Life_of_Ludwig_Van_Beethoven

Music Assignment Task: Research a composer from the classical period and give a brief written account on his/her life and musical career. Ludwig Van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist, in between the classical and the Romantic periods of music. He is one of the most famous and influential composers of all time. He was born in 16th December 1770, in Bonn and baptized on 17th December 1770. Beethoven began his early musical training with his father, a drinker and was very harsh towards his son, under the service of Bonn’s Elector Of Cologne. Beethoven studied music composition, at the age of 12, under Christian Gottlob Neefe, a church organist. In 1793, Beethoven published his first composition – a set of keyboard variations. In 1987, he travelled to Vienna, hoping to seek Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as a teacher. He quickly returned home, to take care of his ill mother, who died several months later. His father died in 1792, due to too much alcohol. Beethoven returned back to Vienna, studying under Joseph Haydn. He was not completely satisfied, so he also studied under other musicians, including Johann Georg Albrechtsberger. A number of nobility men also offered Beethoven some financial support, recognising his high-standard abilities in playing the piano. He quickly established his reputation and income, as a piano virtuoso and improviser, for the nobility. His first public performance in Vienna was in 1795, playing one of his piano concertos. Beethoven also became a music teacher, taking on several students, including Franz Liszt. Furthermore, Beethoven also had many aristocratic patrons in Vienna, who were inspired by Beethoven’s works In around 1796, Beethoven started to lose his hearing. His hearing was getting worse and worse. He stayed in an Austrian town, called Heiligenstadt, where he wrote his Heiligenstadt Testament, which was a record of his life and his feelings. Beethoven also never married – he was a lonely man, who spent his time composing music. He died in Vienna on March 26, 1827.