Beethoven's Music example essay topic

'... to the cast majority of people suffering is still one of the fundamental characteristics of life, and it is their realization that an experience of suffering, pure and profound, enters as an integral part into Beethoven's greatest work, that helps to give that work its unique place in the minds and hearts of men. ' ; (Marek, 634) These words of compassion come from J.W.N. Sullivan during Ludwig van Beethoven's funeral. They express the regret and sense of loss felt by people all over the world as they caught news of his end. Beethoven was and is a cornerstone for music of all kinds in that he combined new color, imagination, structure and expression to further capitulate the evolution of this great form of art. Beethoven was not only a great musician, but also a modest, caring sole.

His music brought inspiration and illumination to those who listened and Beethoven wanted itso. It is said that Beethoven 'wrote for the public. ' ; (Marek, 413) Those that knew him spoke of his 'lion's voice,' ; 'broad shoulders,' ; 'jaws that could crack nuts,' ; 'square nose like a lions,' ; 'strong frame,' ; and 'carriage proudly erect. ' ; (Cooper, 383) Beethoven lived an interesting and exciting life filled with drama, revolution and innovation.

His composition ability was partially influenced by his upbringing; his father's push to become a musician and his above average education. Beethoven, however, had a gift, or a natural knack, for this form of art which allowed him to become one of the greatest composers of all time. This paper will dive in to Ludwig van Beethoven's personal life, chronologically and precisely explaining factors that shaped him into the man he was. After his personal life is thoroughly charted, a shift in content will lead the reader to explore his many works and elements there of. The material will be presented as accurately and objectively as possible, as the use of several biographies and reference materials will support the paper from beginning to end. The first source is 'Beethoven: Biography of a Genius'; and is a detailed account of his life that covers a broad range if information.

Source number two is 'The Beethoven Compendium'; and is more of a detailed reference book that a chronological account of his life. The third and final source used to account Beethoven's life and works is " Beethoven Remembered. ' ; This book is not so much of a biography or a reference, but rather a broad view of his many strong points and major events in his life. Chapter 2: His life and works. Ludwig van Beethoven was born in the second half of the 18th century when the age of curiosity was prominent.

Society at the time was beginning to question many old beliefs, customs, and religions. There were advances in astronomy, geography and chemistry, proving that the world was ready for a revolution of innovation and excitement. Beethoven was born on December 17, 1770 in Bonn, Germany. Bonn was a pleasant city. It was very old and very rich in tradition.

Its location was on the western bank of the Rhine River which offered protection form intruders. (Marek, 26-7) It was a close knit community and there was a good balance between business and recreation. It may be safe to say that some of Beethoven's compassion was sparked by his environment of fertile resources that the town of Bonn provided. 'The boy was looking out of the window, his hands cradled in his hands. His mien was, his glance rigid. Cecilia Fischer came along the courtyard and saw him.

'How are you, Ludwig?' she shouted up to him. No answer. She said, 'Well, no answer in an answer too. ' Suddenly the boy exclaimed, 'Oh, please, no, no, forgive me! I was busy with such a beautiful, deep thought I couldn't bear to be disturbed. ' ; (Wegeler and Ries, 39) This story illustrates that, from a young age, Beethoven was very in tune with his thoughts and emotions.

He did not, however, let them get in the was of his kindheartedness and compassion, as he is quick to apologize when he is made aware of the situation. It is said that Beethoven was a very happy-go-lucky child. He often played tricks along with the other children of the Palace of Bonn. Beethoven's main family influences come from his Grandfather and his Mother, as he spoke of them very highly.

Although his father was the one who strive d to make him a musician, saying 'My son Ludwig is my only joy... my Ludwig, my Ludwig. ' ; , Beethoven rarely spoke of him. Possibly because, despite the boy's needs, his father pushed him as a performing musician and therefore a source of income. (Cooper, 40) Even though Beethoven was not the child prodigy that Mozart was, he did exhibit an early expression of musical talent on the clavier. Beethoven's first concert is said to have been on March 26, 1778 in the musical academy room in theSterngass the Electoral Court Tenor ist. (Marek, 64) It is not known, however, what he played or, for that matter, the outcome of the concert.

Little is known of Beethoven's early education, but it is known that the first public education building was erected in Bonn in 1786, when he was sixteen. He received a general education of average content. His family changed lodgings three of four times while he was in school which probably explains his later compulsion to change his dwelling frequently. (Wegeler andRies, 45) Ludwig's musical education was far from average. He was forced to eat music for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

As soon as he showed signs of talent, his father pushed it upon him until no end, it was the only road he had. When Beethoven was nine, he began to go outside and beyond his father's teachings. His new teacher was an old man who was a friend of his grandfather's. His name was Giles van den Eeden and he had served as the Court Organist for many years. It is said that Eeden's teachings to Beethoven were of no charge. His second teacher, Tobias Friedrich Pfeifer, was an interesting character.

He was an unsteady but gifted vagabond, sometimes impressing and sometimes irritating. He was a live in at the Beethoven household who stayed around for less that a year. After Eeden, ludwig had mony other teachers but the most important was ChristianGottlob Neefe. Neefe was an eager learner. He was always on the cutting edge and never got bogged down with 'ceremony'; or 'etiquette. ' ; Christian taught many composers to Beethoven at the time but focused mainly on Johann Sebastian Bach.

Of Bach he said, 'If you are able to play Bach well, you can play practically any composer. ' ; (Marek, 50) Neefe is often given credit for Beethoven's phenomenal virtuosity in playing the piano. It is unknown how long Beethoven studied under Neefe but during this period he picked up techniques from a variety of other teachers. A few include: FranzRovantini, who taught hi violin; a Franciscan friar, Willi bald Koch; a FatherHansmann; and a Zens en, who was the organist at theMunsterkirche. (Cooper, 77) Soon after Neefe had been appointed as Organist of the Electoral Chapel, Maximilian Franz replaced Maximilian Friedrich as Elector of the chapel and insisted on a change in staff.

He accused Neefe of being 'not particularly skilled on the organ. ' ; Beethoven was now in contention for the position. But because of Beethoven's young age of thirteen, Franz compromised with Neefe. It was set that Neefe would receive only half his salary, the other half going to Beethoven as second organist. (Marek, 46) This was Ludwig's first paid position in doing what he would later become famous for. When Beethoven was almost seventeen, he left Bonn is route for Vienna.

Neefe said that the young man ought to be given the opportunity to travel. The only problem for Ludwig at the time was the funding for the trip, for it was very costly to travel any great distance from his home town. The man who made his journey possible was Maximilian Franz, allegedly advised to do so by Waldstein. Waldstein argued that it would be a good idea to send the aspiring young musician to the 'capitol of music'; so he could meet and learn from Mozart. (Marek, 73) The journey took about two weeks as Beethoven arrived in Vienna on April 7, 1787. Beethoven's stay in Vienna was scheduled to last for some period of time so he would have ample time to become further educated.

There were only two people that Beethoven admired in Vienna: Emperor Joseph and Mozart. It is not likely that he actually met the Emperor, for he was only in town four days after Beethoven's arrival. He did, however, meet Mozart. The meeting did not turn out to be everything that was expected. Mozart had just returned from Prague and was concerned with his father's poor health, not to mention his financial situation. Beethoven and Mozart did have a chance to play together though.

Mozart first played a piece that was arran ged specifically for the situation, but had little effect on Beethoven. When Beethoven was playing for Mozart, however, Mozart stuck out of the room to a nearby where ho told a group of musician friends to 'Keep your eyes on him; someday he will give the world something to talk about. ' ; Beethoven returned to Bonn to soon encounter some of the toughest times of his life. He became a hypochondriac, often talking about the " tightness in his lungs. ' ; There was no medical evidence that anything was the matter with his lungs, but psychology, there were factors that could have influenced his concern. His mother died of tuberculosis on July 17, 1788.

His sister, Maria, died months later on November 25. As a result of all this trauma, his father, Johann, resorted to drinking in order to deal with his problems. Soon, Ludwig was having to carry the weight of the entire household on his shoulders. On top of all this trauma, war broke out in Bonn later that year. It was soon decided by Maximilian Franz and Neefe that Beethoven should once again travel to Vienna, this time to study under Haydn. So off he set at six o' clock in the morning on November 2, 1792 en route for Vienna.

He journeyed with 'zest, and he was open, cheerful, positive, eager for new knowledge and impressions, and above all filled with ambition. ' ; (Wegeler and Ries, 83) It was this visit to Vienna that would hold the greatest success for Beethoven. A more perfect place for this could not have been imagined, for Vienna held 200,000 people and the opportunities were endless. The citizens of Vienna paid a constant tribute to music and the theater. IlsaBarea writes that in the early days of Beethoven's sojourn the Viennese 'to whom music was accessible, and they were the overwhelming majority... found release from self-doubts and resentments in the serenity of Haydn... the perfection of Mozart. ' ; Music played and immense role during and after the Napoleonic wars.

'The other escape route was the theater. ' ; (Wegeler and Ries, 92) There were more than enough places inVia nna for Beethoven to exhibit his musical talent. For example, music was played in palaces, homes of patrons, ballrooms, assembly halls, in a park called Aug arten, or sometimes in one of the theaters. Beethoven, seeing all the opportunity, quickly began his study under Haydn. He was completely engulfed until January, 1794 when Haydn left town.

It was then that Beethoven really began to shine on his own, putting to use all of the musical education that had been taught to him in years past. In the next years, Beethoven would compose some of the greatest music ever written unbelievable ailment: he was going deaf! Beethoven's works have been divided, by many, into three main parts:' early'; , 'middle'; and 'late. ' ; Although some have attached many sub-categories to each one of the three periods, the tri-part is the easiest way to categorize his evolution.

The traditional elements of Beethoven's music were weighted largely on the language of the time, but also were greatly influenced by his background. The musical language of the late 18th century played an important role in shaping his musical personality. Ludwig obtained most of his 'fully mature'; musical language from Haydn and Mozart. This was a key element in the development of his writing style in that it gave him a sense of freedom to drive his compositions to a new level.

(Merek, 195) Beethoven's mastery of writing a sonata was largely due to the inspiration and teachings of Mozart. He was Beethoven's primary influence until around 1800. Haydn's influence on Ludwig is little known. It is known, however, that Beethoven learnt an economical approach to themes and motives form Haydn. This quality later helped Beethoven in working out overall compositional problems. (Cooper, 201) Ludwig professionally mixed the qualities that he picked up from Mozart and Haydn.

He often used Mozart's approach in the beginning of themes when he changed keys. Haydn's influence shined through in that Beethoven's compositions were more free and unpredictable. (Cooper, 201) Although Beethoven did not completely dessert the ideas surrounding harmony and tonality of the late eighteenth century, he did however make major changes. (No pun intended) For example, the famous move from Major to E major in the first movement of the 'Waldstein's on ata has been roughly seen as an important step on Beethoven's was towards what Toveycalled the 'crossing of the Rubicon.

' ; Beethoven was not just trying to be different, this new modulation did have a purpose. The modulation to the mediant major helps to create an entirely new relationship between the end of the exposition and the music which follows it, as well as having consequences for the tonal plan of the recapitulation and coda. (Merek, 203) Another way that Beethoven broke the traditional chains of music was when he formed harmonic progressions that broke the common 'laws'; of tonality. For example, in the finale of the eighth symphony, the F major chord at bars 88-90 is heard contextually as a subdominant of C major, and a transitional passage of several bars would normally have been needed to return the key to F major; but Beethoven simply proceeds to a recapitulation of the main theme in the home key without offering any harmonic 'explanation. ' ; (Marek, 202) From the examples above, it is clearly evident that Beethoven was an innovator and pioneer in his form for composing music. Beethoven was twenty nine when he composed his first symphony.

Although he got a late start, the context of his compositions mirrored those of his Viennese predecessors and stayed very constant for about twenty five years. (Wegeler and Ries, 203) In his symphonies, the stringed instruments still dominated much like that of Mozart and Haydn. Beethoven had a particular interest in the cello which can be traced back once again to Mozart. Beethoven's innovation to the symphony came by means of his ability to write themes for instruments incapable of playing melodies. For example, he would often write solos for the horns and tympani. Concertos, including 5 for piano, 1 for violin and 1 triple concerto.

(Cooper, 536) These are just a few of his many masterpieces. During his lifetime, Beethoven was popular with the artists. Many busts and sculptures were formed and are now collected at very high prices. Not only was Beethoven one of the most influential people in music history, but he was also very important in the evolution of art.

Laser was inspired to work on intricate engraving after sketching Beethoven in years previous. Many statues and memorials were explicated by states and governments during his life and also after he died on March 26, 1827 at 5: 45 p.m. Beethoven's place in music history is central. For many he is and was the greatest composer to ever walk the face of the earth. Beethoven's music is pivotal in that it looks back at its predecessors and forward to his successors in a way that is virtually unmatched by any other composer. For Mendelssohn, the excellence of the 'Choral's symphony gave rise directly to the Hymn of Praise in his own Second Symphony.

For Wagner, the necessity of adding voices in the finale of the 'Choral' confirmed his view of the supremacy of vocal music. For Brahms, Bruckner and others, Beethoven's symphonies were a model of pure instrumental music of the greatest kind, while Mahler took the cosmic breadth of the 'Choral " Symphony as a starting-point for many of his own. (Wegeler and Ries, 127) Others looked at different parts of Beethoven's contribution. Beethoven stands between the Classical and Romantic periods which is suiting considering that he combined so many elements of music theory in order to achieve a level of production that is unique and innovative. He is said to be a 'man who freed music'; from the shackles of 18th century formal conventionality. He was seen and can still be seen as the man who effected a revolution in music every bit as fundamental as the French Revolution in politics.

(Merek, 306) A quote written by Liszt, the Arch Romantic, perfectly sums up the impact and importance of Ludwig van Beethoven to not only the music community, but also to the history of music itself: 'To us musicians the work of Beethoven parallels the pillars of smoke and fire which led the Israelites through the desert, a pillar of smoke to lead us by day, and a pillar of fire to light the night. His darkness and his light equally trace for us the road we must follow; both the one and the other are a perpetual commandment, an infallible revelation. ' ; (638).