Ludwig Van Beethoven :: essays research papers

Ludwig van van Beethoven was, and remains today, an Olympianfigure in the account of classical music. His influence on thelast 150 days of music is unequalled while generaly amember of the Classicist fold, he was in fact the first romanticistic, and pre-figured virtually all music that followed theRomantic era as well. Perhaps no another(prenominal) composer in historywrote music of such exhilarating power and expressivenesscertainly no other composer did so against greater odds.Beethoven was born in Bonn in 1770. His father, a musicenthusiast, dreamed of molding his son into the next Mozart.Beethoven never exhibited the astonishing prodigycharacteristics of his predecessor, but he was unusuallytalented, learning the piano, electronic organ and violin at an early age.At 14, he was already salutary enough on the organ to rule a professional appointment. His family demeanor waschaotic his father was an alcoholic, and his mother diedsuddenly when he was only 17. after(prenominal) that tragedy, hisdomestic situation declined even more, and this condition -combined with support from Haydn - compelled him to channelhome in 1790 and travel to Vienna to study composition. InVienna, Beethoven first studied with Haydn, but eventuallybecame frustrated with that great composers pedagogicsmethods, moving on to study with other composers. Heperformed frequently in salons of wealthy nobility, butstrangely enough, did not perform in existence until he was 25.But from this point onward, he was embraced by both the mutual folk and the aristocracy of Vienna, so much so thathe never had to rely on court appointments or private patronsfor his livelihood. He did receive stipends from admirers andfriends, but he remained independent of the shackles ofconditional patronage that frustrated so many of hiscontemporaries. Beethoven was lucky in one sense he roseto prominence in the musical world at a time when socialstrata were becoming more flexible, and the emerging powerof th e halfway class provided him many opportunities forperformances of his music for public audiences. This,combined with lucrative produce arrangements, allowed himto live relatively well. He was not ignorant of the benefits ofaristocratic support, save throughout his career, hecultivated a romantic, moody and mercurial get wind with theupper class and leveraged this persona to achieve a social posture equal to the Viennese nobility. Beethoven was amaster symphonist - the master symphonist in the eyes ofmost musicians and composers. His compositions fororchestra were revolutionary in his day while he adhered toClassical musical forms, his melodies and orchestration wereof such unprecedented power and steady that theyastonished even the most hardened listeners.