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| {{Redirect|Beethoven}} | |||
| {{Infobox musical artist | |||
| |Name = Ludwig van Beethoven | |||
| |Img = Beethoven.jpg | |||
| |Img_capt = ] ] by ] | |||
| |Img_size = | |||
| |Background = non_performing_personnel | |||
| |Birth_name = Ludwig van Beethoven | |||
| |Alias = | |||
| |Born = ] | |||
| |Origin = ], ] {{flagicon|Germany}} | |||
| |Died = ], ]<br>], ] {{flagicon|Austria}} | |||
| |Instrument = | |||
| |Genre = | |||
| |Occupation = ]<br>] | |||
| |Years_active = | |||
| |Label = | |||
| |Associated_acts = | |||
| |URL = | |||
| |Notable_instruments = | |||
| }} | |||
| <!-- Paragraph 1: notability as composer and pillar of European classical music --> | |||
| '''Ludwig van Beethoven''' (] {{IPA|}}) (] ], ]<ref>Beethoven was baptised on ] ]. Children of that era were usually baptised the day after their birth, but there is no documentary evidence that this occurred in Beethoven's case. It is known that his family and his teacher ] celebrated his birthday on ]. While the known facts support the probability that ] ] was Beethoven's date of birth, this cannot be stated with certainty. </ref> – ], ]) was a ] ] and ]. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of music, and was the predominant figure in the transitional period between the ] and ] eras in ]. His reputation and genius have inspired—and in many cases intimidated—ensuing generations of composers, musicians, and audiences. | |||
| <!-- Paragraph 2: his life --> | |||
| Born in ], ], he moved to ], ], in his early twenties, and settled there, studying with ] and quickly gaining a reputation as a ] pianist. In his late twenties he began to lose his hearing, and yet continued to produce notable masterpieces throughout his life in the face of this personal disaster. | |||
| Beethoven was one of the first composers who worked as a freelance — arranging subscription concerts, selling his compositions to publishers, and gaining financial support from a number of wealthy patrons — rather than being permanently employed by the Church or by an aristocratic court. | |||
| ==Life== | |||
| {{details|Life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven}} | |||
| Beethoven was born at Bonngasse 515 (today Bonngasse 20) in ], ] to ] (]–]) and ] (]–]). Beethoven was baptized on ], but his family and later teacher Johann Albrechtsberger celebrated his birthday on ]. | |||
| Beethoven's first music teacher was his father, a musician in the ] court at Bonn who was apparently a harsh and unpredictable instructor. Johann would often come home from a bar in the middle of the night and pull young Ludwig out of bed to play for him and his friend. Beethoven's talent was recognized at a very early age. His first important teacher was ]. In 1787 young Beethoven traveled to Vienna for the first time, where he may have met and played for ]. He was forced to return home because his mother was dying of ]. Beethoven's mother died when he was 18, shortly followed by his sister, and for several years he was responsible for raising his two younger brothers because of his father's worsening alcoholism. | |||
| Beethoven moved to ] in ], where he studied for a time with ] in lieu of ], who had died the previous year. He received additional instruction from ] (Vienna's preeminent counterpoint instructor) and ]. Beethoven immediately established a reputation as a ] ]. His first works with opus numbers, the three piano trios, appeared in 1795. He settled into the career pattern he would follow for the remainder of his life: rather than working for the church or a noble court (as most composers before him had done), he supported himself through a combination of annual stipends or single gifts from members of the aristocracy, income from subscription concerts, concerts, and lessons, and sales of his works. | |||
| ==Loss of hearing== | |||
| Around ], Beethoven began to lose his hearing.<ref>{{GroveOnline|Ludvig van Beethoven:5. 1801–2: deafness|JOSEPH KERMAN, ALAN TYSON (with SCOTTG. BURNHAM)|November 29|2006}}</ref> He suffered a severe form of ], a "roar" in his ears that made it hard for him to appreciate music; he would avoid conversation. The cause of Beethoven's deafness is unknown, but it has variously been attributed to ], ], ], and even his habit of immersing his head in cold water to stay awake. The oldest explanation, from the autopsy of the time, is that he had a "distended inner ear" which developed lesions over time. | |||
| Russell Martin has shown from analysis done on a sample of Beethoven's hair that there were alarmingly high levels of lead in Beethoven's system. High concentrations of lead can lead to bizarre and erratic behaviour, including rages. Another symptom of lead poisoning is deafness. In Beethoven's time, lead was used widely without an understanding of the damage it could lead to: for sweetening wine, in finishes on porcelain, and even in medicines. The investigation of this link was detailed in the book, ''Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved''. However, while the likelihood of lead poisoning is very high, the deafness associated with it seldom takes the form that Beethoven exhibited. | |||
| Over time, his hearing loss became acute: There is a well-attested story that, at the premiere of his ], he had to be turned round to see the tumultuous applause of the audience; hearing nothing, he began to weep. In ], he became depressed, and considered committing suicide. He left Vienna for a time for the small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt (see the ] ]), where he resolved to continue living through his art. Beethoven's hearing loss did not affect his ability to compose music, but it made concerts — lucrative sources of income — increasingly difficult. After a failed attempt in ] to perform his own ]," he never performed in public again. | |||
| As a result of Beethoven's hearing loss, a unique historical record has been preserved: he kept conversation books discussing music and other issues, and giving an insight into his thought. Even today, the conversation books form the basis for investigation into how he felt his music should be performed, and his relationship to art - which he took very seriously. | |||
| ] | |||
| ===Social difficulties=== | |||
| Beethoven's personal life was troubled. Around age 28, he started to become ], which led him to think about ] (see the ] ]). He was attracted to unattainable (married or ]ic) women; he never married. His only uncontested love affair with an identified woman began in 1805 with ]; most scholars think it ended by 1807 because she could not marry a commoner without losing her children. In 1812 he wrote a long love letter to a woman only identified therein as the "Immortal Beloved." (A ] was released in ].) Several candidates have been suggested, but none has won universal support. Some scholars believe his period of low productivity from about ] to ] was caused by ] resulting from Beethoven's realization that he would never marry. | |||
| Beethoven quarreled, often bitterly, with his relatives and others (including a painful and public custody battle over his nephew Karl); he frequently treated other people badly. He moved often and had strange personal habits, such as wearing dirty clothing even as he washed compulsively.{{fact}} Nonetheless, he had a close and devoted circle of friends his entire life. | |||
| Many listeners perceive an echo of Beethoven's life in his music, which often depicts struggle followed by triumph. This description is often applied to Beethoven's creation of ]s in the face of his severe personal difficulties. | |||
| ] | |||
| ===Personal beliefs and their musical influence=== | |||
| Beethoven was much taken by the ideals of the ] and by the growing ] in Europe. He initially dedicated his third symphony, the ] (] for "heroic"), to ] in the belief that the general would sustain the ] and ]an ideals of the ], but in ] crossed out Napoleon's name on the title page upon which he had written a dedication to him, as Napoleon's imperial ambitions became clear, renamed the symphony as the "Sinfonia Eroica, composta per festeggiare il sovvenire di un grand Uomo", or in English, "composed to celebrate the memory of a great man". The fourth movement of his Ninth Symphony features an elaborate choral setting of ]'s ] ("Ode To Joy"), an optimistic hymn championing the brotherhood of humanity. | |||
| Scholars disagree on Beethoven's religious beliefs and the role they played in his work. For discussion, see ]. It has been asserted, but not proven, that Beethoven was a ].<ref> - Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon</ref> | |||
| ==His music== | |||
| Beethoven was perhaps the greatest master of construction, by sketching the plan of a movement before he had the subject-matter more than dimly in his mind. He was the first composer systematically and consistently to use the interlocking thematic device or "germ-motives" to achieve inter-movement unity in long compositions. Also equally remarkable was his use of "source-motives", which recurred in many different compositions and lent to unity in his life's works. He improved almost every form of music he touched. Even a trivial and well-crystallized thing such as the ] he diversified, making it more elastic and spacious bringing it closer to the ]-form. | |||
| Among Beethoven's most recognized, concrete, and original contributions can be grouped into three types: | |||
| 1) The first movement of the titanic and elemental struggle (quartets 4 and 11, the "Eroica", the 5th and "Choral" Symphonies, the sonatas Pathetique, Appassionata, and C minor Op. 111). | |||
| 2) The Scherzo of tumultuous, headlong humor and ] exultation (quartets 6, 7, 13 and 14, the 7th and 9th Symphonies, the Sonata in G Op. 14, the Violin Sonata in F). | |||
| 3) The ethereal slow movement of mystic exaltation (quartets 8, 12 and 15, the "Hammerklavier" Sonata Op. 106, the Sonata in E Major Op. 109, the "Emperor" Concerto, The Benedictus of the ''Missa Solemnis'', The "Archduke" piano trio Op. 97). | |||
| ==Work== | |||
| :''Main article: ]'' | |||
| Beethoven composed in a great variety of genres, including ], ], ]s, ]s and other ], ], ], ]er, and various other genres. He is viewed as one of the most important transitional figures between the ] and ] eras of musical history. | |||
| As far as ] is concerned, Beethoven built on the principles of ] and ] that he had inherited from ] and ], but greatly extended them, writing longer and more ambitious movements. But Beethoven also radically redefined the symphony, transforming it from the rigidly structured four-ordered-movements form of Haydn's era to a fairly open ended form that could sustain as many movements as necessary, and of whatever form was necessary to give the work cohesion. | |||
| ===The three periods=== | |||
| Beethoven's career as a composer is usually divided into ''Early'', ''Middle'', and ''Late'' periods. | |||
| In the Early period, he is seen as emulating his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart while concurrently exploring new directions and gradually expanding the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the Early period are the ] and ] ], the ] ]s, the first three ]s, and the ] ]s, including the famous '']'' and '']''. | |||
| The Middle period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis centering around ]. The period is noted for large-scale works expressing ] and struggle; these include many of the most famous works of classical music. Middle period works include ] (Nos. 3–8), the ] ]s, ] and his only ], five ] (Nos. 7–11), the next seven ] including the '']'', and '']'', and his only ], '']''. | |||
| Beethoven's Late period began around ] and lasted until Beethoven's death in ]. The Late works are greatly admired for and characterized by their intellectual depth, intense and highly personal expression, and experimentation with forms (for example, the ] has seven movements, while most famously his ] adds choral forces to the orchestra in the last movement). This period includes the '']'', the last five string quartets and the last five ]. | |||
| Considering the depth and extent of Beethoven's artistic explorations, as well as the composer's success in making himself comprehensible to the widest possible audience, the Austrian-born British musician and writer Hans Keller pronounced Beethoven "humanity's greatest mind altogether". | |||
| See also '']'' and '']''. | |||
| ==Fictional Portrayals== | |||
| * Beethoven has been portrayed on film many times by actors including ], ], ], ] and ]. | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| * ], including links to all of the works with their own article | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ==Media== | |||
| {{multi-listen start}} | |||
| <div style="width:500px; height:255px; overflow:auto; border:thin grey solid; padding:5px;"> | |||
| '''<span style="font-size:130%"> Piano solo </span>''' | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Moonlight Sonata.ogg|title=Moonlight Sonata|description=Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, 1st movement|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven-Pathetique.ogg|title=Pathetique Sonata|description=Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, 1st & 2nd movements|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven - Sonata opus 111 -1.ogg|title=Opus 111, movement 1|description= Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, 1st movement|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven - Sonata opus 111 -2.ogg|title=Opus 111, movement 2|description=Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, 2nd movement|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Laendler in C Minor Hess 68.ogg|title=Laendler in C Minor|description=Hess 68|format=]}} | |||
| '''<span style="font-size:130%"> Orchestral </span>''' | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphonie 5 c-moll - 1. Allegro con brio.ogg|title=Symphony 5, movement 1|description=From ]|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphonie 5 c-moll - 2. Andante con moto.ogg|title=Symphony 5, movement 2|description=From ]|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphonie 5 c-moll - 3. Allegro.ogg|title=Symphony 5, movement 3|description=From ]|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphonie 5 c-moll - 4. Allegro.ogg|title=Symphony 5, movement 4|description=From ]|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Ludwig van Beethoven - Overtüre c-moll, op. 62.ogg|title=Opus 62|description=Overture - Coriolan|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven concerto4 1.ogg|title=Piano Concerto 4, movement 1|description= ], 1st movement|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven concerto4 2.ogg|title=Piano Concerto 4, movement 2 and 3|description= ], 2nd and 3rd movement|format=]}} | |||
| '''<span style="font-size:130%"> Chamber </span>''' | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven - opus30-1 04.ogg|title=Opus 30, No. 1|description=Violin Sonata No. 6 in A major|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven - opus30-2 05.ogg|title=Opus 30, No. 2|description=Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven - opus30-3 06.ogg|title=Opus 30, No. 3|description=Violin Sonata No. 8 in G major|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven - opus47-1 01.ogg|title=Opus 47, movement 1|description= ]|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven - opus47-2 02.ogg|title=Opus 47, movement 2|description=]|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven - opus47-3 03.ogg|title=Opus 47, movement 3|description=]|format=]}} | |||
| '''<span style="font-size:130%"> Other </span>''' | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Beethoven - Rondino in Eb for Wind Octet.ogg|title=Rondino in E-flat for Wind Octet|description=|format=]}} | |||
| {{multi-listen item|filename=Komm' o Hoffnung.ogg|title=Komm' o Hoffnung|description=The Komm' o Hoffnung aria from ], performed by Alice Guszalewicz|format=]}} | |||
| </div></ul> | |||
| <li> | |||
| :''Problems playing the files? See ].'' | |||
| </li></div> | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| <div class="references-small"> | |||
| <references/> | |||
| </div> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| * Albrecht, Theodor, and Elaine Schwensen, "More Than Just Peanuts: Evidence for December 16 as Beethoven's birthday." ''The Beethoven Newsletter'' 3 (1988): 49, 60-63. | |||
| * Clive, Peter. ''Beethoven and His World: A Biographical Dictionary.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-19-816672-9. | |||
| * Davies, Peter. ''The Character of a Genius: Beethoven in Perspective.'' Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002. ISBN 0-313-31913-8. | |||
| * _____. ''Beethoven in Person: His Deafness, Illnesses, and Death.'' Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2001. ISBN 0-313-31587-6. | |||
| * DeNora, Tia. "Beethoven and the Construction of Genius: Musical Politics in Vienna, 1792-1803." Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1995. ISBN 0-520-21158-8. | |||
| * Geck, Martin. ''Beethoven''. Translated by Anthea Bell. London: Haus, 2003. ISBN 1-904341-03-9 (h), ISBN 1-904341-00-4 (p). | |||
| * {{cite book | |||
| | last = Hatten | |||
| | first = Robert S. | |||
| | tear=1994 | |||
| | title = Musical Meaning in Beethoven | |||
| | publisher = Indiana University Press | |||
| | location= Bloomington | |||
| | pages=372 | |||
| | language=English | |||
| | id = ISBN 0-253-32742-3 | |||
| }} | |||
| * Kropfinger, Klaus. ''Beethoven''. Verlage Bärenreiter/Metzler, 2001. ISBN 3-7618-1621-9. | |||
| * Meredith, William. "The History of Beethoven's Skull Fragments." ''The Beethoven Journal'' 20 (2005): 3-46. | |||
| * Morris, Edmund. ''Beethoven: The Universal Composer.'' New York: Atlas Books / HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 0-06-075974-7. | |||
| * Solomon, Maynard. ''Beethoven'', 2nd revised edition. New York: Schirmer Books, 2001. ISBN 0-8256-7268-6. | |||
| * _____. ''Late Beethoven: Music, Thought, Imagination.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. ISBN 0-520-23746-3. | |||
| * Stanley, Glenn, ed. ''The Cambridge Companion to Beethoven.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-521-58074-9 (hc), ISBN 0-521-58934-7 (pb). | |||
| * ], rev and ed. Elliot Forbes. ''Thayer's Life of Beethoven.'' (2 vols.) Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09103-X | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{commons}} | |||
| {{wikiquote}} | |||
| * General reference | |||
| ** . Official website of ''Beethoven-Haus'' in ]. Links to extensive studio and digital archive, library holdings, the ''Beethoven-Haus'' Museum (including "internet exhibitions" and "virtual visits"), the ''Beethoven-Archiv'' research center, and information on Beethoven publications of interest to the specialist and general reader. Extensive collection of Beethoven's compositions and written documents, with sound samples and a digital reconstruction of his last house in Vienna. | |||
| ** | |||
| ** - articles and facts about Beethoven from Aaron Green, guide to Classical Music at About.com. | |||
| ** Analysis of the on the Page. | |||
| ** | |||
| ** | |||
| ** Rich multimedia website that explores the history and creation of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony. Presented by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony | |||
| * Scores | |||
| ** | |||
| **{{ChoralWiki}} | |||
| ** {{IMSLP | id=Beethoven%2C_Ludwig_van | cname=Beethoven}} | |||
| ** {{gutenberg author | id=Ludwig_van_Beethoven | name=Ludwig van Beethoven}}, the oldest producer of public domain ebooks. | |||
| ** {{IckingArchive|idx=Beethoven|name=Ludwig van Beethoven}} | |||
| * Recordings | |||
| ** from '']'' | |||
| ** , The ] performs all nine symphonies for ] ] | |||
| ** . Many free recordings, articles and biography. | |||
| ** | |||
| ** - MIDI files of hundreds of Beethoven compositions never recorded and many that have never been published. | |||
| ** , from the ] at the ] Library. | |||
| ** {{musicbrainz artist|id=1f9df192-a621-4f54-8850-2c5373b7eac9|name=Ludwig van Beethoven}}, a collection of information about commercial recordings. | |||
| ** , with Maximianno Cobra directing the Europa Philharmonia Budapest Orchestra & Choir. | |||
| ** , with extensive analysis | |||
| ** | |||
| ** | |||
| * Specific topics | |||
| ** | |||
| ** | |||
| ** Pictures of . In ]. | |||
| ** - trace the journey of Beethoven's Hair. | |||
| ** - and other Beethoven resources. | |||
| ** , from The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies. | |||
| ** . CBC News, ] ]. | |||
| ** : Some Twentieth-Century Viewpoints | |||
| * Related topics | |||
| ** digitally reconstructed 2004, on Multimedia CD-ROM edited by Beethoven-Haus Bonn | |||
| {{Ludwig van Beethoven}} | |||
| {{Persondata | |||
| |NAME=Beethoven, Ludwig van | |||
| |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= | |||
| |SHORT DESCRIPTION=German composer | |||
| |DATE OF BIRTH=] | |||
| |PLACE OF BIRTH=] | |||
| |DATE OF DEATH=] | |||
| |PLACE OF DEATH=] | |||
| }} | |||
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