Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in 1770 in Germany. His father pushed him to be a successful musician from a young age through long practice sessions. Beethoven began losing his hearing in his late 20s but continued composing, including his famous 5th and 9th Symphonies. Some of his most well-known works include Für Elise, his 3rd "Eroica" Symphony, and his 9th "Choral" Symphony, which was the first to include vocalists. Though deaf, Beethoven remained a prolific and influential composer.

1. Ludwig van Beethoven

2. Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in
1770 in the city of Bonn, Germany.

3. Beethoven's father was aware of the success Mozart
had as a young child. The father wanted his son to be
successful, too. Beethoven's father cruelly made young
Ludwig practice for hours at a time. His dream was to
have his son make the family rich.
After long nights of drinking,
Beethoven's father would sometimes
drag his son out of bed to practice
the piano or play for guests.
Young Ludwig gave his first
public performance when he was
just seven years old.

4. Beethoven began piano, violin,
and organ lessons.
At a young age, Beethoven's first
mentor and man who recognized his
great talents, Gottlob Neefe, sent
Beethoven to Vienna where he was
introduced to and briefly studied
under other great composers such as
Mozart and Haydn.

5. Unlike Mozart, Beethoven’s compositions
were very messy.

6. Like most artists, composers,
writers, and poets,
Beethoven’s works mirrored
his emotions and
experiences, sometimes even
reflecting his views about
other people.

7. The Third Symphony
Originally he planned to
dedicate The Third Symphony
to Napoleon, whom he had
long admired because he
inspired Beethoven with ideas
of freedom and equality.
However, Beethoven became
disillusioned when Napoleon
crowned himself Emperor in 1804.

8. Ferdinand Ries, a student and early biographer related
the scene: "I was the first to bring him the news that
Bonaparte had proclaimed himself emperor, whereupon
he flew into a rage and cried out: 'Is he too, then, nothing
more than an ordinary human being? Now he, too, will
trample on the rights of man, and indulge only his
ambition!' Beethoven went to the table, took hold of the
title page by the top, tore it in two, and threw it on the
floor. The first page was rewritten and only then did the
Symphony receive the title Sinfonia Eroica."

9. The "Eroica" Symphony represents a
turning point not only in Beethoven's
career, but also in the history of music.
Its unprecedented length, technical
challenges, relationship to political events
of the day, and uncompromising stance
seemed to aim beyond entertainment,
forcing Beethoven's contemporaries to
rethink what a symphony should be and do.

10. Beethoven began to suffer from hearing loss while
composing his 2nd Symphony. Several years
later, he had become completely
deaf. Throughout the years, he suffered from
buzzing in his ears which grew to agitate his
temper. However, his hearing loss did not deter
Beethoven from his composing. He continued
with his work and in fact, composed many of his
greatest works after he had already grown almost
completely deaf.

11. To hear sounds, Beethoven cut
off the legs of his piano and
placed the instrument on the
floor. He did this to feel the
vibrations in
the floor when
he played.

12. Beethoven could not bear the indignity of
asking people to "speak louder, shout, for I
am deaf," and felt he must retreat from
society. He even contemplated suicide: "A
little more and I would have ended my life.
Only my art held me back. It seemed to me
impossible to leave the world until I had
produced all that I felt was within me."

13. Can you identify the following piece?

14. The initial motif of the symphony
has sometimes been credited with
symbolic significance as a
representation of Fate knocking at
the door.
Go to NPR to hear it:
http://www.npr.org/templates/dmg/dmg.php?mediaURL=/pt/20060605_pt_beethoven5&mediaType=RM

15. Für Elise
Für Elise is another famous and widely
recognized masterpiece. Unknown to
most people, this title was not the
original title of the piece. When the work was first
published in 1867, it was done under the title Klavierstück
in A mull, which translates as "Keyboard piece in A
minor." However, Beethoven had autographed the piece
in German with the title and dedication: "For Elise on
April 27, 1810, as a remembrance of L. v.
Beethoven." After its publication, people began to
recognize the work as Für Elise in accordance to its
autograph.

16. To hear it, go to
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BCr_Elise .
Under “The Music,” click on Für Elise next
to the speaker.

17. Symphony No. 9
was written when
Beethoven was completely
deaf. The last movement
is based on a poem Beethoven loved by
Friedrich Schiller called “Ode to Joy.”
Beethoven used a chorus of singers with this
work. No one before him had ever dared break
the rules of composition by adding singers to a
symphony.

18. He conducted the first performance of his Ninth
Symphony. He was so excited while conducting
that he rushed the pace, but the musicians
were familiar enough with the piece that they
could luckily keep up. When finished
conducting, Beethoven, with his back to the
audience and deaf, felt that his work was a
failure. What he didn’t know was that the
audience was loudly cheering for his
masterpiece. A musician near him turned him
around to see the audience’s jubilant reaction.

19. When asked about his hearing loss, he
responded: "I will hear in heaven."

20. 'Sinfonia Eroica’-- Symphony No. 3
Composed in 1803
Symphony No. 5
Composed in 1807-08
Für Elise
1810
"Choral” -- Symphony No. 9
Composed in 1822-24