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 Beethoven,
Ludwig van (1770-1827), German composer, considered one of the greatest
musicians of all time. Having begun his career as an outstanding improviser
at the piano and composer of piano music, Beethoven went on to compose
string quartets and other kinds of chamber music, songs, two masses,
an opera, and nine symphonies. His Symphony No. 9 in D minor op. 125
(Choral, completed 1824), perhaps the most famous work of classical
music in existence, culminates in a choral finale based on the poem
"Ode to Joy" by German writer Friedrich von Schiller. Like his opera
Fidelio, op. 72 (1805; revised 1806, 1814) and many other works, the
Ninth Symphony depicts an initial struggle with adversity and concludes
with an uplifting vision of freedom and social harmony. II. Life Print
section Beethoven was born in Bonn. His father's harsh discipline
and alcoholism made his childhood and adolescence difficult. At the
age of 18, after his mother's death, Beethoven placed himself at the
head of the family, taking responsibility for his two younger brothers,
both of whom followed him when he later moved to Vienna, Austria.
In Bonn, Beethoven's most important composition teacher was German
composer Christian Gottlob Neefe, with whom he studied during the
1780s. Neefe used the music of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach
as a cornerstone of instruction, and he later encouraged his student
to study with Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whom Beethoven
met briefly in Vienna in 1787. In 1792 Beethoven made another journey
to Vienna to study with Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, and he stayed
there the rest of his life. The combination of forceful, dramatic
power with dreamy introspection in Beethoven's music made a strong
impression in Viennese aristocratic circles and helped win him generous
patrons. Yet just as his success seemed assured, he was confronted
with the loss of that sense on which he so depended, his hearing.
Beethoven expressed his despair over his increasing hearing loss in
his moving "Heiligenstadt Testament," a document written to his brothers
in 1802. This impairment gradually put an end to his performing career.
However, Beethoven's compositional achievements did not suffer from
his hearing loss but instead gained in richness and power over the
years. His artistic growth was reflected in a series of masterpieces,
including the Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major op. 55 (the Eroica, completed
1804), Fidelio, and the Symphony No. 5 in C minor op. 67 (1808). These
works embody his second period, which is called his heroic style.
Around 1810 Beethoven was especially drawn to the poetry and drama
of German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, whom he met in 1812 through
the initiative of Goethe's young literary friend Bettina Brentano.
Bettina's sister-in-law Antonia Brentano was probably the intended
recipient of Beethoven's famous letter to the "Immortal Beloved."
The letter dates from July 1812 and apparently marks the collapse
of Beethoven's hopes to seek happiness through marriage. Following
this disappointment, Beethoven's output declined significantly, and
during 1813 he was generally depressed and unproductive. Beethoven's
fame during his lifetime reached its peak in 1814. The enthusiastic
response of the public to his music at this time was focused on showy
works, such as Wellington's Victory op. 91 (1813; also known as the
Battle Symphony), and a series of patriotic crowd-pleasers, including
the cantata The Glorious Moment op. 136 (1814), but his enhanced popularity
also made possible the successful revival of Fidelio. During the last
decade of his life Beethoven had almost completely lost his hearing,
and he was increasingly socially isolated. He had assumed the guardianship
of his nephew Karl after a lengthy legal struggle, and despite Beethoven's
affection for Karl, there was enormous friction between the two. Notwithstanding
these difficulties, between 1818 and 1826 Beethoven embarked upon
a series of ambitious large-scale compositions, including the Sonata
in B-flat major op. 106 (Hammerklavier, 1818), the Missa Solemnis
in D major op. 123 (1823), the Thirty-Three Variations on a Waltz
by Diabelli in C major op. 120 (1823), the Symphony No. 9 in D minor
op. 125 (1824), and his last string quartets. Plagued at times by
serious illness, Beethoven nevertheless maintained his sense of humor
and often amused himself with jokes and puns. He continued to work
at a high level of creativity until he contracted pneumonia in December
1826. He died in Vienna in March 1827. III. Music Print section Beethoven's
music is generally divided into three main creative periods. The first,
or early, period extends to about 1802, when the composer made reference
to a "new manner" or "new way" in connection with his art. The second,
or middle, period extends to about 1812, after the completion of his
Seventh and Eighth symphonies. The third, or late, period emerged
gradually; Beethoven composed its pivotal work, the Hammerklavier
Sonata, in 1818. Beethoven's late style is especially innovative,
and his last five quartets, written between 1824 and 1826, can be
regarded as marking the onset of a fourth creative period. Although
Beethoven's music of the early period is sometimes described as imitative
of Mozart and Haydn, much of it is startlingly original, especially
the works for piano. His early piano sonatas often have a forceful,
bold quality, which is set into relief by the searching inwardness
of the slow movements. The Sonata in C minor op. 13 (Path�tique, 1798),
the most famous of these sonatas, transfers Haydn's practice of employing
slow introductions to his symphonies to the genre of the sonata. The
title refers to a quality of pathos or suffering, which is felt especially
in the brooding slow introduction and is twice recalled in later stages
of the first movement. The main body of this swift, brilliant movement
seems to convey willful resistance to the sense of suffering that
dominates the slow introduction. At the threshold of his middle period
Beethoven sought a variety of new approaches to musical form. In the
Sonata in C-sharp minor (Moonlight, 1801), he begins with a slow movement,
while typical sonatas of that time began with a fast movement. The
movement's placid motif (repeated phrase) of broken chords is reinterpreted
in the final movement as forceful figuration reaching across the entire
keyboard. The sonatas of op. 31, from 1802, each open in an original
fashion. The G major, op. 31 no. 1, begins with striking shifts in
key, in contrast to the usual practice of remaining in the same key
to "ground" the listener. The D minor, op. 31 no. 2 (Tempest), on
the other hand, breaks up the opening theme into contrasting segments
in different tempi, whereas customary practice called for stating
the theme in its entirety at the beginning of a movement. In the first
movement of the Eroica Symphony, one of the major works from Beethoven's
middle period, he again sought ways to expand upon the prevailing
musical forms. At that time, composers usually organized movements
in three major parts. First, the exposition introduces the musical
themes of the piece. Next, the development takes these themes into
other keys, often modifying or fragmenting them. Finally, the recapitulation
restates the themes, grounded in the original key. Prefaced by two
massive, emphatic chords, the opening theme of the Eroica lingers
on a mysterious dark moment of harmony�a gesture that is not reinterpreted
until much later, at the outset of the recapitulation. After the rhythmic
climax of the enormous development section�it is twice as long as
the development section in any other symphony of the time�Beethoven
reshapes classical norms by introducing extensive new material, which
is resolved in a sort of recapitulation in the coda (concluding passage),
which follows the movement's recapitulation. The four movements of
the Eroica bear the following expressive associations: struggle, death
(a funeral march), rebirth (a scherzo, or rapid dancelike movement,
that begins quietly), and glorification. In its narrative design,
the Eroica is connected to the ballet music of Beethoven's Prometheus,
op. 43 (1801), from which he borrowed the theme for the symphony's
finale. This movement of the symphony expresses the exaltation of
the Greek mythological figure Prometheus in a series of variations
on the ballet's theme. Beethoven had originally intended to dedicate
the work to French general Napoleon Bonaparte, whom he idolized, but
he angrily withdrew the dedication after learning that Napoleon had
taken the title of emperor. Beethoven's other instrumental works from
the period of the Eroica also tend to expand the formal framework
that he inherited from Haydn and Mozart. The Piano Sonata in C major
op. 53 (Waldstein) and the Piano Sonata in F minor op. 57 (Appassionata),
completed in 1804 and 1805 respectively, each employ bold contrasts
in harmony, and they use a broadened formal plan, in which the meditative
slow movements flow directly into the final movements. The symbolism
of the keys used for these sonatas shares in the expressive world
of Beethoven's opera, entitled Leonore in its original version from
1805. The grim F-minor character of the Appassionata recalls the dungeon
scenes in this key from the opera, whereas the jubilant close of the
Waldstein in C major recalls the stirring C-major conclusion of the
opera to the words "Hail to the day! Hail to the hour!" The celebrated
Symphony No. 5 in C minor op. 67 from 1808 is the most thematically
concentrated of Beethoven's works. Variants of the four-note motif
that begins this symphony drive all four movements. The dramatic turning
point in the symphony�where a sense of foreboding, struggle, or mystery
yields to a triumphant breakthrough�comes at the transition to the
final movement, where the music is reinforced by the entrance of the
trombones. Beethoven uses here a large-scale polarity between the
darker sound of C minor and the brighter, more radiant effect of C
major, which is held largely in reserve until the finale. The series
of gigantic masterpieces of Beethoven's third period include the technically
demanding Hammerklavier Sonata, completed in 1818, about which he
correctly predicted on account of its challenges that "it will be
played fifty years hence," and the Diabelli Variations. The latter
work for piano transforms a trivial waltz by Viennese publisher Anton
Diabelli into an astonishing, seemingly endless series of pieces,
each with a unique character; some are humorous or even parodies.
These and other late works incorporate fugues�melodies played in succession
and interwoven�that reflect Beethoven's lifelong interest in the music
of J. S. Bach (known for his keyboard work Art of the Fugue). Beethoven's
second mass, the Missa Solemnis in D major op. 123 (1823), also poses
formidable technical challenges, as do his fascinating and sometimes
enigmatic last quartets and the Ninth Symphony, whose most readily
accessible movement is the choral finale. IV. Evaluation Print section
Beethoven combined the dramatic classical style of lively contrasts
and symmetrical forms, which was brought to its highest development
by Mozart, with the older tradition of unified musical character that
he found in the music of J. S. Bach. In some early works and especially
in his middle or heroic period, Beethoven gave voice through his music
to the new current of subjectivity and individualism that emerged
in the wake of the French Revolution (1789-1799) and the rise of middle
classes. Beethoven disdained injustice and tyranny, and used his art
to sing the praises of the Enlightenment, an 18th-century movement
that promoted the ideals of freedom and equality, even as hopes faded
for progress through political change. (His angry cancellation of
the dedication of the Eroica Symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte reveals
Beethoven's refusal to compromise his principles.) The fact that Beethoven
realized his artistic ambitions in spite of his hearing impairment
added to the fascination and inspiration of his life for posterity,
and the extraordinary richness and complexity of his later works insured
that no later generation would fail to find challenge in his music.
Beethoven's artistic achievement cast a long shadow over the 19th
century and beyond, having set a standard against which later composers
would measure their work. Subsequent composers have had to respond
to the challenge of Beethoven's Ninth, which appeared to have taken
the symphony to its ultimate development.
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