Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven - German composer, pianist (years of his life 1770 - 1827).
Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized on December 17, 1770 in Bonn, the exact date of his birth is not known.

Biography of Ludwig van Beethoven - young years.
Ludwig van Beethoven became a composer not by chance - his father Johann van Beethoven and grandfather Ludwig were directly related to music. His father was a singer, he sang in the court chapel, and at first his grandfather also sang in the court chapel, and then was a bandmaster. Ludwig's mother, Mary Magdalene, was from the common people and had nothing to do with music - she worked as an ordinary cook. Ludwig Beethovin's father, Johann, dreamed that his son would be the second Mozart and from early childhood taught his son to play the harpsichord and violin. At the age of eight, Ludwig van Beethoven made his first public appearance. It was in Cologne. But the father saw that nothing much came of introducing the child to music, and then Johann van Beethoven instructed his colleagues to study music with his son, some of them taught Ludwig to play the organ, some the violin. When Ludwig was eight years old, the composer and organist, Christian Gottlieb Nefe, arrived in Bonn, who recognized the little Ludwig Beethoven musical talent. Thanks to studying music with Nefe, the first work of the future famous composer was published - a variation on the theme of Dressler's march. Beethoven was only twelve years old then. But at this time, Ludwig Beethoven was already working as an assistant to the court organist.
Like many great people, Beethoven, due to the difficult financial situation, was forced to leave school. It happened after the death of my grandfather. But, nevertheless, the biography of Beethoven remains as a biography of a highly educated person. He knew Latin and several foreign languages, including Italian and French. Beethoven devoted much of his time to reading books. His favorite authors were - Homer, Rogues, Goethe, Schiller, Shakespeare. At this time, the future composer began to compose music, but many of his works remained unpublished, and after many years he himself revised them. One of Beethoven's earliest works is the groundhog sonata. Once Ludwig van Beethoven visited Vienna, then he was sixteen years old, Mozart, after listening to him, struck those around him with the following phrase: “He will make everyone talk about himself!”. Beethoven, due to family reasons (his mother became seriously ill and subsequently died, and he was forced to take care of his brothers) could not take lessons from Mozart and returned to Bonn. At the age of 17, Beethoven joined the orchestra as a violist. He especially liked the operas of Mozart and Gluck.
In 1789, Beethoven decided to listen to lectures at the university. At this time, a revolution began in France, and Ludwig Beethoven writes music to the verses of one of the university professors, praising the revolution. At this time, the famous composer Haydn noticed Beethoven, and Ludwig van Beethoven decided to take lessons from him, and in 1792 Beethoven went to Vienna. Lessons with Haydn quickly disappointed Beethoven. Yes, and Haydn cooled off to Beethoven, Music and spiritual mood of Beethoven was not understood by Haydn: too gloomy, too bold reasoning and views for those times. Then Beethoven's biography developed as follows: Haydn was forced to leave for England, and J. B. Schenk, J. G. Albrechtsberger, A. Salieri began to study with Beethoven. Ludwig van Beethoven became one of the most fashionable pianists in Vienna, a real virtuoso in his field. His debut as a pianist took place in 1795. By 1802, Beethoven was known as the creator of 20 piano sonatas, including Pathetique (1798), Moonlight (No. 2 of two "fantasy sonatas" in 1801), six 6 string quartets, eight sonatas for violin and piano, many chamber and ensemble compositions.
But in the late 1790s, Ludwig Beethoven began to progress a terrible disease for a musician - deafness. At this time, Beethoven was overcome by pessimism, and he even sent his brothers a document known in his biography as the Heiligenstadt Testament. But, being collected and strong man, Beethoven overcame the crisis in his soul and continued his work.

Biography of Ludwig van Beethoven - mature years.
Beethoven's creative biography from 1803 to 1812 is known as the new middle period of the composer's professional heyday. This period is marked by heroic notes in Beethoven's music. For example, the author’s subtitle of the Third Symphony is “Heroic” (1803), the piano sonata “Appassionata” (1805), the cycle of 32 variations in C minor for piano in 1806, Symphony No. Five (1808) with its famous “motif of fate ”, the opera Fidelio, the overture Coriolanus (1807), in 1810 - Egmont. Also filled with heroism, dynamism, tempo are Symphony No. 4 (1806), Symphonies No. 6 "Pastoral", No. 7 and No. 8, Concertos for Piano and Orchestra No. 4, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and many other musical works. In the mid-1800s, Beethoven achieved universal respect and recognition. Due to hearing problems, in 1808 Beethoven gave his last concert. By 1814, Beethoven had become completely deaf.
In 1813-1814, Beethoven suffered apathy, which, of course, affected his work, he composed very little. In 1815, Beethoven took over the care of the son of his deceased brother. The nephew also had a complex character.
Since 1815, a new stage began in the composer's biography, or as it is also called, the late period of creativity. During this period, eleven works of the great composer were published, among them: sonatas for piano and cello, piano Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Ninth Symphony, Solemn Mass, string quartets.
Beethoven's work of the late period is distinguished by contrasts, his music of those times called for extreme actions, emotional experience and lyricism.
Ludwig van Beethoven died on March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria. About twenty thousand people came to say goodbye to the famous composer

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© Biography of the composer Beethoven. Biography of Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Biography of the great Austrian Beethoven.

Ludwig Beethoven was born in 1770 in the German town of Bonn. In a house with three rooms in the attic. In one of the rooms with a narrow dormer window that let in almost no light, his mother, his kind, gentle, meek mother, whom he adored, often bustled about. She died of consumption when Ludwig was barely 16, and her death was the first major shock in his life. But always, when he remembered his mother, his soul was filled with tender warm light as if the hands of an angel touched her. "You were so good to me, so worthy of love, you were my most best friend! ABOUT! Who was happier than me when I could still pronounce the sweet name - mother, and it was heard! To whom can I tell it now? .. "

Ludwig's father, a poor court musician, played the violin and harpsichord and had a very beautiful voice, but suffered from conceit and, intoxicated with easy successes, disappeared in taverns, led very scandalous life. Having discovered musical abilities in his son, he set out to make him a virtuoso, a second Mozart, at all costs, in order to solve the material problems of the family. He forced the five-year-old Ludwig to repeat boring exercises for five or six hours a day, and often, having come home drunk, woke him up even at night and half-asleep, crying, sat him at the harpsichord. But in spite of everything, Ludwig loved his father, loved and pitied him.

When the boy was twelve years old, a very important event took place in his life - it must have been fate itself that sent Christian Gottlieb Nefe, court organist, composer, conductor, to Bonn. This outstanding person, one of the most advanced and educated people of that time, immediately guessed a brilliant musician in the boy and began to teach him for free. Nefe introduced Ludwig to the works of the greats: Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart. He called himself "an enemy of ceremonial and etiquette" and "a hater of flatterers", these traits were later clearly manifested in Beethoven's character. During frequent walks, the boy eagerly absorbed the words of the teacher, who recited the works of Goethe and Schiller, talked about Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, about the ideas of freedom, equality, fraternity that freedom-loving France lived at that time. Beethoven carried the ideas and thoughts of his teacher through his whole life: “Gifting is not everything, it can die if a person does not have diabolical perseverance. If you fail, start again. Fail a hundred times, start again a hundred times. Man can overcome any obstacle. Giving and a pinch is enough, but perseverance needs an ocean. And in addition to talent and perseverance, self-confidence is also needed, but not pride. God bless you from her."

Many years later, Ludwig will thank Nefe in a letter for the wise advice that helped him in studying music, this “divine art”. To which he modestly answers: "Ludwig Beethoven himself was Ludwig Beethoven's teacher."

Ludwig dreamed of going to Vienna to meet Mozart, whose music he idolized. At 16, his dream came true. However, Mozart reacted to the young man with distrust, deciding that he performed a piece for him, well learned. Then Ludwig asked me to give him a topic for free fantasy. He had never improvised with such inspiration! Mozart was amazed. He exclaimed, turning to his friends: “Pay attention to this young man, he will make the whole world talk about him!” Unfortunately, they never met again. Ludwig was forced to return to Bonn, to his dearly beloved sick mother, and when he later returned to Vienna, Mozart was no longer alive.

Soon, Beethoven's father completely drank himself, and the 17-year-old boy took care of his two younger brothers. Fortunately, fate extended a helping hand to him: he had friends from whom he found support and comfort - Elena von Breuning replaced Ludwig's mother, and brother and sister Eleanor and Stefan became his first friends. Only in their house did he feel at ease. It was here that Ludwig learned to appreciate people and respect human dignity. Here he learned and fell in love for life epic heroes"Odyssey" and "Iliad", the heroes of Shakespeare and Plutarch. Here he met Wegeler, the future husband of Eleanor Braining, who became his best friend, a friend for life.

In 1789, the desire for knowledge led Beethoven to the University of Bonn at the Faculty of Philosophy. In the same year, a revolution broke out in France, and news of it quickly flew to Bonn. Ludwig, together with his friends, listened to lectures by professor of literature Eulogy Schneider, who enthusiastically read his poems dedicated to the revolution to students: “To crush stupidity on the throne, to fight for the rights of mankind ... Oh, not one of the lackeys of the monarchy is capable of this. This is only possible for free souls who prefer death to flattery, poverty to slavery.” Ludwig was among Schneider's ardent admirers. Full of bright hopes, feeling great strength in himself, the young man again went to Vienna. Oh, if friends had met him at that time, they would not have recognized him: Beethoven resembled a salon lion! “The look is direct and incredulous, as if sideways watching what impression it makes on others. Beethoven is dancing (oh grace in the highest degree hidden), rides (poor horse!), Beethoven, who has a good mood (laughter at the top of his lungs). (Oh, if old friends had met him at that time, they would not have recognized him: Beethoven resembled a salon lion! He was cheerful, cheerful, danced, rode and looked askance at the impression he made on others.) Sometimes Ludwig visited frighteningly gloomy, and only close friends knew how much kindness was hidden behind outward pride. As soon as a smile illuminated his face, it was illuminated with such childish purity that in those moments it was impossible not to love not only him, but the whole world!

At the same time, his first piano compositions were published. The success of the publication turned out to be grandiose: more than 100 music lovers subscribed to it. Young musicians were especially eager for his piano sonatas. Future famous pianist Ignaz Moscheles, for example, surreptitiously bought and dismantled Beethoven's Pathétique sonata, which had been banned by his professors. Later, Moscheles became one of the maestro's favorite students. The listeners, with bated breath, reveled in his improvisations on the piano, they touched many to tears: "He calls spirits both from the depths and from the heights." But Beethoven did not create for money and not for recognition: “What nonsense! I never thought of writing for fame or for fame. I need to give an outlet to what I have accumulated in my heart - that's why I write.

He was still young, and the criterion of his own importance for him was a sense of strength. He did not tolerate weakness and ignorance, treated condescendingly as common people, and to the aristocracy, even to those nice people who loved him and admired him. With royal generosity, he helped his friends when they needed it, but in anger he was ruthless towards them. In him, great love and the same force of contempt clashed. But in spite of everything, in the heart of Ludwig, like a beacon, lived a strong, sincere need to be the right people: “Never, since childhood, has my zeal to serve suffering humanity weakened. I have never charged any fee for this. I do not need anything but the feeling of contentment that always accompanies a good deed.

Youth is characterized by such extremes, because it is looking for an outlet for its inner forces. And sooner or later a person faces a choice: where to direct these forces, what path to choose? Fate helped Beethoven to make a choice, although her method may seem too cruel ... The disease approached Ludwig gradually, over a period of six years, and struck him between 30 and 32 years old. She hit him in the most sensitive place, in his pride, strength - in his hearing! Complete deafness cut off Ludwig from everything that was so dear to him: from friends, from society, from love and, worst of all, from art! new Beethoven.

Ludwig went to Heiligenstadt, an estate near Vienna, and settled in a poor peasant house. He found himself on the verge of life and death - the words of his will, written on October 6, 1802, are like a cry of despair: “O people, you who consider me heartless, stubborn, selfish - oh, how unfair you are to me! You do not know the secret reason for what you only think! From my earliest childhood my heart has been inclined towards a tender feeling of love and benevolence; but consider that for six years now I have been suffering from an incurable disease, brought to a terrible degree by inept doctors ... With my hot, lively temperament, with my love of communicating with people, I had to retire early, spend my life alone ... For me, not there is rest among people, no communication with them, no friendly conversations. I must live as an exile. If sometimes, carried away by my innate sociability, I succumbed to temptation, then what humiliation I experienced when someone next to me heard a flute from afar, but I did not hear! .. Such cases plunged me into terrible despair, and the thought of committing suicide often came to mind. Only art kept me from it; it seemed to me that I had no right to die until I had done everything to which I felt called... And I decided to wait until the inexorable parks would please to break the thread of my life... I am ready for anything; in my 28th year I was to become a philosopher. It is not so easy, and more difficult for an artist than for anyone else. O deity, you see my soul, you know it, you know how much love it has for people and the desire to do good. Oh people, if you ever read this, then remember that you were unfair to me; and let everyone who is unhappy take comfort in the fact that there is someone like him, who, in spite of all obstacles, did everything he could to be accepted among worthy artists and people.

However, Beethoven did not give up! And before he had time to finish writing his will, as in his soul, like a heavenly parting word, like a blessing of fate, the Third Symphony was born - a symphony unlike any that existed before. It was her that he loved more than his other creations. Ludwig dedicated this symphony to Bonaparte, whom he compared with the Roman consul and considered one of the greatest people new time. But, subsequently learning about his coronation, he was furious and broke the dedication. Since then, the 3rd symphony has been called the Heroic.

After everything that happened to him, Beethoven understood, realized the most important thing - his mission: “Let everything that is life be dedicated to the great and let it be the sanctuary of art! This is your duty to the people and to Him, the Almighty. Only in this way can you once again reveal what is hidden in you. The ideas of new works rained down on him like stars - at that time the Appassionata piano sonata, excerpts from the opera Fidelio, fragments of Symphony No. 5, sketches of numerous variations, bagatelles, marches, masses, and the Kreutzer Sonata were born. Having finally chosen his life path, the maestro seemed to have received new strength. So, from 1802 to 1805, works dedicated to bright joy appeared: “Pastoral Symphony”, piano sonata “Aurora”, “Merry Symphony” ...

Often, without realizing it himself, Beethoven became a pure spring from which people drew strength and consolation. Here is what Beethoven's student, Baroness Ertman, recalls: “When my last child died, Beethoven could not decide to come to us for a long time. Finally, one day he called me to his place, and when I came in, he sat down at the piano and said only: “We will talk to you with music,” after which he began to play. He told me everything, and I left him relieved. On another occasion, Beethoven did everything to help the daughter of the great Bach, who, after the death of her father, found herself on the verge of poverty. He often liked to repeat: "I do not know any other signs of superiority, except kindness."

Now the inner god was Beethoven's only constant interlocutor. Never before had Ludwig felt such closeness to Him: “... you can no longer live for yourself, you must live only for others, there is no more happiness for you anywhere except in your art. Oh Lord, help me overcome myself!” Two voices constantly sounded in his soul, sometimes they argued and were at enmity, but one of them was always the voice of the Lord. These two voices are clearly audible, for example, in the first movement of the Pathetique Sonata, in the Appassionata, in Symphony No. 5, and in the second movement of the Fourth Piano Concerto.

When an idea suddenly dawned on Ludwig during a walk or a conversation, he experienced what he called an "enthusiastic tetanus." At that moment he forgot himself and belonged only to musical idea and he didn't let her go until he had completely mastered her. This is how a new bold, rebellious art was born, which did not recognize the rule, "which could not be broken for the sake of more beautiful." Beethoven refused to believe the canons proclaimed by the harmony textbooks, he believed only what he had tried and experienced. But he was not guided by empty vanity - he was the herald of a new time and a new art, and the newest in this art was a man! A person who dared to challenge not only generally accepted stereotypes, but, first of all, his own limitations.

Ludwig was by no means proud of himself, he constantly searched, tirelessly studied the masterpieces of the past: the works of Bach, Handel, Gluck, Mozart. Their portraits hung in his room, and he often said that they helped him overcome suffering. Beethoven read the works of Sophocles and Euripides, his contemporaries Schiller and Goethe. God alone knows how many days and sleepless nights he spent comprehending great truths. And even shortly before his death, he said: "I begin to learn."

But how did the public receive the new music? Performed for the first time in front of selected listeners " Heroic symphony”was condemned for “divine lengths”. At an open performance, someone from the audience pronounced the verdict: “I’ll give a kreuzer to end all this!” Journalists and music critics did not get tired of instructing Beethoven: "The work is depressing, it is endless and embroidered." And the maestro, driven to despair, promised to write a symphony for them, which would last more than an hour, so that they would find his "Heroic" short. And he will write it 20 years later, and now Ludwig took up the composition of the opera Leonora, which he later renamed Fidelio. Among all his creations, she occupies an exceptional place: "Of all my children, she cost me the greatest pain at birth, she also gave me the greatest grief - that's why she is dearer to me than others." He rewrote the opera three times, provided four overtures, each of which was a masterpiece in its own way, wrote the fifth, but everyone was not satisfied. It was an incredible work: Beethoven rewrote a piece of an aria or the beginning of some scene 18 times and all 18 in different ways. For 22 lines of vocal music - 16 test pages! As soon as "Fidelio" was born, as it was shown to the public, but in auditorium the temperature was "below zero", the opera survived only three performances... Why did Beethoven fight so desperately for the life of this creation? The plot of the opera was based on a story that took place during the French Revolution, its main characters were love and fidelity - those ideals that Ludwig's heart has always lived. Like any person, he dreamed of family happiness, of home comfort. He, who constantly overcame illnesses and ailments, like no one else, needed the care of a loving heart. Friends did not remember Beethoven except as passionately in love, but his hobbies were always distinguished by extraordinary purity. He could not create without experiencing love, love was his sacred.

Autograph score of "Moonlight Sonata"

For several years, Ludwig was very friendly with the Brunswick family. The sisters Josephine and Teresa treated him very warmly and took care of him, but which of them became the one whom he called his "everything", his "angel" in his letter? Let this remain Beethoven's secret. The Fourth Symphony, the Fourth Piano Concerto, the quartets dedicated to the Russian prince Razumovsky, the cycle of songs “To a Distant Beloved” became the fruit of his heavenly love. Until the end of his days, Beethoven tenderly and reverently kept in his heart the image of the "immortal beloved".

The years 1822-1824 became especially difficult for the maestro. He tirelessly worked on the Ninth Symphony, but poverty and hunger forced him to write humiliating notes to publishers. He personally sent letters to the "chief European courts”, those who once paid attention to him. But almost all of his letters remained unanswered. Even despite the enchanting success of the Ninth Symphony, the fees from it turned out to be very small. And the composer laid all his hopes on the "generous Englishmen", who more than once showed him their enthusiasm. He wrote a letter to London and soon received £100 from the Philharmonic Society on account of the academy being set up in his favor. “It was a heartbreaking sight,” one of his friends recalled, “when, having received a letter, he clenched his hands and sobbed with joy and gratitude ... He wanted to dictate a letter of thanks again, he promised to dedicate one of his works to them - the Tenth Symphony or Overture , in a word, whatever they wish.” Despite this situation, Beethoven continued to compose. His last works were string quartets, opus 132, the third of which, with his divine adagio, he entitled "A song of thanksgiving to the Divine from a convalescent."

Ludwig seemed to have a premonition imminent death- he copied the saying from the temple of the Egyptian goddess Neith: “I am what I am. I am all that was, is, and will be. No mortal has lifted my veil. “He alone comes from himself, and everything that exists owes being to this one,” and he loved to reread it.

In December 1826, Beethoven went on business with his nephew Karl to his brother Johann. This trip turned out to be fatal for him: a long-standing liver disease was complicated by dropsy. For three months the illness severely tormented him, and he talked about new works: “I want to write a lot more, I would like to compose the Tenth Symphony ... music for Faust ... Yes, and a piano school. I think of it to myself in a completely different way than it is now accepted ... ”He did not lose his sense of humor until the last minute and composed the canon“ Doctor, close the gate so that death does not come. Overcoming incredible pain, he found the strength to console his old friend, the composer Hummel, who burst into tears, seeing his suffering. When Beethoven was operated on for the fourth time, and water gushed from his stomach when pierced, he exclaimed with a laugh that the doctor seemed to him to be Moses, who struck the rock with a rod, and immediately, to console himself, added: “Better water from the stomach than from - under the pen.

On March 26, 1827, the pyramid-shaped clock on Beethoven's desk suddenly stopped, which always foreshadowed a thunderstorm. At five o'clock in the afternoon a real storm broke out with a downpour and hail. Bright lightning lit up the room, there was a terrible thunderclap - and it was all over ... On the spring morning of March 29, 20,000 people came to see off the maestro. What a pity that people often forget about those who are near while they are alive, and remember and admire them only after their death.

Everything passes. Suns also die. But for thousands of years they continue to carry their light in the midst of darkness. And for thousands of years we receive the light of these faded suns. Thank you, great maestro, for an example of worthy victories, for showing how you can learn to hear the voice of the heart and follow it. Each person seeks to find happiness, each overcomes difficulties and longs to understand the meaning of their efforts and victories. And maybe your life, the way you searched and overcame, will help to find hope for those who seek and suffer. And a spark of faith will light up in their hearts that they are not alone, that all troubles can be overcome if you do not despair and give all the best that you have. Maybe, like you, someone will choose to serve and help others. And, like you, he will find happiness in this, even if the path to it leads through suffering and tears.

to the magazine "Man Without Borders"

Origin

The house where the composer was born
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770 in Bonn on December 16, baptized on December 17, 1770 in Bonn, in the Catholic Church of St. Remigius.

His father, Johann Beethoven (1740-1792), was a singer, tenor in the court chapel. Mother, Mary Magdalene, before her marriage Keverich (1748-1787), was the daughter of a court chef in Koblenz. They married in 1767.

Grandfather, Ludwig (1712-1773), served in the same chapel as Johann, first as a singer, bass, then bandmaster. He was from Mechelen in the Southern Netherlands, hence the prefix "van" in front of his surname.

early years

The composer's father wanted to make a second Mozart out of his son and began to teach him to play the harpsichord and violin. In 1778, the first performance of the boy took place in Cologne. However, Beethoven did not become a miracle child, the father entrusted the boy to his colleagues and friends. One taught Ludwig to play the organ, the other the violin.

In 1780, the organist and composer Christian Gottlob Nefe arrived in Bonn. He became a real teacher of Beethoven. Nefe immediately realized that the boy had talent. He introduced Ludwig to Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and the works of Handel, as well as to the music of older contemporaries: F. E. Bach, Haydn and Mozart. Thanks to Nefe, Beethoven's first composition, a variation on Dressler's march, was also published. Beethoven was twelve years old at the time and was already working as an assistant court organist.

After the death of my grandfather financial situation families worsened. Ludwig had to leave school early, but he learned Latin, studied Italian and French, and read a lot. Already becoming an adult, the composer admitted in one of his letters:

“There is no work that would be too learned for me; without claiming in the slightest degree to be a scholar in the true sense of the word, I nevertheless strived from childhood to understand the essence of the best and wisest people of every era.

Among Beethoven's favorite writers are the ancient Greek authors Homer and Plutarch, the English playwright Shakespeare, German poets Goethe and Schiller.

At this time, Beethoven began composing music, but was in no hurry to publish his works. Much of what he wrote in Bonn was later revised by him. From the youthful works of the composer, three children's sonatas and several songs are known, including "Marmot".

In 1787 Beethoven visited Vienna. After listening to Beethoven's improvisation, Mozart exclaimed:

“He will make everyone talk about himself!”

But the classes never took place: Beethoven found out about his mother's illness and returned to Bonn. She died on July 17, 1787. The seventeen-year-old boy was forced to become the head of the family and take care of his younger brothers. He joined the orchestra as a violist. Italian, French and German operas are staged here. The operas of Gluck and Mozart made a particularly strong impression on the young man.

In 1789, Beethoven, wishing to continue his education, began attending lectures at the university. Just at this time news of the revolution in France comes to Bonn. One of the university professors publishes a collection of poems glorifying the revolution. Beethoven subscribes to it. Then he composes "Song free man”, which contains the words: “Free is the one for whom the advantages of birth and title mean nothing.”

Haydn stopped on his way from England to Bonn. He spoke with approval of Beethoven's composing experiments. The young man decides to go to Vienna to take lessons from the famous composer, since, after returning from England, Haydn becomes even more famous. In the autumn of 1792, Beethoven leaves Bonn.

First ten years in Vienna (1792-1802)

Arriving in Vienna, Beethoven began classes with Haydn, subsequently claiming that Haydn had taught him nothing; classes quickly disappointed both the student and the teacher. Beethoven believed that Haydn was not attentive enough to his efforts; Haydn was frightened not only by the bold views of Ludwig at that time, but also by rather gloomy melodies, which was not common in those years. Haydn once wrote to Beethoven:

“Your things are beautiful, they are even wonderful things, but here and there something strange, gloomy is found in them, since you yourself are a little gloomy and strange; and the style of a musician is always himself.

Soon Haydn left for England and gave his student to the famous teacher and theorist Albrechtsberger. In the end, Beethoven himself chose his mentor - Antonio Salieri.

Already in the first years of his life in Vienna, Beethoven won fame as a virtuoso pianist. His playing amazed the audience.

Beethoven boldly opposed the extreme registers (and at that time they played mainly in the middle), widely used the pedal (it was also rarely used then), and used massive chordal harmonies. In fact, it was he who created the piano style, far from the exquisitely laced manner of the harpsichordists.

This style can be found in his piano sonatas No. 8 "Pathetique" (the title given by the composer himself), No. 13 and No. 14. Both have the author's subtitle Sonata quasi una Fantasia ("in the spirit of fantasy"). The poet L. Relshtab later called Sonata No. 14 “Lunar”, and although this name is suitable only for the first movement, and not for the finale, it was assigned to the entire work.

Beethoven also stood out for his appearance among the ladies and gentlemen of that time. Almost always he was found casually dressed and unkempt.

On another occasion, Beethoven was visiting Prince Lichnovsky. Likhnovsky respected the composer very much and was a fan of his music. He wanted Beethoven to play in front of the audience. The composer refused. Likhnovsky began to insist and even ordered to break down the door of the room where Beethoven had locked himself. The indignant composer left the estate and returned to Vienna. The next morning, Beethoven sent a letter to Likhnovsky: “Prince! What I am, I owe to myself. There are and will be thousands of princes, but Beethoven is only one!”

However, despite such a harsh character, Beethoven's friends considered him a rather kind person. So, for example, the composer never refused to help close friends. One of his quotes:

“None of my friends should be in need while I have a piece of bread, if my wallet is empty and I cannot help immediately, well, I just have to sit down at the table and get to work, and pretty soon I I'll help him get out of trouble."

Beethoven's compositions began to be widely published and enjoyed success. During the first ten years spent in Vienna, twenty sonatas for piano and three piano concertos, eight sonatas for violin, quartets and other chamber compositions, the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives, the ballet Creations of Prometheus, the First and Second Symphonies were written.

In 1796, Beethoven begins to lose his hearing. He develops tinitis, an inflammation of the inner ear leading to ringing in the ears. On the advice of doctors, he retires for a long time in the small town of Heiligenstadt. However, peace and quiet do not improve his well-being. Beethoven begins to realize that deafness is incurable. In these tragic days he writes a letter that will later be called the Heiligenstadt testament. The composer talks about his experiences, admits that he was close to suicide:

“It seemed unthinkable to me to leave the world before I had fulfilled all that I felt called to.”

In Heiligenstadt, the composer begins work on a new Third Symphony, which he will call Heroic.

As a result of Beethoven's deafness, unique historical documents: "conversation notebooks", where Beethoven's friends wrote down their lines for him, to which he answered either orally or in response.

However, the musician Schindler, who had two notebooks with recordings of Beethoven's conversations left, in all likelihood burned them, since “they contained the most rude, fierce attacks against the emperor, as well as the crown prince and other high-ranking officials. This, unfortunately, was Beethoven's favorite theme; in conversation, Beethoven constantly resented those in power, their laws and regulations.

Later years (1802-1815)

Beethoven composes the Sixth Symphony
When Beethoven was 34 years old, Napoleon abandoned the ideals of the Great french revolution and declared himself emperor. Therefore, Beethoven abandoned his intentions to dedicate his Third Symphony to him: “This Napoleon is also an ordinary person. Now he will trample underfoot all human rights and become a tyrant.”

In piano work own style the composer is already noticeable in early sonatas, but in symphonic maturity came to him later. According to Tchaikovsky, it was only in the third symphony that "for the first time, all the immense, amazing power of Beethoven's creative genius was revealed."

Due to deafness, Beethoven rarely leaves the house, loses sound perception. He becomes gloomy, withdrawn. It was during these years that the composer, one after another, creates his most famous works. During these same years, Beethoven worked on his only opera, Fidelio. This opera belongs to the horror and rescue opera genre. Success for Fidelio came only in 1814, when the opera was staged first in Vienna, then in Prague, where the famous German composer Weber conducted it, and finally in Berlin.

Giulietta Guicciardi, to whom the composer dedicated the Moonlight Sonata
Shortly before his death, the composer handed over the manuscript of Fidelio to his friend and secretary Schindler with the words: “This child of my spirit was born in more severe torment than others, and gave me the greatest grief. Therefore, it is dearer to me than all ... "

Last years (1815-1827)

After 1812 creative activity the composer falls for a while. However, after three years, he begins to work with the same energy. At this time, piano sonatas from the 28th to the last, 32nd, two cello sonatas, quartets, and the vocal cycle “To a Distant Beloved” were created. A lot of time is devoted to processing folk songs. Along with Scottish, Irish, Welsh, there are Russians. But the main creations of recent years have been two of Beethoven's most monumental works - "The Solemn Mass" and Symphony No. 9 with Chorus.

The ninth symphony was performed in 1824. The audience gave the composer a standing ovation. It is known that Beethoven stood with his back to the audience and did not hear anything, then one of the singers took his hand and turned to face the audience. People waved handkerchiefs, hats, hands, welcoming the composer. The ovation lasted so long that the police officials who were present immediately demanded that it be stopped. Such greetings were allowed only in relation to the person of the emperor.

In Austria, after the defeat of Napoleon, a police regime was established. Frightened by the revolution, the government suppressed any "free thoughts". Numerous secret agents penetrated all strata of society. In Beethoven's colloquial notebooks, there are now and then warnings: “Hush! Watch out, there's a spy here!" And, probably, after some especially bold statement of the composer: “You will end up on the scaffold!”

However, Beethoven's popularity was so great that the government did not dare to touch him. Despite the deafness, the composer continues to be aware of not only political, but also musical news. He reads (that is, listens with his inner ear) the scores of Rossini's operas, looks through the collection of Schubert's songs, gets acquainted with the operas of the German composer Weber "The Magic Shooter" and "Euryant". Arriving in Vienna, Weber visited Beethoven. They had lunch together, and Beethoven, usually not prone to ceremony, courted his guest.

After the death of his younger brother, the composer took over the care of his son. Beethoven places his nephew in the best boarding schools and instructs his student Carl Czerny to study music with him. The composer wanted the boy to become a scientist or an artist, but he was attracted not by art, but by cards and billiards. Entangled in debt, he attempted suicide. This attempt did not cause much harm: the bullet only slightly scratched the skin on the head. Beethoven was very worried about this. His health deteriorated sharply. The composer develops a severe liver disease.

Beethoven died on March 26, 1827. Over twenty thousand people followed his coffin. During the funeral, Beethoven's favorite Requiem Mass in C Minor by Luigi Cherubini was performed. A speech written by the poet Franz Grillparzer was heard at the grave:

“He was an artist, but also a man, a man in the highest sense of the word ... One can say about him like no other: he did great things, there was nothing bad in him.”

Causes of death

Beethoven on his deathbed (drawing by Josef Eduard Teltscher)
On August 29, 2007, Viennese pathologist and forensic expert Christian Reiter (Associate Professor of the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Vienna medical university) suggested that his physician Andreas Vavruh unintentionally hastened the death of Beethoven, who over and over again pierced the sick peritoneum (to remove the liquid), after which he applied lotions containing lead to the wounds. Reuter's hair studies showed that Beethoven's lead levels rose sharply each time he saw a doctor.

Beethoven teacher

Beethoven began giving music lessons while still in Bonn. His Bonn student Stefan Breining remained the most devoted friend of the composer until the end of his days. Braining helped Beethoven remake the libretto of Fidelio. In Vienna, the young Countess Juliet Guicciardi became a student of Beethoven. Juliet was a relative of the Brunswicks, in whose family the composer visited especially often. Beethoven was carried away by his student and even thought about marriage. He spent the summer of 1801 in Hungary, at the Brunsvik estate. According to one hypothesis, it was there that the Moonlight Sonata was composed. The composer dedicated it to Juliet. However, Juliet preferred Count Gallenberg to him, considering him a talented composer. Critics wrote about the compositions of the count that they can accurately indicate from which work of Mozart or Cherubini this or that melody is borrowed. Therese Brunswick was also a student of Beethoven. She had musical talent - she played the piano beautifully, sang and even conducted.

Having met the famous Swiss teacher Pestalozzi, she decided to devote herself to raising children. In Hungary, Teresa opened charitable kindergartens for the children of the poor. Until her death (Teresa died in 1861 at an advanced age), she remained faithful to her chosen cause. Beethoven had a long friendship with Teresa. After the death of the composer, a large letter was found, which was called "Letter to an immortal lover." The addressee of the letter is unknown, but some researchers consider Teresa Brunswick to be her "immortal lover".

Dorothea Ertmann, one of the best pianists in Germany, was also a student of Beethoven. One of her contemporaries spoke of her this way:

“A tall, stately figure and a beautiful, full of animation face aroused in me ... tense expectation, and yet I was shocked, as never before, by her performance of the Beethoven sonata. I have never seen a combination of such strength with penetrating tenderness - even among the greatest virtuosos.

Ertman was famous for her performances of Beethoven's works. The composer dedicated Sonata No. 28 to her. Upon learning that Dorothea's child had died, Beethoven played for her for a long time.

At the end of 1801, Ferdinand Rees arrived in Vienna. Ferdinand was the son of a Bonn Kapellmeister, a friend of the Beethoven family. The composer accepted the young man. Like other students of Beethoven, Rees already owned the instrument and also composed. One day, Beethoven played him an adagio just completed. The young man liked the music so much that he memorized it. Rees went to Prince Likhnovsky's and played a play. The prince learned the beginning and, having come to the composer, said that he wanted to play his composition for him. Beethoven, who did not stand on ceremony with the princes, categorically refused to listen. But Likhnovsky still played. Beethoven immediately guessed about the trick of Rhys and was terribly angry. He forbade the student to listen to his new compositions and really never played anything to him again. Once Rhys played his march, passing it off as Beethoven's. The listeners were enthralled. The composer, who appeared immediately, did not expose the student. He just told him:

“See, dear Rhys, what great experts are. Give them only the name of their pet and they don't need anything else!"

Once Rhys happened to hear a new creation of Beethoven. Once on a walk they got lost and returned home in the evening. Along the way, Beethoven growled a stormy melody. Arriving home, he immediately sat down at the instrument and, carried away, completely forgot about the presence of the student. Thus was born the finale of the Appassionata.

At the same time as Rhys, Carl Czerny began to study with Beethoven. Karl was, perhaps, the only child among Beethoven's students. He was only nine years old, but he was already giving concerts. His first teacher was his father, the famous Czech teacher Venzel Czerny. When Karl first got into Beethoven's apartment, where, as always, there was a mess, and saw a man with a dark, unshaven face, wearing a coarse woolen vest, he mistook him for Robinson Crusoe.

Czerny studied with Beethoven for five years, after which the composer gave him a document in which he noted "the exceptional success of the student and his remarkable musical memory". Czerny's memory was truly amazing: he knew by heart all the teacher's piano compositions.

Czerny began teaching early and soon became one of the best teachers in Vienna. Among his students was Teodor Leshetitsky, who can be called one of the founders of the Russian piano school. From 1858 Leshetitsky lived in St. Petersburg, and from 1862 to 1878 he taught at the newly opened conservatory. Here he studied with A. N. Esipova, later a professor at the same conservatory, V. I. Safonov, professor and director of the Moscow Conservatory, S. M. Maykapar.

In 1822, a father and a boy came to Cherny, who had come from the Hungarian town of Doboryan. The boy had no idea either about the correct fit or fingering, but an experienced teacher immediately realized that he was facing an unusual, gifted, perhaps brilliant child. The boy's name was Franz Liszt. Liszt studied with Czerny for a year and a half. His successes were so great that the teacher allowed him to speak to the public. Beethoven attended the concert. He guessed the boy's giftedness and kissed him. Liszt kept the memory of this kiss all his life.

Not Rice, not Czerny, but Liszt inherited Beethoven's style of playing. Like Beethoven, Liszt treats the piano like an orchestra. While touring Europe, he promoted the work of Beethoven, performing not only his piano works, but also symphonies, which he adapted for the piano. In those days, Beethoven's music, especially symphonic music, was still unknown to a wide audience. In 1839 Liszt arrived in Bonn. Here for several years they were going to erect a monument to the composer, but things were moving slowly.

“What a shame for everyone! wrote an indignant Liszt to Berlioz. - What a pain for us! ... It is unacceptable that a monument to our Beethoven be built on this barely cobbled together stingy alms. It shouldn't be! It will not happen!"

Liszt made up the missing amount with the proceeds from his concerts. It was only thanks to these efforts that the monument to the composer was erected.

Students

Franz Liszt
Carl Czerny
Ferdinand Rees
Rudolf Johann Joseph Rainer von Habsburg-Lorraine

Family

Johann van Beethoven (1740-1792) - father
Mary Magdalene Keverich (1746-1787) - mother

Ludovicus Van Beethoven (1712-1773) - paternal grandfather
Maria Josepha Poll (1714-1775) - paternal grandmother
Johann Heinrich Keverich (1702-1759) - maternal grandfather
Anna Clara Westorff (1707-1768) - maternal grandmother

Caspar Anton Carl van Beethoven (1774-1815) - brother
Franz Georg van Beethoven (1781-1783) - brother
Johann Nikolaus van Beethoven (1776-1848) - brother
Ludwig Maria van Beethoven (1769-1769) - sister
Anna Maria Franziska van Beethoven (1779-1779) - sister
Maria Marguerite van Beethoven (1786-1787) - sister
Johann Peter Anton Leym (1764-1764) - maternal half-sister. Father Johann Leym (1733-1765).

The image of Beethoven in culture

In literature

Beethoven became the prototype of the main character - the composer Jean Christophe - in novel of the same name, one of the most famous works French author Romain Rolland. The novel became one of the works for which Rolland was awarded in 1915 Nobel Prize on literature.

In cinema

The protagonist of the cult film "A Clockwork Orange" Alex loves to listen to Beethoven's music, so the film is full of it.
In the film “Remember Me Like This,” filmed in 1987 at Mosfilm by Pavel Chukhrai, Beethoven’s music sounds.
The comedy film Beethoven has nothing to do with the composer, except that a dog is named after him.
Jan Hart played Beethoven in the film "Heroic Symphony".
In the Soviet-German film "Beethoven. Days of Life” Beethoven was played by Donatas Banionis.
In the movie "Sign" main character loved to listen to Beethoven's music, and at the end of the film, when the end of the world began, everyone died to the second part of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.
The film "Rewriting Beethoven" tells about last year composer's life leading role Ed Harris).
The 2-episode feature film The Life of Beethoven (USSR, 1978, director B. Galanter) is based on the surviving memories of the composer by his close friends.
Film Lecture 21 (Italy, 2008), film debut Italian writer and musicologist Alessandro Baricco, dedicated to the "Ninth Symphony".
In the film "Equilibrium" (USA, 2002, directed by Kurt Wimmer), the main character Preston discovers a myriad of records. He decides to listen to one of them. The film features an excerpt from Ludwig van Beethoven's ninth symphony.
In the film "The Soloist" (USA, France, UK directed by Joe Wright) The plot is based on real history life of musician Nathaniel Ayers. Young virtuoso cellist Ayers' career is interrupted when he falls ill with schizophrenia. Many years later, a Los Angeles Times journalist learns about the homeless musician, the result of their communication is a series of articles. Ayers just raves about Beethoven, he constantly performs his symphonies on the street.
In the film "Immortal Beloved" they find out who exactly owns Beethoven's legacy. In his will, he himself gives all his writings to a certain immortal beloved. The film features works by the composer.

In non-academic music

American musician Chuck Berry wrote the song Roll Over Beethoven in 1956, which was included in the list of the 500 greatest songs of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine. In addition to Beethoven himself, Tchaikovsky is also mentioned in the song. Later (In 1973) in the album ELO-2 this song was performed by the group Electric Light Orchestra, and at the beginning of the composition a fragment of the 5th symphony is used.
The song "Beethoven" from the album "Split Personality" by the Spleen group is dedicated to the composer.
The song "Silence" by Aella is dedicated to the composer.
Dutch group shock blue used an excerpt from "To Elise" in the song "Broken heart" from the 1972 album Attila.
In 1981, the Rainbow band, led by the band's ex-guitarist deep purple Ritchie Blackmore released the album Difficult to Cure (“Intractable”), the composition of the same name in which was created based on Beethoven's 9th symphony;
On the 1985 album Metal Heart by the German heavy metal band Accept, the title track's guitar solo is an interpretation of Beethoven's "Fur Elise".
In 2000, the neo-classical metal band Trans-Siberian Orchestra released the rock opera Beethoven's Last Night, dedicated to the composer's last night.
The composition Les Litanies De Satan from the album Bloody Lunatic Asylum by the Italian gothic black metal band Theaters des Vampires features Sonata No. 14 as an accompaniment to the lyrics of Charles Baudelaire.

In popular culture

According to a popular meme, one of Beethoven's parents had syphilis, Beethoven's older brothers were blind, deaf, or mentally handicapped. This legend is used as an argument against abortion:

“You know a pregnant woman who already has 8 children. Two of them are blind, three are deaf, one is mentally underdeveloped, she herself is sick with syphilis. Would you advise her to have an abortion?

If you advised an abortion, you have just killed Ludwig van Beethoven."

Richard Dawkins refutes this legend and criticizes such reasoning in his book The God Delusion.

Beethoven's parents married in 1767. In 1769, their first son, Ludwig Maria, was born, who died after 6 days, which was quite common for that time. No data has been preserved on whether he was blind, deaf, mentally retarded, etc. In 1770, Ludwig van Beethoven was born. In 1774, the third son, Caspar Carl van Beethoven, was born, who died in 1815 from pulmonary tuberculosis. He was neither blind, nor deaf, nor mentally retarded. In 1776, the fourth son, Nikolaus Johann, was born, who had enviable health and died in 1848. In 1779, a daughter, Anna Maria Franziska, was born; she died four days later. There was also no information about her about whether she was blind, deaf, mentally retarded, etc. Franz Georg was born in 1781, who died two years later. Maria Margarita was born in 1786, she died a year later. In the same year, Ludwig's mother died of tuberculosis, a disease common at that time. There is no reason to believe that she suffered from venereal diseases. Father, Johann van Beethoven, died in 1792.

monuments

Memorial plaque in Prague
Memorial plaque in Vienna
Monument in Bonn

Data

One day, Beethoven and Goethe, walking together in Teplice, met Emperor Franz, who was there at that time, surrounded by his retinue and courtiers. Goethe, stepping aside, bowed deeply, Beethoven passed through the crowd of courtiers, barely touching his hat.
In 2011, University of Manchester professor Brian Cooper reported that he was able to restore a 72-bar opus for string quartet written by Beethoven in 1799, rejected and subsequently lost: “Beethoven was a perfectionist. Any other composer would be happy to compose this passage." The newfound music was performed on 29 September by the Manchester University String Quartet.
Featured on a 1995 Austrian postage stamp, a series of stamps were issued in Albania for Beethoven's 200th anniversary

Performances of Beethoven's music

Conductors who have recorded all of Beethoven's symphonies include Claudio Abbado (twice), Ernest Ansermet, Nikolaus Arnoncourt, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein (twice), Carl Böhm, Bruno Walter (twice), Gunther Wand, Felix Weingartner, John Eliot Gardiner, Carlo Maria Giulini, Kurt Sanderling, Eugen Jochum (three times), Herbert von Karajan (four times), Otto Klemperer, Andre Kluitans, Willem Mengelberg, Pierre Monteux, George Sell, Arturo Toscanini (twice), Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bernard Haitink (three times), Herman Scherchen, Georg Solti (twice).

Among the pianists who recorded all of Beethoven's piano sonatas are Claudio Arrau (twice, second cycle not completed), Vladimir Ashkenazy, Wilhelm Backhaus (twice, second cycle not completed), Daniel Barenboim (three times), Alfred Brendel (three times), Maria Grinberg , Friedrich Gulda (three times), Wilhelm Kempf (twice), Tatiana Nikolaeva, Annie Fischer, Arthur Schnabel. They began to record full cycles of sonatas, but died before they could complete these projects, Walter Gieseking, Emil Gilels, Rudolf Serkin.

Artworks

• 9 symphonies: No. 1 (1799-1800), No. 2 (1803), No. 3 "Heroic" (1803-1804), No. 4 (1806), No. 5 (1804-1808), No. 6 "Pastoral" (1808) , No. 7 (1812), No. 8 (1812), No. 9 (1824).
• 8 symphonic overtures, including Leonora No. 3.
• 5 concertos for piano and orchestra.
• music for dramatic performances: "Egmont", "Coriolanus", "King Stephen"
• 6 Youth Sonatas for Piano.
• 32 piano sonatas, 32 variations in C minor and about 60 piano pieces.
• 10 sonatas for violin and piano.
• concerto for violin and orchestra, concerto for violin, cello and piano with orchestra ("triple concerto").
• 5 sonatas for cello and piano.
• 16 string quartets.
• 6 trio.
• Ballet "Creations of Prometheus".
• Opera Fidelio.
• Solemn mass.
• Vocal cycle "

In order to know about one of the most talented and famous composers of the late XVIII and early 19th century, Ludwig van Beethoven, it is enough to get acquainted with his main moments of life.

Therefore, the article provides a summary of the most important data from the biography of the maestro.

Ludwig van Beethoven - German composer

Ludwig van Beethoven, a German conductor, musician and composer, is one of the most fundamental figures in musical classicism.

Years of life: 12/1770. - 1827.03.26.

The composer's work includes all the genres that existed during the period of his activity: compositions for the choir, music for dramatic performances and opera.

He created brilliant works in between the classical and romantic periods, remaining the last representative of the Viennese classical school.

For children, it is important to answer the question - what instrument did Beethoven play? The composer owned several musical instruments, among which were the organ, viola, piano, piano, violin and cello.

Famous musical works

Throughout his creative career, Beethoven wrote a huge number of musical works, especially famous in their list are:

• 9 symphonies, only two of them acquired a title: 3rd symphony "Heroic" of 1804 and 6th symphony "Pastoral" of 1808;
• 32 sonatas, 16 of them for young men, and 60 pieces for piano, of which the Moonlight Sonata, Pathetique Sonata and Appassionata stand out;
• 8 symphonic introductions to performances, one of them No. 3 "Leonora";
• musical accompaniment of performances: "King Stefan", "Egmont" and "Coriolanus";
• "triple concertos" - concertos for cello, violin and piano;
• 10 pieces for violin and piano and 5 pieces for piano and cello;
• the only opera, in two parts, Fidelio;
• the only ballet, from which only the introduction (overture), "The Creation of Prometheus" is performed;
• "Solemn Mass";
• No. 14 Piano Sonata "The Seasons";
• music for 40 poems and musical revision of the songs of the peoples of Ireland and Scotland.

Short biography of Beethoven

The information is compiled from the most important points in the life and work of the musician.

Where he was born

In the German city of Bonn, which is located on the Rhine River, in the winter of 1770, the first-born, Ludwig, was born in the family of Johann van Beethoven and Mary Magdalene Keverich.

Father and mother

Beethoven's father and grandfather, Johann and Ludwig, were musicians and singers.

The grandfather of the future musician, Ludwig Sr., was a Flemish singer who moved to Bonn, where he was lucky enough to become a musician at the court of the Elector of Cologne himself.

There, in the chapel, Johann, who had a pleasant tenor, got a job as a chorister. There, Johann meets the daughter of the cook Keverich, Mary Magdalene, with whom he later married.

Childhood

Ludwig's childhood could not be called joyful, because after him 6 more brothers and sisters were born, and he had to help his mother with the housework.

On top of that, my father used to drink alcohol very often, which served as a completely unhealthy atmosphere in the house.

Johann was a completely unbridled man, allowing himself to be beaten, in addition, the family never had enough money due to constant binges. deal with violent temper even the grandfather could not have fathered Ludwig, which may have caused four children's deaths in the future.

Alcohol, beatings, poverty and stress affected the health of the mother and the bearing of children, so everyone died almost in infancy.

Education and upbringing

In the days when calm came, Ludwig liked to listen to the musical performance of his grandfather in the chapel, which did not go unnoticed by his father, who began to musical education boy.

But Johann's goals were by no means noble, he was so impatient to soon get rich on a talented child, so the learning process took place in a cruel atmosphere.

On top of that, Johann limited his son to attending compulsory primary education, which subsequently affected the composer's literacy. Gaps in education are visible in the surviving records of the musician, there are serious errors in counting and spelling.

The beginning of creativity

Ludwig gives his first concert, under the control of his father, in Cologne, but the proceeds turned out to be too small, which greatly disappointed Johann, and he sends his son to study with his familiar musicians.

But Mary Magdalene tried to support her son in every possible way, offering him to transfer the music that arises in his head to paper.

In 1782, young Ludwig met K. G. Nefe, an organist, composer and aesthete, who takes patronage over the talent, making him his assistant at court. Nefe teaches Ludwig, instilling a love for music and literature, philosophy and foreign languages. The young musician dreams of meeting and working with Mozart, and this dream was destined to come true.

In 1787, Ludwig van Beethoven made his first trip to Vienna, where he demonstrated improvisations to Mozart, who, stunned by the performance of the young man, predicted his great popularity in the future. After that, the maestro agreed to Beethoven's requests to give some professional lessons.

But fate decreed otherwise. Ludwig's mother became seriously ill, and therefore had to urgently return home. Mary Magdalene dies and Ludwig has to take care of his two younger brothers. For his children, Johann was a bad father, he was only interested in a reckless, alcohol-soaked life, and the young musician had no choice but to turn to the elector for help, asking for monthly financial assistance. This period of life was very difficult, suddenly complicated by diseases of typhus and smallpox.

Ludwig's sleepless talent further enabled him to secure access to any musical gatherings and respect from wealthy families in his hometown. This allowed him to visit Vienna again in 1792, where the young man took lessons from famous composers: Haydn, Albrechtsberger, Schenk and Salieri. Using acquaintances and knowledge, Beethoven becomes a member of the circle of virtuoso musicians and titled persons.

True, to the pampered inhabitants of Vienna, the composer's music seemed very incomprehensible and monstrous, which greatly discouraged and annoyed him. Then, without thinking twice, Ludwig goes to Berlin, where, as it seemed to him, he hoped to meet understanding.

There was also disappointment. Beethoven did not find what he was looking for. Spoiled morals, hypocrisy, covered with piety, irritated, and, despite the improvisations accepted by the court of Frederick II and the offer to stay in Berlin, the musician returns to his beloved Vienna. From there, the musician did not voluntarily leave for several years, devoting himself entirely to his notes, creating three compositions a day.

Beethoven was an open revolutionary who was not afraid to express his views to everyone and everywhere. Even his appearance screamed it, with its naughty whirlwinds out of fashion, not changing to please anyone. The internal and external state existed harmoniously.

This harmony of rebellion was skillfully captured on the canvas in 1920 by the familiar artist Stieler.

This portrait of Beethoven is considered the most popular of all lifetime images.

At the age of 26, a real misfortune crept up to Beethoven - hearing loss. Even earlier, he had to complain about frequent annoying noises and ringing in the ears, which indicated a developing disease - tinnitus.

The doctors' advice on maintaining peace and silence did not improve the condition at all, and the composer, in a moment of despair, wrote a will. But the shown strength of character, characteristic of the composer, did not allow him to lay hands on himself. Realizing the impending deafness, the maestro decided not to waste time and work on his Third Symphony - "Heroic".

heyday

Since 1812, Beethoven has been creating his best monumental works for cello and his favorite piano, composing Symphony No. 9, "The Solemn Mass" and the cycle for vocalists "To a Distant Beloved", processing songs of the peoples of Scotland, Russia, Ireland.

In 1824 there was the first performance of the 9th symphony in public, which arranged a storm of applause for the maestro, waving handkerchiefs and hats as a sign of greeting. This was allowed only when meeting with imperial persons, so the gendarmes were not slow to stop such liberties.

last years of life

In the winter of 1826, the maestro was struck by pneumonia, in addition to dropsy and jaundice. The struggle with the disease continued for about three months, but this time it turned out to be weaker, and in the early morning Beethoven died.

He was only 56 years old. An autopsy showed that the maestro by that time had developed cirrhosis of the liver and pancreatitis.

Multi-thousandth funeral procession spent her favorite unique composer in complete silence. At the burial site, a pyramidal monument was erected with the image of a lyre, the sun and the name of a genius on it.

There are several interesting facts about Beethoven:

1. Due to hearing loss, the composer comes up with a way to hear the sound: he clamps one end of a thin flat stick in his teeth, and leans the other against the edge of the instrument and feels the note through the resulting vibration.
2. When the disease took possession of his hearing, the deaf musician created a “conversational notebook” to communicate with people, through which people communicated with him. Since the musician was not an admirer of ruling persons, he spoke in every possible way about them with unflattering, and sometimes terrible words. This was dangerous, because at that time royal spies were scurrying around, and Beethoven's friends constantly warned him in a notebook about their presence. But the maestro's irony and intemperance did not allow him to remain silent, to which the answer was written in his notebook - "The scaffold is crying for you!" Some of these notebooks were destroyed.
3. A forensic pathologist and expert from Vienna, Reuter, conducted an analysis of Beethoven's hair in 2007, which showed that the cause of death of the maestro was lead poisoning, due to improper treatment.
4. Unlike his contemporary, the composer Rossini, who covered himself with a blanket to compose, Beethoven stimulated his brain by pouring ice-cold water over his head.

Outstanding Musician Achievement

Ludwig van Beethoven played a prominent role in the development of the musical genres of his predecessors. He allowed as much freedom as possible into the performance of quartets, symphonies and sonatas, creating a sense of space and time.

The composer introduced each instrument with his works in such a way that the performer simply needed to master it thoroughly.

So the harpsichord was pushed aside, which made the piano the main instrument, which, with its extended range, extinguishes its modest elegance, and requires professional dedication.

The composer also introduced an innovation into the melody - an unexpected impulsive and contrasting performance, with a change in tempo and rhythms, which was sometimes difficult to accept for contemporaries.

Beethoven became a musical revolutionary, overshadowing his former traditional direction with his creations, creating a new direction in the art of music.

The content of the article

BEETHOVEN, LUDWIG WAN(Beethoven, Ludwig van) (1770–1827), 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 . He was an intelligent man, a good singer, a professionally trained instrumentalist, he rose to the position of court bandmaster and was respected by those around him. 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.

Beethoven's general education was as unsystematic as his musical education. In the latter, however, big role practice played: he played the viola in the court orchestra, acted as a performer on keyboard instruments, including 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 with him all Well-Tempered Clavier J.S. Bach). 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 to 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 a stocky young man, prone to panache, sometimes brash, but good-natured and sweet in dealing with friends. Realizing the insufficiency of his education, he went to Joseph Haydn, the recognized Viennese authority in the field of instrumental music (Mozart had died a year earlier), and for some time brought counterpoint exercises to him to check. Haydn, however, soon cooled off towards the obstinate student, and Beethoven, secretly from him, began to take lessons from I. Shenk 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 best-known (and least provocative) early works is the 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 a bad mood or absent-mindedness.

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, magnificent 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 towards what Beethoven himself called "the new path" occurred in the Third Symphony ( Heroic), 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 claimed (and not without reason) that Beethoven first dedicated heroic Napoleon, but upon learning that he had proclaimed himself emperor, he canceled the consecration. “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 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 intense work of thought, evidence of the musician's rich inner life.

We can only name the most important writings second period: violin sonata in A major, op. 47 ( Kreutzer, 1802–1803); Third Symphony, op. 55 ( Heroic, 1802–1805); oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives, op. 85 (1803); piano sonatas: Waldshteinovskaya, op. 53; in F major, op. 54, Appassionata, op. 57 (1803–1815); Piano Concerto 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 Collin 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 ( Parting, 1809–1910); three songs on poems by Goethe, op. 83 (1810); music for Goethe's tragedy 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 Appassionata And Waldshteinovskaya. 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 design to Beethoven's stay at the Hungarian Brunswick estate in the summer of 1806.

Fourth, Fifth and Sixth pastoral) symphonies were composed in 1804–1808. The Fifth - probably the most famous symphony in the world - opens with a brief motif, about which Beethoven said: "Thus fate knocks 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 clothes, 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 plot - Leonora Gaveau, Beethoven's work was named Fidelio, by 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 have been 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 Teplice. 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, the Austrian archduke and half-brother of the 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 works as the piano sonata were created Parting, Triple Concerto, the last and most grandiose Fifth Piano Concerto, solemn mass(Missa solemnis). 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.

The financial situation of the composer 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 chaotic 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 on the last period of 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 compositions such as the majestic solemn mass in D major (1818) or the Ninth Symphony, he behaved strangely, instilling alarm in 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 other later works was more complicated. Many years passed after Beethoven's death, and only then the most receptive musicians began to perform his last quartets (including the Grand Fugue, op. 33) and the 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 well-known forms and genres was distinguished by 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, a larger number of performers in each part, and secondly, the performing skills of each orchestra member, incredible 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. Beethoven's notebooks show how gradually, step by step, a grandiose composition emerges from uncertain sketches, marked by 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 by the power of his mind, by his own will. He anticipated and created those artistic directions, which became decisive for the musical art of the 19th century. And today his works are among the greatest, most revered creations of the human genius.