Facts about Ludwig van Beethoven

He remains one of the most admired composers in the history of music, his works are among the most frequently performed in the classical music repertoire.

His works cover the transition from the classical period to the romantic era in classical music.

There is no authentic record of his date of birth, but a record of his baptism has been preserved, which shows the date of December 17. Beethoven himself believed that he was born on December 15, and since in the German church of that time it was customary to baptize children no later than 24 hours after birth, the composer's birthday was assumed to be December 16, which Beethoven himself agreed with.

The composer's grandfather, Ludwig Senior, came to Bonn from the city of Mechelen (then in the Austrian Duchy of Brabant, today Flemish Belgium) at the age of 21 and soon married a local girl, Maria Josepha Poll. He found employment as a bass singer at the court of the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, Clemens August, and later became a bandmaster. This couple had an only son, Johann, who worked as a tenor in the same place as his father and also gave lessons on keyboards and violin.

Johann van Beethoven married Maria Magdalena Keverich, daughter of the chef at the court of the Archbishop of Trier. Of the seven children born from this marriage, only the second, Ludwig, and two younger brothers, Kasper Antoni Karl and Nikolaus Johann (commonly known as Johann), survived.

Johann, aware of Leopold Mozart's success in this field (with son Wolfgang and daughter Nannerl), attempted to promote his son as a child prodigy, claiming that Beethoven was six years old (he was seven) in the posters of his first public performance in March 1778 in Cologne. Little Ludwig's first music teacher was his father. Later he had other local teachers: the court organist Gilles van den Eeden, Tobias Friedrich Pfeiffer - a family friend who taught him how to play keyboard instruments, Franz Rovantini - a relative who taught him violin and viola, and the court concertmaster Franz Anton Ries who taught him how to play on a violin.

Pfeiffer, who often suffered from insomnia, organized late lessons by dragging his sleeping toddler out of bed.

The most important of them was the composer and organist Christian Gottlob Neefe, who introduced the young Beethoven to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and made him fall in love with this music. Beethoven knew Bach's cycle of preludes and fugues by heart.

Neefe taught Beethoven the composition. In March 1783, his first published work appeared - a set of variations for the keyboard.

First, he did it free of charge (1782), and later he received remuneration (1784).

His first three piano sonatas, sometimes known as "Kurfürst" ("Elector") due to their dedication to the elector Maximilian Friedrich (1708-1784), were published in 1783.

In the same year, the first printed mention of Beethoven appeared in "Magazin der Musik".

During these years, he was introduced to several people who became important in his life. He often visited the von Breuning family, whose children he taught piano, and the widowed Mrs. Breuning offered him motherly friendship. Here he also met Franz Wegeler, a young medical student who became his lifelong friend. In the von Breuning house, he also met Count Ferdinand von Waldstein, who became Beethoven's friend and financial helper during the Bonn period - in 1791 he commissioned his first work for the stage, the ballet "Music zu einem Ritterballett".

Ludwig's father abused alcohol and was often aggressive towards his wife and children. Eventually, life in the family home became dominated by the father's decline. Ludwig's mother died in 1787. In 1789, Beethoven's father was forcibly dismissed from his job due to alcoholism and it was ordered that half of his pension be paid directly to Ludwig to support the family. He contributed to the family income (he did it reluctantly, as his friend Wegeler said) by giving lessons and playing the viola in the court orchestra.

In his later years, Beethoven never mentioned his father, but a portrait of his mother, whom he had great love for, always stood on his desk.

He also became friends with Anton Reicha, nephew of the court orchestra conductor Josef Reicha, a composer, flutist, and violinist of approximately the same age.

In the years 1790-1792, Beethoven composed several works, showing greater maturity in them - he did not publish any of them. He also received his first commissions (probably on Neef's orders) - the Bonn Literary Society commissioned him a cantata in 1790 on the occasion of the death of Joseph II, as well as another cantata to celebrate the subsequent accession of Leopold II as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. These two cantatas were never performed at the time and were lost until the 1880s, when Johannes Brahms described them as "Beethoven through and through", recognizing in them a prophetic style that distinguished his music as distinct from the classical tradition.

A year and a half later, they met in Vienna, when Beethoven was playing in La Redoute Bonn Bad Godesberg.

There was a widespread belief that Beethoven was the successor of the recently deceased Mozart - Ludwig studied his work and wrote works in a distinctly Mozart style.

He spent his stay in Vienna studying and did not immediately think about being a composer. He mainly studied the violin under Ignaz Schuppanzigh, and while working under Haydn, he also aimed to master counterpoint. He also began taking occasional lessons from Antonio Salieri, mainly in the Italian style of vocal composition.

Aided by contacts with Haydn and Waldstein, Beethoven began to gain a reputation as a performer and improviser in the salons of the Viennese nobility. By 1793 he had gained a reputation as a piano virtuoso in Vienna, but he withheld the publication of his works to give them greater importance.

He gave three concerts, starting with one of his own piano concertos on March 29 at the Burgtheater and ending on March 31 with a Mozart concerto, probably Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor.

These works were dedicated to his patron, Prince Lichnowski, and were a financial success. Beethoven's profits were almost enough to cover his living expenses for a year. In 1800, his first concert took place, the proceeds of which were intended exclusively for him, and his First Symphony premiered there. The work was well received, although critics saw in it a desire for originality.

The first one took place at the home of Baron Raimund Wetzlar, a former patron of Mozart, with the virtuoso Joseph Wölfl, and a year later in the salon of Count Moritz von Fries with Daniel Steibelt - he won both duels.

Initially, he treated it as a short-term indisposition of the body, but over time, he realized that deafness was irreversible. The cause was probably otosclerosis, possibly accompanied by degeneration of the auditory nerve. The composer broke down and in 1802, during his stay in Heiligenstadt near Vienna, he wrote a letter to his brothers (which he did not send), the so-called Heiligenstadt testament, in which the composer says that the only thing that stopped him from committing suicide is his art.

It was a great blow to him, because concerts were an important source of income, and his deafness also contributed significantly to his withdrawal from social life. Beethoven could still hear speech and music until 1812, he never became completely deaf. In recent years, he was still able to distinguish between low tones and sudden loud sounds.

Shortly after Beethoven's breakdown, one of his most joyful works, Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36. During this time, many original works were composed on a grand scale. An important work using this new style was Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55, known as "Eroica". The composer created the piece, which he originally called "Bonaparte," because he was fascinated by the heroic leader of the revolution. However, when Napoleon declared himself emperor in 1804, Beethoven scratched Napoleon's name from the title page of the manuscript and called it a Heroic Symphony (Eroica) written in memory of the great man. It was received with mixed feelings.

According to Hoffmann, he was ahead of Haydn and Mozart in this ranking. He wrote that in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony his music "sets in motion terror, fear, terror, pain and awakens the infinite longing that is the essence of romanticism."

Some of his patrons, including Prince Lobkowitz and Prince Lichnovsky, gave him annual stipends in addition to commissioning works and purchasing published works. Perhaps his most important aristocratic patron was Archduke Rudolf of Austria, the youngest son of Emperor Leopold II, who began studying piano and composition with him. This led to a friendship that lasted continuously until 1824. Beethoven dedicated 14 compositions to Rudolf, including some of his most important works - the Archduke Trio, Op. 97 and Missa Solemnis op. 123.

To persuade Beethoven to stay in Vienna, Archduke Rudolf and his other patrons agreed to pay him an annuity of 4000 florins per year. Only Rudolf fulfilled his obligation, so the composer was forced to resort to the law.

The castle orchestra welcomed him with a concert, performing his Symphony No. 2 in D major. Beethoven promised the Count that he would give him his Symphony No. 5 in C minor, which he had been working on, and received an advance of 500 florins from the Count. However, he dedicated the symphony to Count A.K. Razumowski, while Opersdorff received the rights to the 6th symphony.

At that time, four symphonies, four concertos, five quartets, trios, sonatas, and overtures were created.

Unfortunately, Ludwig was completely unsuitable for raising his nephew, he did not lead a stable life and was not consistent in his upbringing. His protégé even tried to take his own life, which completely devastated the master. His professional activity also declined, and in the years 1817-1819 he created only one work (considered a masterpiece) - the Great Sonata in B flat major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier".

Communication took place using the so-called conversation notebooks (Konversationshefte), which constitute a unique historical record containing discussions not only on musical topics. Some of them (138 out of 400) have survived to this day thanks to his first biographer and friend, Anton Schindler. Unfortunately, they are not completely authentic, because Schindler made many changes to them in order to lie and mythologize the composer's life.

Among other things, he became a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences and received a gold medal from Louis XVIII for his Solemn Mass (Missa Solemnis in D major, Op. 123). He also enjoyed great fame among the Viennese.

He struggled with intestinal disease throughout his life, including dropsy and cirrhosis of the liver, which led to the composer's death. However, the latest research shows that the main cause of the composer's poor health and, as a result, death, was the lead treatment conducted by his doctor, Andreas Wawruch (he used compresses containing lead). Leads were also influenced by vessels used by Beethoven, as well as medicinal waters containing lead.

Ludwig van Beethoven died on March 26, 1827, at the age of 56.

According to Huttenbrenner, around 5 p.m. there was a flash of lightning and thunder: "Beethoven opened his eyes, raised his right hand and looked up for a few seconds with a clenched fist...".

Beethoven's funeral took place on March 29, 1827, attended by over 10.000 people. Viennese (the city had approximately 200.000 inhabitants at that time). They walked in the funeral procession carrying torches, including Franz Schubert and violinist Joseph Mayseder. The funeral speech of the poet Franz Grillparzer was read by actor Heinrich Anschutz.

However, the names of the women he loved, often with reciprocity, are known. These women generally came from the aristocracy, and since the composer did not boast of noble origins, he could not marry any of them at that time. He dedicated his works to many women. One of them was Giulietta Guicciardi, whose name he immortalized in the piano sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27/2, called "Moonlight Sonata". Beethoven was even engaged to her, but her father did not agree to the wedding.

There were many women with whom he maintained friendly relations, one of them was Bettina Brentano (also Goethe's friend), Therese Malfatti, and the Hungarian aristocrat Anna Maria Erdody, whom the composer called his confessor.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to determine who the mysterious addressee of the letter was, nor is it known where the letter was addressed to, when it was written, and whether the author sent it at all. There are speculations that this beloved was Dorothea von Ertmann.

• In this earliest period, the composer followed in the footsteps of his great predecessors, Haydn and Mozart. From this period come, among others, 1st and 2nd symphonies, the first 6 string quartets, the first three piano concertos, and several piano sonatas, including the so-called "Pathetique" and "Lunar"
• The middle period began in a period of personal crisis caused by progressive deafness. At that time, he preferred large forms carrying the idea of heroism and fighting against fate. Six symphonies come from this period, the Piano Concerto, the Triple Concerto, the Violin Concerto, and piano sonatas, among others. the so-called "Waldsteinian and "Appassionata", the "Kreutzerian" violin sonata, and the composer's only opera "Fidelio"
• The Romantic (late) period began around 1815 when his works began to be characterized by great intellectual depth and strong personal expression. From this period comes, for example, the String Quartet op. 131, composed of seven interconnected parts, and in the finale of the Ninth Symphony, the orchestra is joined by a quartet of soloists and a mixed choir. Other works from this period include the symphonic mass Missa Solemnis, "Golitsyn Quartets and the Great Fugue" and the last five piano sonatas, including "Hammerklavier"

The composer spent over 30 years in Vienna, where the premieres of all his symphonies took place, including the Ninth Symphony, completed in 1824. Beethoven was already completely deaf at that time, he could not conduct himself, but he stood next to the conductor with his back to the audience and "conducted" too - with his hands, his arms, his whole body. After the song ended, when there was applause, one of the performers turned the master towards the audience, so that he could at least see the hall and the audience's admiration. Beethoven had this music in his head, he heard it through his musical imagination.

The author introduced vocal parts into the last, fourth part - a quite large choir and four soloists.

A fragment of the symphony, the final cantata became the anthem of the European Union (in 1972, the final cantata of the Ninth Symphony, known as "Ode to Joy", in an instrumental version created by Herbert von Karajan, was adopted as the EU anthem by the Council of Europe and the European Community).

Already in a sketchbook from 1789, Beethoven wrote down a phrase from the first part of the chorus, intending to write music to Schiller's work. Based on the project from 1812, it is known that it was initially intended to be an overture for choir and orchestra. While working on the Ninth Symphony, Beethoven incorporated the text into its final movement.

A work inspired by Schiller's poem is "Ode to Youth" by Adam Mickiewicz, considered an enthusiastic praise of youth in the spirit of Philomath.