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| Ludwig van Beethoven |
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Beethoven, Ludwig van, baptised Dec.
17, 1770, Bonn (Germany), d. Vienna, March 26, 1827, composer.
Though rooted in Viennese Classicism, he became the pioneer of
Romanticism. Born into a family of musicians he received instruction
from his father (tenor in the electoral chapel at Bonn), from
acquaintances of the Beethoven family and from approx. 1780 onwards
from the court organist C. G. Neefe. From 1784 B.'s name appears on
the payroll of the electoral chapel |
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at Bonn (from 1783 in the absence of his
teacher deputised at times); first publications appeared in Bonn; he was
a close acquaintance of the Breuning family, which would later have an
influence on his time in Vienna. 1787 he paid his first visit to Vienna
to study under W. A. Mozart but after two weeks his mother's
deteriorating health necessitated his immediate return. Dec. 1790 B. met
J. Haydn in Bonn; Nov. 1792 B. eventually embarked on his second journey
to Vienna to finish his studies under J. Haydn (B.'s patron Count
Waldstein wrote to him on this occasion: "With the help of assiduous
labour you shall receive Mozart's spirit from Haydn's hands.") This
tuition lasted only until 1794 when Haydn left Vienna for his second
visit to England. B. then received tuition from J. G. Albrechtsberger
and A. Salieri. Through the recommendations of his Bonn patrons and
friends and especially as the protégé of Count Waldstein the doors of
Viennese society were opened to him. His at times idiosyncratic
behaviour in the salons did nothing to diminish the appreciation of his
stunning playing and improvisation; 1795 B. made his first public
appearance at the Burgtheater in Vienna. His close association with the
aristocracy and with Viennese society can be seen from the manifold
dedications of his works (esp. to Breuning, Brunsvik, Kinsky, Lichnowsky,
Lobkowitz, Rasumowsky, Archduke Rudolf). Many of the people favoured
with dedications were patrons, whose support or employment, entailing
only light duties, allowed him to lead the life of a free artist (e.g.
Lobkowitz and Lichnowsky); especially worth mentioning is Archduke
Rudolf who, from 1803 onwards, was not only a pupil of B. but also
became one of his most generous patrons (the "Missa solemnis was
composed for the occasion of his consecration as Bishop of Olomouc).
Impairment in his hearing, first detected in 1794, deteriorated rapidly
from 1801 onwards (this ostensibly prompted him to draft the
"Heiligenstadt Testament" of 1802) until eventually he went completely
deaf around 1818 (he had given his last concert in 1815); before
becoming completely deaf the use of "conversation books" became
necessary. Today they are an important source for Beethoven researchers.
1815 B. took on the guardianship of his nephew Karl, which he took very
seriously and weighed heavily upon him. When B. died after a long period
of ill health his funeral was an artistic event for the Viennese.
Numerous celebrities joined the funeral procession (including Franz
Schubert) and the funeral oration, written by F. Grillparzer, was
delivered by the actor H. Anschütz. In 1888 B.'s remains were removed
from the cemetery at Währing to a grave of honour at Vienna's main
cemetery, the Zentralfriedhof.
With his symphonies and last string quartets, B. took the forms of music
he inherited in a new direction, clearly embarking on the path of
Romanticism: the highest manifestation of his art was the symphony, the
ideal and aspiration of the music generation to come (e.g. of J.
Brahms); B. symphonies mark the transition from classical forms to the
great symphony of the Romantic era (he replaced the minuet with a
scherzo), he introduced the formal innovation of incorporating choral
effects into this hitherto purely instrumental genre, as in his Ninth
Symphony. In his thematic work he explored every departure from the
norm, shown in shorter expositions (as in the Third and Fifth Symphony),
his predilection for harmonic crescendo came from the French composers
of the time of Revolution, though he refined their bold technique by "aspiring
to music as a vehicle of intense feeling rather than to the production
of an image". |
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