He was born in the German city Bonn in the year of 1770. His father was a singer in the court chapel but was fired because of alcoholism in 1789. The circumstances in the Beethoven family wasn´t very good and one may say that he had a very unhappy childhood. But the gloomy circumstances was compensated by the support and friendship of Beethovens friends. Aspecially count Waldstein and the family von Breuning. Beethoven studied music for C. G Neefe and he was soon a well known pianist.
In the year of 1783 he was employed as court-harpsichordist and the year after to court-organist. In 1783 his first compostions, three pianosonstas, where printed. In 1787, he was send to Vienna to take lessons from Mozart, but his mother died shortly after the leave and he had to return to Bonn. In 1792 he again settled for Vienna. This time to stay there for the rest of his life. Beethoven still wanted to take lessons from Mozart but it was this time prevented by someting else, Mozart´s death.
During his first years in Vienna he studied for Haydn, J. Schenk, Albrechtberger and Salieri. Beethoven dazzled the Vienneese aristocracy with his virtouso piano-imprivisations, meanwhile he continued to develope his personal compositionstyle. 1795 he gave out, as op. 1, three pianotrios, 1799 he wrote his first symphony and 1798-1800 he wrote his first six stringquartets. Allready before the year 1800 he began to notice the symptom of a ear-disease, witch later lead to total deafness.
Beethovens creative force was during the following twelve years developing into something enormous. 1802 and 1804 his wrote his second and third symphony and in 1805 his only opera ‘Fidelio’ had its opening. In 1806 he had made the three so called ‘Razumovskijquartets’ and the same year the violinconcerto. In 1807 his fourth symphony was ready and in 1808 his fifth and sixt. During these years he allso wrote his five pianoconcertos.
During the years 1812-1815 Beethoven was a very well known composer and famous works from this time is the seventh and eight symphonies. After this time of fortune he fell into a period of depression, caused by his increased deafness. He could at this time neither play the piano as beutiful as before nor conduct an orchestra. He simply couldn´t hear his own music good enough. His creativity again arose in 1817 when he wrote his ‘Missa solemnis’ and a huge number of pianosonatas and stringquartets. He allso began composing his Ninth Symphiny. At this time he was completely deaf. The ninth symphony, with a choir in the final movement, seams to outdo any known limits. Beethoven himself never heard though, never heard it played.
On his deathbed Beethoven was planning a tenth symphony, a composer to the very end. Despite his notoriously brusque manner, Beethoven was revered by Viennese society as its greatest celebrity. His funeral was attended by 20,000 friends and admirers. |
