Beethoven a brief biography of the famous composer is set out in this article.

Ludwig van Beethoven short biography

Ludwig van Beethoven was born into a musical family in 1770 in Bonn. As a child, the future composer was introduced to playing musical instruments - organ, harpsichord, violin, flute.

Composer Christian Gottlob Nefe was Beethoven's first teacher. At the age of 12, Beethoven became an assistant organist at court. In addition to studying music, Ludwig was engaged in the study of languages, reading such authors as Homer, Plutarch, Shakespeare, while simultaneously trying to compose music.

Beethoven loses his mother early and takes on all the expenses of the family.

After moving to Vienna, Beethoven took music lessons from such composers as Haydn, Albrechtsberger, Salieri. Haydn notes the gloomy manner of performance of the future genius of music, but despite this virtuoso.

Famous works of the composer appeared in Vienna: the Moonlight Sonata and the Pathétic Sonata. 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".

Beethoven loses his hearing due to a middle ear disease and settles in the city of Heiligenstadt. The peak of the composer's popularity is coming. A painful illness only helps Beethoven to work with even greater enthusiasm on his compositions.

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, and he recognized musical talent in little Ludwig Beethoven. 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 "Pathétique" (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 a collected and strong person, 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.

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, practice played a big role: he played the viola in the court orchestra, performed on keyboard instruments, including the organ, which he quickly mastered. 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 expanded considerably when Archduke Maximilian Franz became Elector of Cologne and began to take care of the musical life of 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 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, a 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. Schenk and then from the more thorough J. G. Albrechtsberger. In addition, wanting to improve in vocal writing, he visited the famous opera composer Antonio Salieri for several years. 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. The political and social life of Europe at 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 for 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) were 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 told about his illness to a close friend - Carl Amenda, as well as doctors, who advised him to protect his hearing as much as possible. He continued to move in the circle of his Viennese friends, took part in musical evenings, composed 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 me hears a flute playing from afar, which is 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 more a realization, a continuation of the tendencies of the 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 intense work of thought, evidence of the musician's rich inner life.

We will be able to name only the most important works of the 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 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 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"). The assumption that Teresa was the addressee of the message to the "Immortal Beloved", found in Beethoven's papers after his death, has long been discarded, but modern researchers do not exclude that this addressee was Josephine. 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 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 success on the 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 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, the Austrian archduke and half-brother of the emperor, is one of the most interesting 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. 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 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 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). Completely immersed in work on such compositions 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 generally seemed to be waging a mortal struggle with invisible adversary" (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 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 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 of the symphony orchestra that had developed by his time, 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, it was entrusted to the 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 trends that 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. Beethoven
Soshenkov S.N. 2009-02-18 17:40:24

Cool man. His musical and dramatic (that's right!) works, especially the first and second parts of the Ninth Symphony, are unparalleled in all world art in terms of depth, beauty and purity of content.

22
2 2007-11-13 13:00:01

norms written will come down

Beethov with us!
Reward 2010-05-14 20:01:08

Nature put a barrier between her and humanity: morality. A person who is always aware of his social level challenges fate with his creativity and higher powers are eyeing his rebellion. However, they are also preparing talent for such a protest. They educate him to the extent required to accomplish the main work of his life, in the case of Beethoven - his music, because to imagine humanity without his symphonies is the same as to cross out Columbus, trample the fire given by Prometheus or return humanity from space. Yes, there would be no Beethoven before space, we would have to shrug at the launches: something is missing, something slows down, somewhere we "failed" ... But - everything is in order, friends! Beethoven with us. With humanity forever, this rebel, this loner, who sacrificed a successful cozy bedroom, a comfortable family nest, and contrary to respectable burgher morality, it is he who lends a shoulder to any breakthrough of mankind into the future, he, this breakthrough, is unthinkable without Beethoven.

Good article, thanks. I was looking for whether Beethoven had children and found this article. Just today I wrote the idea that if people were not so obsessed with sex and reproduction, they could approach the greatness of the geniuses of mankind, of which Beethoven is a vivid example. When I lose heart and life is ready to crush me, when they try to intimidate me with death - I always remember the sounds of his 9th Symphony heard in my youth and understand that the one who went through and survived the 9th Symphony with Beethoven to the end - he is invincible and fearless. 9 Symphony is my personal nuclear weapon, a nuclear button that turns me into Beethoven's Superman .. His Spirit comes to life and lives in me in tact moments and my weak body and mind are nothing to him and not a burden. The feeling is as if an engine from Belaz, or even from a jet aircraft, was put on a passenger car)) This is a unique experience. But, nevertheless, I can’t listen to Beethoven’s music for a long time. It rather hardens the heart and you start climbing the wall, quarreling with everyone .. In this regard, Tchaikovsky more harmoniously influences Spirit and Mind. In Tchaikovsky's music there is not only a fierce struggle, but a lot of things that touch the heart, melt it and make you cry for no reason. From the fact that Tchaikovsky awakened your soul and showed you himself .. And Beethoven's symphonies are well suited for some titanic efforts and accomplishments. Or to pull oneself out of a full swamp, like Baron Munchausen by the scruff of the neck.. Tchaikovsky gives Reason, thanks to which one can go not ahead, but with the mind, which relieves one of the titanic overstrain. However, not everyone thinks so. Some people told me that Tchaikovsky's music is full of water compared to Beethoven's.) I don't think so. You won't miss a single note. In general, these 2 composers are my teachers in life. Whoever listened to and lived the 6th Symphony of Tchaikovsky, consider that he lived his whole life and his soul became wiser for this life ..

Ludwig van Beethoven - a brilliant composer, born December 16, 1770 in Bonn, died March 26, 1827 in Vienna. His grandfather was a court bandmaster in Bonn (d. 1773), his father Johann was a tenor in the elector's chapel (d. 1792). Beethoven's initial education was led by his father, later he moved to many teachers, which in later years caused him to complain about the insufficient and unsatisfactory education he had in his youth. With his piano playing and free fantasizing, Beethoven aroused general astonishment early on. In 1781 he made a concert tour of Holland. By 1782-85. refers to the appearance in print of his first writings. In 1784 he was appointed, 13 years old, second court organist. In 1787 Beethoven traveled to Vienna, where he met Mozart and took several lessons from him.

Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven. Artist J. K. Stieler, 1820

Upon his return from there, his financial situation improved, thanks to the fate that Count Waldstein and the von Breuping family accepted in him. In the Bonn court chapel, Beethoven played the viola, improving at the same time in playing the piano. Beethoven's further composing attempts date back to this time, but the compositions of this period did not appear in print. In 1792, with the support of Elector Max Franz, brother of Emperor Joseph II, Beethoven went to Vienna to study with Haydn. Here he was a student of the latter for two years, as well as Albrechtsberger and Salieri. In the person of Baron van Swieten and Princess Lichnovskaya, Beethoven found ardent admirers of his brilliant talent.

Beethoven. Composer's life story

In 1795 he made his first public appearance as a complete artist: both as a virtuoso and as a composer. As a virtuoso, Beethoven had to stop his concert trips as a virtuoso, due to the weakening of his hearing that appeared in 1798 and was growing, which subsequently ended in complete deafness. This circumstance left its mark on Beethoven's character and influenced all his future activities, forcing him to gradually abandon public performance on the piano.

From now on, he devotes himself almost exclusively to composing and partly to pedagogical activity. In 1809, Beethoven received an invitation to take the post of Westphalian Kapellmeister in Kassel, but at the insistence of friends and students, in whom he, especially in the upper strata of Vienna, had no shortage, and who promised to provide him with an annual rent, he remained in Vienna. In 1814 he was once again the subject of public attention at the Congress of Vienna. From that time on, increasing deafness and a hypochondriacal mood, which did not leave him until his death, forced him to almost completely abandon society. This, however, did not dampen his inspiration: such major works as the last three symphonies and the Solemn Mass (Missa solennis) belong to the later period of his life.

Ludwig van Beethoven. The best works

After the death of his brother, Karl (1815), Beethoven assumed the duties of guardian over his young son, who caused him much grief and trouble. Severe suffering, which gave his works a special imprint and led to dropsy, put an end to his life: he died 57 years old. His remains, interred at the Vering cemetery, were then transferred to an honorary grave at the central cemetery in Vienna. A bronze monument to him adorns one of the squares in Bonn (1845), another monument was erected to him in 1880 in Vienna.

About the works of the composer - see the article Beethoven's Creativity - Briefly. Links to essays about other outstanding musicians - see below, in the block "More on the topic ..."

Biography and episodes of life Ludwig van Beethoven. When born and died Ludwig van Beethoven, memorable places and dates of important events in his life. composer quotes, Photo and video.

Ludwig van Beethoven's years of life:

born December 16, 1770, died March 26, 1827

Epitaph

“On the very day when your consonances
Overcome the difficult world of work,
The light overpowered the light, the cloud passed through the cloud,
Thunder moved on thunder, a star entered the star.
And furiously seized by inspiration,
In the orchestras of thunderstorms and the thrill of thunders,
You climbed the cloudy steps
And touched the music of the worlds.
From a poem by Nikolai Zabolotsky dedicated to Beethoven

Biography

His own father did not see the talent in him, and Haydn considered him too gloomy a composer, but when Beethoven died, twenty thousand people followed his coffin. The last years of his life, the composer was absolutely deaf, but this did not prevent him from creating his most brilliant works at that time. Perhaps Beethoven really was not mistaken when he said that he was creating with God's help.

Ludwig van Beethoven was born into a musical family. From childhood, his father worked with the boy and taught him to play various musical instruments. But the first performance of little Beethoven was without much success, and his father decided that he had no talent, and entrusted his son to other teachers. Beethoven, contrary to the disappointing forecasts of his father, already at the age of 12 received the position of assistant organist at court. And when his mother died, he took over the duties of the breadwinner and supported his younger brothers, working in the orchestra.

Beethoven's first fame was brought not by his own compositions, but by his virtuoso performance. Soon the works of Beethoven himself began to be published. Especially successful for the composer was the period of Beethoven's life, which he lived in Vienna. Despite the fact that the composer had a rather sharp temper, high conceit, refused to bow before ranks and influential people, it was impossible not to recognize the genius of Beethoven. And yet the composer always had many friends - tough and proud in public, he was very generous and friendly towards his loved ones, ready to give them the last money or help in solving problems.

But Beethoven's main passion was music. Perhaps that is why he never married, he was so passionate about himself and his ability to create. Only illness could prevent him from composing, and therefore it seems like an evil irony that the brilliant composer began to lose his hearing at such a young age. But even this did not stop him, and his music became even more perfect and monumental.

The last years of his life, Beethoven worked with particular zeal, creating one great work after another. But illness and worries about the nephew, whom Beethoven took in, significantly shortened his life. Beethoven's death came on March 26, 1827. Beethoven's funeral was held with great honors. Beethoven's grave is located in Vienna's Central Cemetery.

life line

December 16, 1770 Date of birth of Ludwig van Beethoven.
1778 Beethoven's first public performance in Cologne.
1780 Beginning of classes with organist and composer Christian Gottlob Nefe.
1782 Admission to the position of assistant to the court organist, publication of the first work of the young composer - variations on the theme of Dressler's march.
1787 Admission to the position of violist in the orchestra.
1789 Attending lectures at the university.
1792-1802 The Vienna period in Beethoven's life - classes with Haydn, Salieri, Beethoven's fame as a virtuoso performer, the publication of Beethoven's works.
1796 The onset of hearing loss.
1801 Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata"
1803 Beethoven writing the Kreutzer Sonata.
1814 Staging of Beethoven's only opera Fidelio.
1824 Performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.
March 26, 1827 Date of Beethoven's death.
March 29, 1827 Beethoven's funeral.

Memorable places

1. Beethoven's house in Bonn, where he was born.
2. Beethoven's house-museum in Baden, where he lived and worked.
3. Theater An der Wien ("Theater on the River Vienna"), which premiered such works by Beethoven as the opera "Fidelio", the Second, Third, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the Violin and the Fourth Piano Concertos.
4. A memorial plaque to Beethoven on the house "At the Golden Unicorn" in Prague, where the composer stayed.
5. Monument to Beethoven in Bucharest.
6. Monument to Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart in Berlin.
7. Vienna Central Cemetery, where Beethoven is buried.

Episodes of life

Like Bach, Beethoven was sure that there was a divine element in his music. But if Bach believed that his talent was the merit of God, then Beethoven claimed that he communicated with God while writing music. It is known that he had a slightly arrogant character. One day, a musician complained about a difficult and uncomfortable passage in Beethoven's work, to which the composer replied indignantly: "When I wrote this, the Lord Almighty guided me, do you really think that I could think of your little part when He spoke to me?"

Beethoven had many oddities. For example, before starting to compose music, Beethoven dipped his head into a container of ice water, and at moments when difficulty arose in work, he began to pour water on his hands. Very often he walked around the house in wet clothes, without even noticing it and immersed in his thoughts. Beethoven's neighbors often complained about water pouring from the ceiling.

Once Beethoven was walking with the German poet Hermann Goethe, and he was indignant that he was tired of the endless greetings of passers-by. To which Beethoven condescendingly replied: “Don't let that bother you, Your Excellency. Perhaps the greetings are meant for me."

Covenant

"People make their own destiny!"

Biography of Ludwig van Beethoven in the Encyclopedia project

condolences

"Haydn and Mozart, the creators of new instrumental music, were the first to show us art in its unprecedented splendor, but only Beethoven peered into it with great love and penetrated into its essence."
Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, writer, composer, artist

"The true reason for the success of Beethoven's music is that people study it not in concert halls, but at home, at the piano..."
Richard Wagner, composer

"Before the name of Beethoven, we must all bow in obeisance."
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, composer