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Facts

Ludwig Van Beethoven

He wrote 138 opus numbers consisting of nine symphonies, sixteen string quartets, nine piano trios, thirty two piano sonatas, ten sonatas for violin and piano, five fo cello and piano, five piano concertos, a violin concerto, and nine concert overtures. (Borroff 488) Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in Bonn, German in 1770. His dad pushed him so hard to be the next Mozart that he hit his fingers with sticks until he played it right. When he started to play the piano he was only four, he was so tiny that he was to stand on the piano bench.

When Beethoven turned twelve he started to work with a tutor to help him learn how to play the piano, by the age of fifteen he was already writing some of his first pieces. Beethoven’s first public performance was in 1795, when he was twenty five. While Beethoven was in his mid twenties he started to go tone deaf. It made it hard to write music and then perform in front of the public, so he resorted to private parties.(Bouchier)

Beethoven’s most famous piece was Fidelio. At its big public debut it was played very poorly by Beethoven so nobody really liked it. During this time he wrote some of his most powerful pieces such as Symphony no.7, Pastoral Symphony, Symphony no.8, Piano concertos nos.4 and 5, and Violin Concerto. During his late period he played Hammer Klavier, op.106 and op.110, and Choral Symphony no.9 in d minor.

Copyright issue

The article about Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is very interesting and enjoyable, but:

• are we sure it is copright-free? it is "signed" and has a structure of a piece of criticism which could have appeared in a book or journal (nothing of the above means that it was not written for the Misplaced Pages, or is free from copyright, of course, but one wonders).
• it expresses in some places very personal opinions and commentaries, some of which not universally shared. So, if we agree that it does not violate anything, one could work a bit about it. But, then again, perhaps it is by a great critic, so his opinion may well be interesting (and worthy an encyclopedia article) by themselves.

Should anybody change or delete or whatever that article, please do not delete the initial part (the one with the description of the symphony's movements), which was written by myself, obtaining it by the score of the symphony. --Goochelaar

I would venture to say that it's written by an aficionado; if he's also a critic, he's a critic for a journal that doesn't bother archiving things online: . Those three pages yield the year-old email mestrin1 at earthlink.net. Anyone care to ask him? --Koyaanis Qatsi

Beethoven and his predecessors

Some statements in the article concerning Beethoven's work in relation to Haydn's and Mozart's are inaccurate.

First, the claim that his developments last 10 minutes. No, they are at most about 5 minutes. His longest movements are 15 to 20 minutes long (depending on repeats) with the development taking up about a third. In many of Haydn's works the development is equally extensive compared to the scale of the movement.

Second, the claim that the Eroica first movement is as long as a Mozart-era symphony. Mozart's symphonies with 4 movements take about 25 minutes to perform whereas the first movement of the Eroica is about 15 minutes. Possibly if one were to perform the Eroica very slowly with repeats and the Mozart very fast without repeats the times could be equal, but this is not a fair comparison.

However, it is indisputable that Beethoven's codas (closing sections) were on average much longer than Mozart's (no codas or very short ones) or Haydn's occasionally more extensive codas; and that Beethoven's movements were on average longer than Mozart's and Haydn's - say half as long again. There are very notable exceptions, like the short first movement of the Fifth Symphony and the String Quartet no.11 which is shorter than most of Haydn's mature works.

It's not true to say that Beethoven's use of rhythmic motifs contrasts strongly with Haydn's. On the contrary, Haydn pioneered the technique of breaking up musical thought into short, flexible rhythmic motifs, which Beethoven undoubtedly drew from. (See Haydn string quartet op.50 no.4 (first movement), the finale of the piano sonata no.52, the first movement of the sonata no.49, etc.etc.) However, Beethoven achieved unprecedented rhythmic drive and emotional and dramatic range with the technique, which probably leads many people to neglect Haydn's contribution.

While it's correct to say that the first-movement themes of the Fifth and Ninth symphonies are more rhythmic than melodic in character, it's difficult to see how the broad cello theme of the Eroica first movement can be called unmelodic. In fact, Mozart used the exact same melody decades earlier in one of his early minuets (though with a rather different overall effect). One of the distinguishing features of the 3rd. is the strong contrast between broad, simple melodies and energetic rhythmic passages. (Compare the quartet Op.59 no.1 first movement.)

Concerning the finale of the 3rd., it's more complex than just the initial (not very melodic) "theme" consisting of isolated notes. This turns out to be the bass-line of the theme revealed later, which is a broadly lyrical melody. In fact the bass-line is used as a *harmonic* theme, rather than a rhythmic one: Beethoven immediately changes the rhythm of the notes, but keeps the same harmony throughout the variations. This is similar to Baroque ground bass movements which present varying melodies and rhythms over the same harmony. Beethoven's innovation is in "fooling" us (at least the writer of the article) into thinking that the bass line is the melody. ***** tdent@auth.gr

Yes, the article needs quite a bit of work. I don't agree with absolutely everything you say, but I'm with you on most of it, and I'm sure you could much improve the article. Do feel free to do so: be bold in updating pages and all that. --Camembert

Arrival of Stirling Newberry

Thanks for revising the Beethoven article, Stirling. I've edited slightly and added a bit more on the "crisis period."

I hope you will endorse (or at least put up with) my trimback of the discussion of the Ninth Symphony--the bits about the Choral Fantasy predecessor and the Berlin Wall were already there in the Ninth Symphony article, and I feel they fit there better than in the Beethoven article as such.

Have you thought of taking on Mozart or Schubert? Both need tender loving care right now.

Opus33 04:45, 9 Jan 2004 (UTC)

I had not seen the Ninth Symphony Article when I posted my additions, and I agree that moving more writing there is better, it is an extensive article. The Beethoven needs revising, in that the section on his music proper needs to have a bit more on what an encyclopedia reader would need. What is there is technically good, and worthy to keep, but needs to be balanced with the emotional and literary work.

Schubert isn't really my strong point, I will probably stop by Haydn, and would like to continue to refine some of the individual articles on Beethoven's music, particularly his string quartets and piano trios.

Stirling

We don't know when Beethoven was born

A little while ago, somebody changed "baptized December 17" in the opening sentence to "born December 16". Is this definitely correct? I thought that we knew for sure when Beethoven was baptized, but couldn't say for sure what day he was born on. --Camembert

• You're right, and I'm about to change it back. (It's really not at all unusual not to know a birth date but to know a baptismal date, but people keep trying to squeeze facts into a template, even if it means doing violence to the facts) Here's an online ref. -- Outerlimits 01:53, 14 May 2004 (UTC)

Shorten Symphony Section

We've now got individual articles on all nine symphonies, which I think renders the discussion of individual symphonies on this page redundant. I've put in cross-references.

In case anyone wants to restore old material, or transfer it to the individual symphony articles, below I've appended what I cut.

I hope this is ok. Opus33 20:44, 14 May 2004 (UTC)

Beethoven completed nine numbered symphonies. His first symphony, in C, is reliant upon Haydn models. His Symphony No. 2 in D extends Beethoven's understanding of the symphony. His first famous symphony was No. 3 in E-flat, better known as the Eroica. As mentioned, although this was originally dedicated to the French First Consul, Napoleon, Beethoven angrily ripped off the dedication after the Frenchman declared himself emperor.

The Symphony No. 4 in B-flat is a remarkable example of good humor. Even more famous is Symphony No. 5 in C minor, which starts with a well-known theme which people say sounds like fate knocking at the door. The Sixth Symphony, in F, is better known as the Pastoral. It is based on country life, and made up of five movements, of which the most famous are the second movement, Scene by the Brook, and the third, Merry Gathering of Country Folk.

The Seventh and Eighth symphonies are more rhythmic, the second movement of the eighth being based on the metronome, an invention by Beethoven's friend Johann Maelzel. The final complete symphony is Symphony No. 9 in D minor, composed in 1823 (and occasionally referred to as Choral), whose last movement, as mentioned, was a setting of Schiller's poem celebrating joy. A choir and four vocal soloists appear in this movement. (The chorus has been adopted as the official anthem of the European Union.)

Deleted material

Here's the stuff I just removed from the top of the article, in case anyone want to put it back:

His most famous works include his Fifth Symphony, Ninth Symphony, the piano piece "Für Elise", the "Pathétique" Sonata and the "Moonlight" Sonata.

Perhaps we should at least make a mention of it. Not all people visiting this site will know that Beethoven was the composer of these pieces. Let's make that connection for the layman reader. Taco325i 13:55 9 Aug 2005.

Query for other classical music editors

I'm posting this under Beethoven, since I think most classical music editors have this page on their watchlist, but the issue comes up for all composers.

We've now got a fair number of articles about individual compositions by Beethoven. What would be the best way to give the reader easy access to all of these articles? Asking the reader to go to "What links here" seems inadequate, since for someone like Beethoven the compositions are buried in a whole raft of other random cultural connections. Should there be a list, like ===Articles on compositions by Beethoven=== as part of the ==See also== section?

Whatever we do, if anything, probably should be done uniformly for all composers.

Thanks in advance for your opinion, yours very truly, Opus33 18:40, 7 Jul 2004 (UTC)

What about List of works by Beethoven? Hyacinth 21:03, 7 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Thanks, Hyacinth, I think this is a plausible approach, at least for Beethoven, where we have already produced articles for a fair number of the works. But for prolific but less well-covered composers (how many of Scarlatti's sonatas or Schubert's songs have Misplaced Pages entries?), the reader seeing the list will find mostly a desert of empty links, no?

If the "List of Works by X" approach is the right way to go, it might be good to amplify these lists so that they give their content in more than one way--e.g. both by opus number and by genre. I do use the List of works by Beethoven myself to look up articles and sometimes find the listing by just opus number to be a bit inconvenient. A genre list could perhaps be more selective and be of more help to the reader in finding articles. Opus33 22:53, 7 Jul 2004 (UTC)

We might not need to do it the same way for every composer. Some might benefit just by having a linked works list at the end of the article--consider composers with relatively few, but large works (Wagner, Mahler, ...) which could have a ===Works=== section at the end of the article (I have started doing this on some of the Renaissance/Medieval/Baroque folks whose bios I have been writing recently). With composers with a HUGE number of works, I like the idea of a separate works list article as Hyacinth suggests. But then I've never been a great fan of consistency for its own sake--I think Aristotle already occupies too much of our brains.  :-) But at any rate I really want to see lists of composers works and an increasing amount of articles on individual pieces. Cheers, Antandrus 15:32, 8 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Whatever people decide I'm fine with, perhaps we could add a bit to a meta wiki page on music editing, there seems to be a growing community here. Stirling Newberry 19:29, 8 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Music. Hyacinth 02:19, 12 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Needs more that is applicable to history of classical music and classical music. Stirling Newberry 04:37, 12 Jul 2004 (UTC)

I'd like a place where we could talk about all classical-music-related stuff, sort of a village pump for the community of editors here. I'm not sure the project meta page is the right spot for it. Ideas? I suppose I could make a sub-page under my user page but I think a more "public" spot would be better. Antandrus 04:51, 12 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for all your replies. I've tried to take them into account in revising List of works by Beethoven, adding links to every work that already has a Misplaced Pages article. As far as ordering the genres, I tried to follow what's in the Penguin Guide to CDs, which is probably already familiar to many people.

For other composers, e.g. Haydn, I think I will take Antandrus's advice and not duplicate the Beethoven scheme, but simply add to the ==See also== section. This seems the simplest way to guide the reader to articles on individual works so long as there isn't a great number of them. Opus33 19:52, 10 Jul 2004 (UTC)

The ad for Wikiquote

Hi- We already had a link to the Wikiquote entry for Beethoven, and there's also already a ban on banner ads in the Misplaced Pages, so I took out the ad. I think the article will be just as useful and also look much nicer if we leave these ads out. I hope that's ok. Cheers, Opus33 00:36, 18 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Reformat as main article, satellite articles?

Hi all-- This article has a rather long and rambling feel to it, and I'm only adding to the effect right now by putting in more details of Beethoven's biography. Usually when a Misplaced Pages article gets long, it is redeployed as a main article plus various satellite articles, with the main article including brief summaries of the satellite articles. For an example, see (among many others) United Kingdom.

For the Beethoven article, the satellites would plausibly be a detailed biography, a detailed discussion of musical style and innovations, a list of works (already a satellite), and perhaps something on symphonies.

Please reply if you think this is not the right way to go; otherwise I will try to implement it soon. Opus33 15:17, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Was Beethoven of partly African ancestry?

See the article below in the "Beethoven Was Black" section for references/proof concerning Beethoven's lineage.

The article should mention the controversy (Edward G. Nilges 11-19-2004210.21.221.184 02:26, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)) and I have added a paragraph.

I've moved the addition here

Some scholars (by no means all) have raised the possibility that Beethoven was of at least partial African ancestry, and this may explain some of the rythmic and tonal explorations in his late works, where (for example) jazzlike syncopations appear in his Hammerklavier sonata. An explanation of this possibility would be the Turkish invasion of south-eastern Europe; the Turkish forces used Ethiopian and other African troops as musicians, and were stopped near Vienna in the 17th century. Other scholars reject this possibility.

It's a silly theory (that tacitly supposes his later (but not earlier) music's content is genetically determined), and that nothing says "jungle rhythm" like "late Beethoven". Worse, it's an unattributed silly theory. If the "some scholars" who have addressed it, it might be added back and attributed to them, but certainly not in such a prominent place as it was the first time...it's simply not that important a wild-ass guess theory. - Nunh-huh 02:49, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Thanks, Nunh-huh.

For the origin of the "Beethoven was black" claim, I found this a vaguely useful link:

http://www.africawithin.com/bios/joel_rogers.htm

Joel Rogers was a self-trained historian who in 1966 published a book that made this claim. He seems to have been a brave and enterprising man who had an interesting career. But it also seems that the "Beethoven was black" hypothesis has not attracted much scholarly support.

If we're to mention it (and I'm not sure we should), I think it should involve reading and quoting Rogers, pointing out that Rogers's theory hasn't convinced the musicologists.

I agree with Nunh-huh that this material doesn't belong in such a prominent position; at best it should be in the detail satellite biography. And obviously, it should leave out the unsupported and inflammatory assertion about syncopation being genetic.

Cheers, Opus33 04:38, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Edward Nilges: I'll consider rewriting it with sources when I have time. The issue was, I think now, more appropriate to raise first in discussion but I was also pressed for time when I modified the article.

There was no assertion about syncopation, being genetic. There are indeed irresponsible assertions made about genetics, but the rule here is that any POSITIVE assertion about African genes is "irresponsible and inflammatory".

I didn't mention genes. Instead, there was an entire hidden Turkish tradition in south-eastern European classical music which emerges in the "Turkish" march but which is in denial about "miscegenation".

Rather than thinking Beethoven unique, the mathematics of human reproduction show race mixture to be the (denied) norm and not exceptional. If one traces only the patrilineal line, one ignores contributions which are by default multiracial.

The theory that Beethoven was of african or asian ancestry has as much scholary support as the theory that the pyramids were built by aliens. It's pseudo-science. The different musical traditions Beethoven was influenced by are a different issue. 80.140.215.2 12:30, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

I had alwayd understood it was Schubert who had a touch of black blood. Sounds like a fashionable theory of the day to explain musical talent, SqueakBox 15:01, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

"Rather than thinking Beethoven unique, the mathematics of human reproduction show race mixture to be the (denied) norm and not exceptional. If one traces only the patrilineal line, one ignores contributions which are by default multiracial."

The mathematics of human reproductuon show that Beethoven could also be Swiss. We know that some of his ancestors were Flemish, and we also know that during the 80 years war many Swiss mercenaries fought in Flandres, and probably got on with the local women a bit. From this we can conclude that there is a possibilty of Swiss ancestry in Beethoven's linage. I think this hypotheticly possible Swissness should be mentioned in the article.

I don't think that anything hypothetical involving controversy about abstruse points should be in an encyclopedia article, that's why Misplaced Pages has a policy against original research. This is not the "Journal of Beethoven Studies", it's an encyclopedia article, and people consult encyclopedias to find the main lines of consensus information about basic things. Things that are possible, speculative, highly controversial, and not essential to understanding the main things about Beethoven should not be in the Misplaced Pages Beethoven article, whether it's his genealogy or whether it's compositions he conceived of but never composed. These more abstruse things should be articles submitted to specialized scholarly journals. Jeremy J. Shapiro 06:42, 5 October 2005 (UTC)

The chances of Beethoven being black are about the same as the chances of Gustavus Adolphus being Vietnamese. Obviously the 19th century works claiming that he was black were ment to be defamatory, it's only in modern times that some Afrocentrics have accepted this as fact.

Actually at the time the idea that africans were musical and rhythmic was part of the racial thinking of the time. Wagner thought Beethoven might have african ancestory, and speculated that he should as well. It's part and parcel of that age, and it certainly hasn't gotten any better documented over time. If someone were to do a DNA test on his hair and find other ancestory, that would be notable. Until then... Stirling Newberry 17:59, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

Beethoven was Black

While there is no evidence for it, it should be documented as a speculation which goes back to the 19th century. Perhaps in the life and work section?

Stirling Newberry 01:42, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

"EVIDENCE"

Fredrick Hertz, German anthropologist, in "Race and Civilation" refers twice to Beethoven's "Negroid traits" and his "dark" skin, and "flat, thick nose." (pp. 123 and 178.)

Frau Fischer, an intimate acquaintance of Beethoven, describes him thus, "Short, stocky, broad shoulders, short neck, round nose, blackish- brown complexion." (From R. H. Schauffler, The Man Who Freed Music, Vol. I p. 18, 1929)

Alexander W. Thayer perhaps the foremost authority on Beethoven, says, "Beethoven had even more of the Moor in his features than his master, 'Haydn'." (Beethoven, Vol. I p. 146) By "Moor" was meant "Negro" Until recent times the German for "Negro" was "Mohr"

Paul Bekker, another very noted authority on Beethoven, says that "the most faithful picture of Beethoven's head" shows him with "wide thicklipped mouth, short thick nose and proudly arched forehead" (Beethoven, p. 41 1925. trans. Bozman).

For more extended proof as well as a picture of Beethoven's life- mask see ("Sex and Race", Vol. 3 pp. 306-309)

Hopefully this will clear up the controversy about proof of Beethoven's race. These claims of Beethoven's African lineage were not originally made by black people, but by white Europeans. They were not made to diminish him in creativity or stature. They were simply a description of him. These same Europeans had no knowledge of the uproar that this would cause amongst their American offspring.

Tom 11/09/2005

Birthdate

I removed the "born December 16" which was added by an anonymous editor. As far as I know, his exact birth date is not known with certainty, but inferred from the usual custom at the time of baptising infants a day or two after birth. The New Grove gives no birthdate; Slonimsky gives "December 15 or 16." At any rate this issue is covered in the full life and work article. I'm open to alternative opinions, including putting the date back if others feel it is sufficiently well established, or if there is a good source on his birthdate I don't know about. Antandrus 01:42, 15 Dec 2004 (UTC)

This is not the first time--see discussion above. I think what's happening is that people who don't know much about Beethoven think they know he was born on December 16, because they've seen that date somewhere (perhaps in material presented to children, who seldom are given the nuances). Thus they put it in December 16, thinking they are improving the article. We just have to be persistent here... Opus33 16:34, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)

--

To prevent that, how about putting "Born: unknown. Often put as December 16 or 16"?

Hi! good point

Beethoven Relics

I know people have saved locks of Beethoven's hair, etc. Has anyone ever attributed any miracles to these relics? I've seen this web site, but I don't know if its for real or not.

Flowery prose

I reverted:

"As a monolith of the music of his era, his legacy cast a wide shadow on those that succeeded him; he has left an indelible mark on the tradition of European classical music."

Editor Bleh Fu actually expressed a qualm about this edit when offering it, i.e. that it might be a bit "flowery". I think this intuition is dead on, and would like to give a reason in support: most Misplaced Pages readers go to our encyclopedia to get facts, not flowery prose. If you agree with me (and I hope you do) that we write the Misplaced Pages for our readers and not for ourselves, than that's a good reason to go for a "just the facts" approach and keep the prose non-distracting. Thanks for listening. Opus33 16:07, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I've added some language on reputation, it isn't the most felicitous, but I think that the fact beneath the prose should be there: that Beethoven did indeed cast a long shadow. Stirling Newberry 16:52, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I was trying to avoid peacock terms in the description; there should definitely be an elaboration on *why* Beethoven is considered the greatest of composers, even if it is in twelve words or less. Regarding "just the facts", is is already a grey area once we use expressions like "is widely regarded as". I think Stirling's edit is good, and should stand. --bleh fu talk fu 21:23, Jan 23, 2005 (UTC)

"Almost certain" birth date

Concerning the "almost certainly" birth date, which I also reverted, please see the discussion from earlier in this forum--we've gone through this one several times already. I can't see any justification for including it unless the anonymous contributor can cite solid evidence from scholarly literature--what is actually known about 18th century baptismal practices in this part of Germany? In the absence of such documentation, we should stick to the facts.

Opus33 16:07, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Agreed, no one has found any sources since the last time. Stirling Newberry 16:25, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

chiming in: I'm with you too. His actual, certain birth date is not known. Antandrus 16:26, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I'm also chiming in. I've never seen any primary documentary evidence of his birth date, only his baptism date. Old reference works that blandly stated "B. was born on 16th December" were simply regurgitating the "facts" that they read elsewhere, but these "facts" are not primary sources and therefore, by definition, unreliable. However, I have seen a horoscope of Beethoven drawn by A T Mann, which rectifies his birth to a precise moment of time on a particular day (16th December), based on the known circumstances of his life. This, while no doubt fascinating for astromusicologists (or musico-astrologists), has no credibility for scholarly research. Cheers JackofOz 02:46, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

My copy editing

I think this is a good article: a sensible length, with many useful links for those wanting detail. I have lightly edited all of it, without altering much at all in the content. I respect people's well-researched efforts, and feel little need to supplement them. Punctuation was often faulty, and there was some inconsistency in capitalisation. At a couple of points I felt the need to fix the wording, so that the point being made would be easier to grasp without the distraction of grammatical or stylistic problems. Please weigh these carefully if you intend to revert anything: especially, if you make a well-considered and well-explained alteration or reversion in wording, take care not to introduce or re-introduce bad punctuation and the like. (I would welcome comments.) --Noetica 02:40, 13 Feb 2005 (UTC)

who cares about Beethoven in fiction

I would like to delete the section on "Beethoven as Fictional Character". Who else agrees with me? Whenever someone tries to delete it, the deletion gets reverted. An encyclopedia article on the greatest composer who ever lived (debatable, of course) should not have some silliness about a clone of Beethoven in an anime novel. Pfalstad 03:57, 24 Feb 2005 (UTC)

You could break it out as another satellite article, since we have already reduced a lot of the clutter that way without deleting information (for example, Beethoven: life and work. Maybe keep the heading Beethoven as fictional character, and retain its first paragraph only (which isn't so bad), preceded by the standard see-also line

Main article: Beethoven as a fictional character

I too stumble over that anime paragraph every time I see it, but perhaps others disagree. And as I recall, Hollywood made Beethoven into a dog once (though it will be a windy cold day in the underworld that I ever add it to the article, LOL) Antandrus 04:23, 24 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I second the satellite article proposal; seeing it in the main article makes me cringe. Mindspillage (spill yours?) 18:25, 26 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Done. I solicit improvements (though it seems that those on writing on this page may not be all that enthusiastic about the topic anyway ;=) )

Opus33 05:24, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC)

That's a huge improvement, Opus, both to the Beethoven article and to the spinoff. Thanks! Antandrus 06:34, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Roman Catholic?

I know Beethoven was born into a Roman Catholic family, and in my view he wrote some of the greatest devotional music. However I am not clear that this qualifies him for consideration as a R.C.; he probably does not qualify through personal faith, Haydn considered him an atheist (see Ludwig van Beethoven's religious beliefs) and I remain unconvinced that his output is notably R.C. I notice that currently Madonna and Jenny McCarthy are also in the category, so I'm really not clear what the criteria are. I have respectfully removed the Roman Catholic artists category pending discussion. Anyone else have a view? --RobertG ♬ talk 08:30, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Well, I found him in this list. That's why I added him. I'm not an expert on his life. Personally, I don't know what to make out of all of it. You tell me. EliasAlucard|Talk 12:23, 14 Jun, 2005 (UTC)

I looked at that list, and it says This list of Roman Catholics is comprised of notables who were baptized as Catholics but may not be practicing, people who converted to Catholicism, people who are practicing Catholics or people who may be lapsed Catholics. On that basis he qualifies for the list, but I think to categorise Beethoven as a Roman Catholic artist is misleading. I think the appropriate action is to leave him out of the category. --RobertG ♬ talk 10:56, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Would you distinguish between a practicing vs. non-practicing Jew, as opposed to a practicing vs. non-practicing Catholic? Being Jewish carries an obvious religious connotation, and yet a number of famous Jews have been agnostics or atheists. Does that make them any less Jewish? Wahkeenah 11:37, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Does that analogy break down? Doesn't "Roman Catholic" mean "adherent of Roman Catholicism", while "Jewish" in the sense invoked above has meanings other than "adherent of Judaism"? But the discussion is not whether Beethoven can be said to have been a Roman Catholic (even an atheist or agnostic one), but whether he should be classified as a Roman Catholic artist on Misplaced Pages. Let me make it clear I have no objection to the categorisation if there's consensus. --RobertG ♬ talk 14:49, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

So, is there some kind of test every Catholic must take in order to qualify for Misplaced Pages's religion category? :) Come on, clearly, he was a Catholic. Well, I'm not going to decide this too much. As I see it, these composers were more religious than they usually are today, since atheism wasn't that popular in those days as it is today.

EliasAlucard|Talk 17:06, 14 Jun, 2005 (UTC)

I'm beginning to wish I'd never asked the question. I'm going to restate my question for the last time, because I obviously haven't been clear, and then I'm withdrawing from this discussion to get on with something more important :-).

The question I thought I was asking was whether Misplaced Pages could reach consensus on whether classifying Beethoven as a Roman Catholic artist (which I would take to mean one whose Roman Catholicism impinged significantly on his/her art) is useful, or misleading. I think it's misleading. If I have misunderstood the purpose of the category then I apologise, but point out that it certainly misled one reasonably experienced Wikipedian (me) and should be made clearer. If it's a category of artists who happened to be vaguely Roman Catholic then so be it, but forgive me for not immediately understanding how users of Misplaced Pages will benefit from that category.

A question I was definitely not intending to ask is whether Beethoven could be said to have been a Roman Catholic (atheist or otherwise). --RobertG ♬ talk 16:01, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Oh, well, I see. The category is for artists that just happen to be Roman Catholic, whether they're the most devout Catholics on earth, practising, or not. Strictly speaking, there aren't many Roman Catholic artists that have their work influenced by their religion. Sure, there are people like Mel Gibson, Madonna in her earlier career (Like a Prayer), and Rembrandt (don't know if he was Roman Catholic though, but he had some Christian paintings), but other than that, I doubt it would suffice for an entire category on Misplaced Pages. So, that being said, should I add him back into the category? And perhaps, the category needs a description?

EliasAlucard|Talk 18:40, 14 Jun, 2005 (UTC)

I understand. Can we wait a bit and see if anyone else expresses a view? I feel a bit close to it, after all that!!! --RobertG ♬ talk 16:55, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I might argue that the first and best Roman Catholic "artist" was the guy that painted the Sistine Chapel.  :) Here's another angle to look at, which might or might not help: You often hear about someone being labeled a "Jewish comedian". Now, does that mean the comedian is Jewish and also tells primarily jokes that center on Judaism? Or does it mean he happens to be Jewish but tells jokes of all kinds? If it's the latter, then Myron Cohen was a lot more of a "Jewish comedian" than was Jacob Cohen (a.k.a. Rodney Dangerfield). If it's the former, they both qualify. Wahkeenah 17:26, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

So, should we add him in the Roman Catholic Artists category? Give me your conclusions.

EliasAlucard|Talk 04:01, 16 Jun, 2005 (UTC)

No. Adding him to the RC category is extremely misleading, to say the least. All the evidence from his biographers, as well as from his sketchbooks and notebooks, indicates that his religious beliefs tended towards the pantheist or even the deist. His Missa Solemnis is a setting of a Latin mass, but plenty of composers--some of them atheists or agnostics (e.g. Verdi, Janacek) set the Mass. Anyway, that's my opinion in the matter. Beethoven was a deeply spiritual man but not a traditionally religious one. Antandrus (talk) 02:11, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Well, okay. Just have in mind though, that it's not required to be the Pope in order to qualify in that category. Personally, I think he qualifies, but I'm no expert on his life.

EliasAlucard|Talk 04:14, 16 Jun, 2005 (UTC)

If Brooke Shields can be categorized a "Roman Catholic artist", I don't see why Beethoven shouldn't be. Wahkeenah 18:22, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Why did Beethoven get rid of all his chickens???

They kept saying Bach, Bach, Bach... I must be 6 yrs old. --Lord Voldemort 19:06, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

Awesome. You're my new idol. :) I assume you've heard what happened when they exhumed him? Wahkeenah 23:15, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

Who? Bach or Beethoven? I must have missed that little news item. --Lord Voldemort 13:49, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

I was referring to Beethoven, but either one works for this: They found him furiously erasing music sheets. Wahkeenah 14:41, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

Not quite sure I get it. Call me dense. --Lord Voldemort 14:50, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

He was DE-COMPOSING. >:) Wahkeenah 15:01, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

Oh... My... Goodness... I can't believe I just laughed at that. I have the dumbest sense of humour ever. --Lord Voldemort 15:39, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

Truly hilarious though needed explaining. I will remember that for my fav, Schubert. Still not quite sure why Beethoven shouldn't have been getting rid of his dogs not his chickens, SqueakBox 15:47, July 29, 2005 (UTC)

Well, it works better spoken. Chickens say "bach, bach, bach." Onomatopoeia of their clucking. Not quite a bark. Like I said... I must be about 6. --Lord Voldemort 15:51, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

Well I was singing that old classic perennial favourite Old Macdonald had a farm but I couldn't remember what the chickens said, SqueakBox 15:54, July 29, 2005 (UTC)

Now I'm not sure if you are patronizing me or are being serious. --Lord Voldemort 15:59, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

The latter. Why would you think otherwise. Well lets reframe that and say I was being as serious as anyone else, SqueakBox 16:10, July 29, 2005 (UTC)

People like to talk down to the Dark Lord. But I just couldn't tell if you were trying to say, "DUH! Of course I know chickens' clucks sound like 'bach'. Everyone knows the song." Or if you were trying to say, "Oh, Thank you for refreshing my memory. I couldn't quite remember the song." Okay, see ya Squeaks. --Lord Voldemort 16:15, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

It may be more of an English song. I love singing it but my wife gets me to shut up if she is around. She also wishes the great composers were decomposing so she didn't have to put up with the Missa Solemnis and others favourites of mine, SqueakBox 16:20, July 29, 2005 (UTC)

Hey, it could still be "bark"... if the dog spoke with a Bostonian accent, yes? Meanwhile, back here with the chickens, I wonder if you've ever heard Ray Stevens' version of In the Mood done by "The Henhouse Five"? Wahkeenah 16:28, 29 July 2005 (UTC)

Strains of genius in his hair?

The article at present has the following interesting sentence at the end of the Life & Work chapter (italics mine):

When the hair was analysed chemically in 1996, distinctive trace-metal patterns associated with genius, irritability, glucose disorders, and malabsorption were not present.

To quote Grahan Chapman: "What?" -- Klehti 12:26, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Here's the edit that introduced it. It offers a source. San Jose State University, Statement by William J. Walsh, Ph.D., Director of Beethoven Research Project: "Distinctive trace-metal patterns associated with genius, irritability, glucose disorders, and malabsorption were not present in the Beethoven samples tested by McCrone Research Institute.". Disclaimer on said page, though: "The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies at San José State University is reproducing this statement for informational purposes only and is not responsible for its content." Rl 12:37, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Very odd claim. Speaking as a doctor, I've never heard of reproducible methods of detecting or estimating genius and "irritability" via trace metal studies on hair. (Or trace metal studies on anything, for that matter). Extremely suspicious. I've rewritten the paragraph to read sensibly, and would have to take a closer look at that source page to see if it really ought to be struck off as well. encephalon 11:11, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

van or von

Is his name "Van Beethoven" or "Von Beethoven" or maybe even simply "Beethoven"? Perhaps the article could say something about this. --MarSch 12:18, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

it was "van Beethoven" for at least two generations, and maybe more. Beethoven's great-grandfather was a burgher of Mechelen; I believe the family has been traced back a couple hundred years but I'm not sure: at any rate they were originally Flemish, hence the "van" rather than "von". (please see the Life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven article). Antandrus (talk) 15:26, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

This raises an interesting lexicograhical question - what part (or parts) of a person's name do we consider to be their surname? He certainly was Ludwig van Beethoven (definitely not von), but he is usually listed under "B" for Beethoven, not under "V" for "van". Nobody talks about "van Beethoven, the composer". Yet we all talk about "van Gogh, the painter", and a lexicographer who listed the painter under "G" for "Gogh" would have to be prepared for the consequences. Maybe he'd be perfectly justified technically in listing the painter under "G", but popular usage would say this was ill-considered. And yet popular usage for Beethoven is 180 degrees different. Popular usage is very fickle, but nevertheless very powerful, and lexicographers who try to remain purists tend to come to sticky ends. What about Manuel de Falla? In Spain, his surname is considered to be "Falla" for the purposes of alphabetic ordering. But in English-speaking countries, we sometimes see him under "F" for Falla, and sometimes under "D" for de Falla. I guess he's not considered great enough for everybody outside Spain to be in agreement about his name. Then we come to transliterations from languages that use non-Latin characters. Before even starting, there needs to be agreement about the transliteration system used, and that's a huge minefield all by itself. If we use a system that approximates as closely as possible to the original sound, then we can get somewhere. But still there are problems. Such a system would have poor old Pyotr Ilyich spelled as CHAYKOVSKY, but nobody would ever think of looking for him under that spelling because we're all so used to seeing TSCHAIKOWSKY, or TCHAIKOVSKY, or various other variants all starting with T. And why T, if the initial sound is CH? Because the accepted English transliteration has come to us via the German TSCH, despite the fact that the frequently-encountered version starting with TCH is not German, or indeed from any other written language that I know of. Oh, I could go on for hours ... but I won't. Nicolas Slonimsky in his preface to Baker's Encyclopaedia of Music has some very interesting things to say on this subject. Do check it out. Cheers JackofOz 03:16, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

"I don't have a solution, but I admire your problem." Very interesting posting. Rl 07:22, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Thanks. I admire my problem too. I've often thought of writing a book about such issues. Maybe I will one day. By the way, it's Baker's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, not what I said above. Sorry.

Interesting. I started looking in Grove to see how they do it: the ONLY names that they have under "Von" are those who have become Anglicised (i.e. they took up residence in English-speaking countries) (Frederica Von Stade, Albert Von Tilzer, Harry Von Tilzer, a couple others). All others--von Suppé, etc. are under the last portion of the surname. Antandrus (talk) 03:28, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for enlightening me on the von/van issue. In Dutch the van part is called a "tussenvoegsel", that is "something stuck in between". For alphebetizing it is never considered, but neither does anyone refer to someone called "L. van Beethoven" as mister Beethoven. Instead they would always say mister "Van Beethoven". Interestingly I just read on dutch wikipedia that german people _would_ say mister Beethoven. Maybe this is why the van part is always(often) omitted (even in holland). --MarSch 16:17, 25 August 2005 (UTC)

If his name was Ludwig VON Beethoven, then Germans would definitely say Herr von Beethoven. Like Herr von Karajan. Maybe they don't do it in the case of VAN because, even though VAN means the same as VON, VAN is not part of German. That argument (in reverse) would also explain why dictionaries show Frederica Von Stade under Von and not under Stade. Particles like van, von, de and di, all meant "of" in their original langauge - but when they become part of a surname in another language (which has happened in the Von Stade case, but not in the Beethoven case), they lose that meaning and become merely some of the letters that form a part of the overall surname. That book is looking more and more necessary by the day. JackofOz 00:05, 26 August 2005 (UTC)

Just a minor correction to prevent you from running off into the wrong direction: Germans do not refer to Beethoven as "Mister Beethoven" or "Herr Beethoven" (in fact, this usage sounds definitely odd to German ears). He would be Herr van Beethoven. The particle can be omitted in German much in the same fashion it can be left out in English: If you talk or write of someone in the third person. Thus "Beethoven wrote the Waldstein sonata" is possible in both languages. But there is no idiosyncratic German usage that automatically deprives Beethoven of his "van". The Dutch Misplaced Pages is definitely wrong on this point, as the composer is beyond doubt known in German as "Ludwig van Beethoven" Christian Rödel (Historian/Musician/German) (sorry, coudn't resist)

Template on TfD

I discovered that the template Template:Ludwig van Beethoven was listed on WP:TFD about a week ago. It says on the top of the TFD page to "give notice of its proposed deletion at relevant talk pages." As the most relevant talk page, I'm helpfully giving notice here now. --RobertG ♬ talk 14:51, 25 August 2005 (UTC)

Eponyms

I've added a section nearly at the end. Yeah, the Beethoven Peninsula. There are many other places and things named after the Great Man. The section can grow some, but then should probably be spun off into Beethoven eponyms. --FourthAve 09:16, 28 August 2005 (UTC)

That's a great idea, Fourth Ave. However, I thought it would be perfect for a disambig page, and so I started one. If there turns out to be a large number of interesting associations, we could reconsider adding a lively section on them. encephalon 16:04, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Ext links

I've edited this section that used to include a huge number of links to various personal/commercial sites. The Beethoven-Haus website is an impressively thorough and encyclopedic repository of all things eBeethoven, and is very professionaly done. I think it should satisfy most needs; I've also included the links to source material such as the CBC report and the page on the lock of hair. Regards encephalon 11:07, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Grosse Fuge manuscript

This section seems rather abruptly out of place in this article, which is a general overview of the chap. It seems to me that it will be best placed in an article about his works and writings, but that's a list. Perhaps Life and Works? I'll move it there soon if there are no better suggestions. Thanks guys. encephalon 16:00, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

Chap? Chap?? Beethoven?? Really!! JackofOz 12:22, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

Categories questioned

I removed Beethoven from the "Dutch people" category - there's no mention of anything Dutch in the article. Did the "van" in his name confuse someone? He was not a native of Vienna - he was born in Bonn. I tightened the categorisation from "German people" to "German composers". I removed categorisation in "Roman Catholics" as per Category talk:Roman Catholics. I also question his categorisation as a "pop icon". Is he? Or is this someone's opinion? I'm afraid I am unhip, and don't really understand exactly what a pop icon is, but when I see Buddha, Britney Spears and Madonna also in that category I worry. Anyone else have a view? --RobertG ♬ talk 12:20, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

Childhood?

I'd like to see someone with the know-how update the article on Beethoven's childhood and youth. There is very little mention of this.

"Widely regarded as one of the..."

Hi User:82.181.158.247, with respect to the above claim in the intro, I think it's more in keeping with the NPOV of an international encyclopedia that it be qualified. Beethoven was possibly the finest composer of music in the Western tradition, true; however

1. there are a number of other claimants to that honor, and using "widely regarded as" for Beethoven does not do them justice;
2. there are a number of other highly developed musical systems in the world as complex and refined as the European classical; saying that Beethoven's compositions are superior to all musical icons, even in those traditions, is a Eurocentric point-of-view, and not NPOV.

Thus, my compromise wording. I don't think the sentence "He was a major musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in history" does serious violence to Beethoven's reputation and is, all things considered, probably the fairest way of putting it. However, it does retain the problem described in WP:WEASEL; a quote from a suitably weighty authority may be an improvement. Kind regards encephalon 00:32, 6 November 2005 (UTC)

"widely regarded as" follows with the qualifier "one of the greatest..." which allows the sentence to retain neutrality. No person would seriously dispute that Beethoven has a mammoth reputation surpassing other composers (except for maybe Mozart), so "widely regarded" is an accurate description. No one would disagree that "Hitler is widely regarded as one of the most hated figures in history", whether one agrees with that comment or not. Taco325i 02:08, 6 November 2005 (UTC)

• "widely regarded as" follows with the qualifier "one of the greatest..." which allows the sentence to retain neutrality. My point precisely. I'm happy that you agree, Taco325i. I don't think the sentence as I've re-written it is problematic, but would be happy to hear other views. Regards encephalon 17:54, 6 November 2005 (UTC)

Hi. My main point was that the sentence had bad grammar (at least in my browser it read: "regarded as one the greatest composers"). I think it is equally true that he is widely regarded as THE greatest composer of all time, but one could qualify this as well. At its present state, there is no indication that his reputation is greater than e.g. Schubert's. Could we use something like "widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in history, and by many as the greatest composer of all time" in order to clarify the matter? --82.181.158.247 09:20, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

Hi there. I can see what you're saying, but I'm not sure we can write a sentence that satisfies all views and yet remain NPOV and unawkward. "...widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in history, and by many as the greatest composer of all time" seems to me very awkward, Sir/Miss. "...is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in history" seems to capture most of what we want to say while retaining some stylistic merit. Furthermore, to say that someone "is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in history" seems to me to be closest to what NPOV and the facts allow us to say. Very kind regards encephalon 00:48, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

Beethoven the Negro? Section

The following previously existed as part of the article body:

BEETHOVEN THE NEGRO?

Another continuing controversy surrounding Beethoven is whether he was a "white man" or a "black man". What specifically is being referenced, is the true identity of Ludwig van Beethoven, considered Europe’s greatest classical music composer. Directly, Beethoven was a black man. Specifically, his mother was a Moor, that group of Muslim Africans who conquered parts of Europe--making Spain their capital--for some 800 years.

In order to make such a substantial statement, presentation of verifiable evidence is compulsory. Let's start with what some of Beethoven's contemporaries and biographers say about his appearance. Frau Fisher, a close friend of Beethoven, described him with “blackish-brown complexion.” Frederick Hertz, German anthropologist, used these terms to describe him: “Negroid traits, dark skin, flat, thick nose.”

Emil Ludwig, in his book “Beethoven,” says: “His face reveals no trace of the German. He was so dark that people dubbed him Spagnol .” Fanny Giannatasio del Rio, in her book “An Unrequited Love: An Episode in the Life of Beethoven,” wrote “His somewhat flat broad nose and rather wide mouth, his small piercing eyes and swarthy complexion, pockmarked into the bargain, gave him a strong resemblance to a mulatto.” C. Czerny stated, “His beard--he had not shaved for several days--made the lower part of his already brown face still darker.”

Following are one word descriptions of Beethoven from various writers: Grillparzer, “dark” Bettina von Armin, “brown” Schindler, “red and brown” Rellstab, “brownish” Gelinek, “short, dark.”

The above text, apart from leaving something to be desired stylistically, is not, I think, appropriate for inclusion in the encyclopedia article on Beethoven. First, it states a theory widely held to be... less than creditable by the international academic community. Second, it supports the theory entirely by (thin) circumstantial and hearsay evidence, with no direct evidence supporting any of the claims and no independent corroborations. Much of the evidence consists of double-hearsay (i.e., a book claiming to say what someone else claimed to say about Beethoven), and most of that is to the effect that Beethoven had darker skin and/or non-"Germanic" features. Aside from the evidentiary flimsiness, it simply does not follow logically that because Beethoven had dark skin, he was therefore a "negro." Additionally, the information about his mother's ethnicity is totally unsubstantiated. Third, the above does not define terms with sufficient rigor: what constitutes a "black man" as opposed to a "white man" for the purposes of this theory? What criteria must be met? How must they be met?

Thus, in light of the weakness of the argument, and the overwhelming presumption of both the academic community and the public at large that Beethoven was Caucasian, I don't see why this argument warrants an entire section. Perhaps a short mention might be warranted, but even then it would need to be so heavily caveated that it probably doesn't make sense. RiseAbove 06:33, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

I agree with RiseAbove. --RobertG ♬ talk 09:02, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

Also agreed. RiseAbove, thanks for removing it. Antandrus (talk) 15:40, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

Beethoven and Romanticism

The article currently states "If we consider the Romantic movement as an aesthetic epoch in literature and the arts generally, Beethoven sits squarely in the first half along with literary Romantics such as the German poets Goethe and Schiller". From my limited understanding of the history of German literature, neither Goethe or Schiller are considered to be part of the Romantic movement, and therefore this statement is incorrect. Jeremy J. Shapiro 21:34, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

• Old requests for peer review