Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a
German composer and pianist of the classical and early-romantic eras.
Beethoven was born in Bonn and began his musical training at an early
age with his father, who tried to make another Mozart out of the
talented young Beethoven. Beethoven went on to study piano, violin,
and composition with other teachers in Bonn and later in Vienna. In
Vienna, Beethoven began to establish himself as a pianist and
composer, giving concerts and becoming known as a skilled performer
and improviser. Beethoven gradually became more known as a composer
and continued to develop his compositional style. His early works
were strongly influenced by Mozart and Haydn, and Beethoven later
developed his own style in his middle and late compositional periods.
Beethoven began experiencing deafness as a relatively young man,
gradually become more deaf over the years. Because of his increasing
deafness Beethoven eventually stopped performing, but still kept
composing up until his death. Beethoven composed over 700 works of
music, including symphonies, concertos, string quartets and other
chamber works, and works for piano. I have selected some of what we
consider to be the best of Beethoven for you to explore.
Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”
Symphony No. 5 – Begins with the
famous “da-da-da-dum” motive.
Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral” – A
programmatic symphony depicting scenes of the countryside.
Symphony No. 7
Symphony No. 9 – A choral symphony
for solo voices, chorus and orchestra. The voices enter in the last
movement, singing words from the poem “Ode to Joy,” by Friedrich
Schiller.
Leonore Overture No. 3
Egmont Overture
String Quartets – The early quartets
of Beethoven (1-6) are worth listening to, but the middle (7-11), and
late quartets (12-16) are amazing works and represent Beethoven's
mature style.
Piano Sonatas
Violin Concerto
Romances for Violin and Orchestra
Violin Sonatas
Related Articles: The Best Symphonies, 11 Great Overtures
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