10 facts about ludwig van beethoven

Beethoven began losing his hearing at an early age. There are letters to his friends from as early as describing his symptoms. Read the full transcript of the Immortal Beloved letter. From instrumentation to length, Beethoven played a significant role in the evolution of the symphony. He was the first to use three horns instead of two in Symphony No.

Trombones appeared in a symphony for the first time in the fourth movement of Symphony No. Symphony No. While he wrote far fewer symphonies than his famous predecessors Mozart 41 and Haydnthey are arguably more complex and of much greater length. At nearly an hour in length, Symphony No. The early period, which lasted until aboutis more classical in nature, along the lines of Mozart and Haydn.

One such opportunity was after the death of Emperor Joseph II. Beethoven failed to meet the deadline; instead, he suggested that he composes one for the inauguration of emperor Leopold II seeing that both events were high profile. He failed to deliver the promised work for the second time. Unbeknownst to many, Beethoven had completed both compositions.

The two oratorios were said to be too complex for the musicians who were to play them on short notice. Mozart is said to have been impressed by Beethoven that he said, Beethoven was just getting started and the world had better get ready. His stay in Vienna was cut short after his mother fell ill. Beethoven lived an isolated life Beethoven lived a socially awkward life.

He was said to not be physically appealing. He was 5 feet, 3 inches tall. He was short-tempered and always had angry outbursts with his family, friends and housekeeping staff. He had trust issues too. Beethoven never got married or engaged to anyone. He also never had children. He was secretly in love with a married woman whom he referred to as his immortal beloved.

He did not have any close friends. He was also heard calling the prince a donkey. This was a year after the passing of Mozart and Joseph Haydn was said to be the greatest composer alive. Haydn was impressed and promised to take Beethoven as his student once he returned to Vienna. He first met Haydn when he was 26 years old. Beethoven, therefore, decided to learn from Haydn.

While in Vienna, Haydn turned out to be too busy and Beethoven was displeased by this. He secretly took lessons with other teachers when Hayden was away. He did not want to offend Haydn. Beethoven became deaf Photo by Kyle Smith — Unsplash.

10 facts about ludwig van beethoven

Beethoven began to lose his hearing around He initially suffered from tinnitus, he would hear a ringing in his ear and this made it hard for him to enjoy his music and would avoid conversations. The cause of his deafness is unknown but speculations have it that it was due to lead poisoning, syphilis, typhus or his strange habit of dipping his head in the water to stay awake.

Ill health and increasing deafness caused a drop in productivity at the end of Beethoven's life, but he still managed to produce important works like his 'Late Quartets' inwhich were wildly inventive for the time. Beethoven died in Vienna on the 26th March after a long illness that has variously been attributed to alcohol, hepatitis, cirrhosis and pneumonia.

Did you know? Beethoven composed only one opera, Fidelio, which took years to get right. He re-wrote one aria no fewer than 18 times and came up with four different overtures before deciding upon the one he liked. Discover Music. See more Beethoven latest. Maurizio Pollini. See more Best classical music. More information at the end of the article.

Article produced in partnership with La Seine Musicale. Only the date of his baptism is known with certainty, December 17, In the 18th century, infant mortality was so high that baptisms often took place only one or two days after birth. It is therefore assumed that Beethoven was born on December 15 or Ludwig van Beethoven was born in the Rhineland in a modest family but one that loved music.

His father, however, had a reputation for being brutal, alcoholic and mediocre in his musical practice. Johann realized early on that his son had a gift for music and wanted to turn him into a new Mozart. As a child, Mozart had been performed all over Europe and had been successful in concert after concert. At only 11 years old, Ludwig had to stop school and became the breadwinner of the family at the age of 14, while his father was unable to provide for the household.

An pedagogical concert to decrypt his music. He was then 7 and a half years old, but to impress the audience even more, his father made him believe that he was only 6 years old. Beethoven would have thought for a long time that he was younger than he really was! A physical particularity that would emanate from a hemochromatosis. Having had to stop school at a very young age, Beethoven knew how to subtract and add but had not learned to divide or multiply.