Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven overcame many obstacles throughout his life (1770-1827). By expanding the style of his influences, he accomplished musical tasks before possible. His influences were Neefe, Mozart, and Bach. In comparison to other composers, such as Bach and Mozart, Beethoven produced a relatively small number of symphonies. However, his nine symphonies contained more emotion and ingenuity than all other artists' combined. In fact, the Ninth Symphony Orchestra is Beethoven's most renowned work, as well as the greatest accomplishment in music history. Beethoven possessed an enormous musical mind, and proved himself to be the most influential composer of all time. Beethoven's road to fame was anything but easy. He encountered numerous difficulties along the way. Ludwig Beethoven was born into a dysfunctional family. His father, a successful violinist and tenor singer, was also an abusive alcoholic (Mann 72). Beethoven began learning to play the piano at a very young age, with his father as instructor. His father initiated the informal training through drastic means (Landon 52). "[Beethoven's] father would wake him up at night to beat the music into his sleepy head" (73). As a result, Beethoven's musi
Despite Beethoven's hearing being almost completely gone, he remained completely dedicated to his music. Symphony No. 7 in A major, Opus 92, was released in December of 1813 (Grove 96). Completed in 1812, Symphony No. 8 in F major, Opus 93, was released in February of 1814 (Grove 121). Shortly after, Beethoven's brother Casper, whom he was very close to, died. Beethoven did not cope with his brother's death very well; "he almost gave up composing altogether" (Landon 235). Beethoven however managed to recover and compose his best symphony ever, which became the greatest accomplishment in music history. Neefe introduced Beethoven to Mozart's strict counterpoint style. Wolfgang Mozart, respected pianist and composer, invited Beethoven to go to Vienna and study under him (Landon 82). Two weeks after arriving in Vienna Beethoven suffered yet another hardship. Beethoven's mother died. His mother's death aggravated his father's drinking problem to the point where he could no longer care for his family. Hence, at the young age of seventeen, Beethoven had no choice but to care for his two younger brothers (Landon 157). Despite these responsibilities, he still managed to expand his skills, both on the piano and as a composer. As a final hardship, Beethoven developed a buzzing noise in his ears. "At the age of 28, Beethoven's hearing began to deteriorate; first in the left ear, then in the right," the "cause later determined as severe damage to the acoustic nerves" (Nettl 38). Eventually Beethoven lost all hearing. Regardless, Beethoven's superior intellect allowed him to compose an entire symphony inside his head before copying a single music note onto paper. Thus, unbroken by his obstacles, Beethoven remained l
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Approximate Word count = 1169
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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