
Beethoven's deafness became almost complete. By 1819, he had to completely switch to communicating with his interlocutors using a slate board or paper and pencil (the so-called Beethoven conversational notebooks have been preserved). Fully immersed in work on such compositions as the majestic Solemn Mass in D major (1818) or the Ninth Symphony, he behaved strangely, inspiring anxiety strangers: he "sang, howled, stamped his feet, and in general it seemed that he was waging a mortal struggle with an invisible enemy" (Schindler). The ingenious last quartets, the last five piano sonatas - grandiose in scale, unusual in form and style - seemed to many contemporaries the works of a madman. Nevertheless, the Viennese listeners recognized the nobility and grandeur of Beethoven's music, they felt that they were dealing with a genius. In 1824, during the performance of the Ninth Symphony with its choral finale to the text of Schiller's ode to Joy (An die Freude), Beethoven stood next to the conductor. The hall was captivated by the powerful climax at the end of the symphony, the audience went on a rampage, but Beethoven did not turn around. One of the singers had to take him by the sleeve and turn him to face the audience so that the composer bowed.
The fate of others late works was more complex. Many years passed after Beethoven's death, and only then did the most receptive musicians begin to perform his last quartets (including the Grand Fugue, op. 33) and his last piano sonatas, revealing to people these highest, most beautiful achievements of Beethoven. Sometimes Beethoven's late style is characterized as contemplative, abstract, in some cases neglecting the laws of euphony; in fact, this music is an inexhaustible source of powerful and intelligent spiritual energy.
Beethoven died in Vienna on March 26, 1827 from pneumonia complicated by jaundice and dropsy.
Beethoven's contribution to world culture.
Beethoven continued the general line of development of the genres of symphony, sonata, quartet, outlined by his predecessors. However, his interpretation of known forms and genres differed. great freedom; we can say that Beethoven pushed their limits in time and space. He did not expand the composition that had developed by his time. symphony orchestra, but his scores require, firstly, more performers in each party, and secondly, the incredible performance skills of each orchestra member in his era; in addition, Beethoven is very sensitive to the individual expressiveness of each instrumental timbre. The piano in his compositions is not a close relative of the elegant harpsichord: the entire extended range of the instrument, all its dynamic possibilities are used.
In the areas of melody, harmony, rhythm, Beethoven often resorts to the technique of sudden change, contrast. One form of contrast is the juxtaposition of decisive themes with a clear rhythm and more lyrical, smoothly flowing sections. Sharp dissonances and unexpected modulations into distant keys are also an important feature of Beethoven's harmony. He expanded the range of tempos used in music and often resorted to dramatic, impulsive changes in dynamics. Sometimes the contrast appears as a manifestation of Beethoven's characteristically somewhat coarse humor - this happens in his frantic scherzos, which in his symphonies and quartets often replace a more sedate minuet.
Unlike his predecessor Mozart, Beethoven composed with difficulty. Notebooks Beethoven is shown how gradually, step by step, a grandiose composition emerges from uncertain sketches, marked by a convincing logic of construction and rare beauty. Just one example: in the original sketch of the famous "motif of fate" that opens the Fifth Symphony, he was entrusted with a flute, which means that the theme had a completely different figurative meaning. A powerful artistic intellect allows the composer to turn a disadvantage into a virtue: Beethoven opposes Mozart's spontaneity, an instinctive sense of perfection, with unsurpassed musical and dramatic logic. It is she who is the main source of Beethoven's greatness, his incomparable ability to organize contrasting elements into a monolithic whole. Beethoven erases traditional caesuras between sections of the form, avoids symmetry, merges parts of the cycle, develops extended constructions from thematic and rhythmic motifs, which at first glance do not contain anything interesting. In other words, Beethoven creates musical space with the power of the mind, own will. He anticipated and created those artistic directions, which became the defining musical art 19th century And today his works are among the greatest, most revered creations of the human genius.
