Beethoven

               Beethoven (1770-1827) was born in Bonn,

Germany, into a very unhappy family.

His father was a drunkard and often

made his son practice late into the night.

Beethoven took on various jobs at his

youth to support his family. Later he moved to Vienna where

he earned much respect from the aristocrats. He lived on

lessons, gifts, performances, and publishing. However in his

late 20's he began to grow deaf. This was catastrophic to his

career and he often considered suicide, but he decided that art

must give him he happiness that life withheld. His last years

were spent in ceaseless efforts to achieve his artistic goals. He

died at the age of 57, revered by thousands as the finest

composer of his time. Beethoven contributed 32 piano sonatas, 5

piano concertos, and various chamber work for the piano. He

developed the sonata into a grander form. The piano is the

central position in his art, and his 32 sonatas have been called

the New Testament of piano music. In them you often find

dynamic contrasts, explosive accents, opposition of low and

high register, syncopation, and powerful crescendos. His piano

works tend to be harder to play than most other classical

composers but they also contain much more emotion, and is

leaning towards the Romantic style that came later.