Ludwig Van Beethoven is considered as the greatest composer of all time and this is due to the impact that he had in the music industry with his music compositions. In addition to being a composer, he was also a pianist. Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in the city of Bonn in the Electorate Cologne, this was a city that was considered to be a principality of the Roman Empire, he was then baptized on December 17, 1770; this was because there was a requirement on the law and custom that all babies be baptized within 24 hours of birth. Beethoven existed during the period between the Romantic and the Classical era. Beethoven brought contradictions regarding his date of birth as he used to insist that he was born two years earlier. With regards to this great confusion, there was no correct date on the date of his birth and also presented papers to support the same. Beethoven then died on March 26 1827 at the age of 56 years in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
Ludwig Van Beethovens Career
Beethoven started his career in the year 1790 and between the years 1790 and 1792, he had done various works that were appealing to the audience. These works were however not published at the time and are currently listed as works without opus. The pieces that Beethoven did represented a big sense of maturity and had a wide range. In light to his maturity in the composition of songs, musicologists have identified a theme that is similar to the works he did in the Third Symphony and a number of variations that were written in the year 1791. Beethoven lived and worked in Vienna and this is where he first made a reputation as an improviser, this he did in salons of his friend Nikolaus Simrock. He began by playing the preludes and fugues of J.S. Bach Well-Tempered Clavier. By the year 1793, Beethoven had made a reputation in Vienna and was well-known as a piano virtuoso. It was believed that he held his works up to the year 1795 so that all his collection could have a great impact on the audience.
The Beethoven did a total of 9 symphonies and these were as follows; symphony No. 1 in C, symphony No. 2 in D, Symphony No. 3 in E flat; this was also called the Eroica and was a dedication to Napoleon. He then did symphony No. 4 in B flat, symphony No. 5 in C minor; this was similar to the moose code for V for Victory which became very popular in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Symphony No. 6 was done in F and was called the Pastoral because it was inspired by the countryside and found great use in the Disneys original fantasies. Symphony No. 7 was done in A and had a full vitality, symphony No. 8 was then done in F and the final symphony, symphony No. 9 was done in D minor. Additionally, Beethoven did 5 piano concertos, 32 piano sonatas, 1 violin concerto, 16 string quartets, the great Mass the Missa and one opera called Fidelio.
Some of the best works that Beethoven did were such as Fur Elise that was composed for the solo piano, solo piano sheets and was done for the Classical period. Additionally, it had a SMP Level 5 (intermediate), was a single piece, had standard notation. Another of Beethovens best works of all time is Moonlight Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2 that was made for solo piano and the masterworks were Piano Solo; Solo. It featured from the Sonata, Classical period, had an SMP Level 10 (Advanced), was single piece, had a standard notation, fingerings and an introduction.
Historical time period in which Beethoven lived
Ludwig Van Beethoven was lucky to have lived during two Musical periods and these were the periods of Classical and Romantic periods. The status that he achieved in the musical community was due to the fact that there was great and immense revolutionary influence from development of music from the pivot from both the Classical and the Romantic eras. The symphonies that he developed helped in demonstrating the development from one era to the other and this is evident from the 5th symphony to the 9th. Beethoven is however recognized as one of the greatest Classical musicians and this proves that despite the fact that he lived in two musical eras, he focused more on the Classical music and this is what led to his fame. In order to bridge the gap between Classical and Romantic musical periods, the he did Classical works that brought the Classical form to the highest expressive level and led to the development of the musical style.
The efforts of Beethoven led to the expansion of structural, formal and harmonic terms in the music idioms that were developed by his predecessors such as Mozart and Haydn. The skills that Beethoven employed in the making of his music during the middle and the late periods of the era made his music to be viewed as forward thinking as they contributed to the thinking and the music language of the Romantic era. His works then inspired other great Romantic composers of the time such as Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms. In this manner, Beethoven is viewed as a composer who lived in two different eras and helped in bridging the two eras.
Individual style of Ludwig Van Beethoven
Beethovens individual style was unique in various ways and this was evident in the manner in which he was able to perform in an emotionally in a revolutionary manner, break rules, stretch the musical forms in order to unleash emotions and catapult the Classical era into the Romantic period. This great diversity led the society to think that he would become grumpy in his composition but he ensured that although his music was able to accommodate both the Classical and Romantic perspectives and views, they were organized and remained relevant to both eras. Secondly, Beethoven composed music that were considered to be ahead of his time and this is evident in his compositions Late Quarters that were beyond the times that Beethoven lived. The compositions were considered as indecipherable and uncorrected horrors because they were not streamlined to the times of Beethoven. Currently, such works are considered to be the greatest and this proves the fact that Beethoven did pieces beyond his time thereby proving the uniqueness of his music.
Finally, the uniqueness of the music of Beethoven is evident in the manner in which he developed he ideas. He developed his ideas around equality, brotherhood and liberty and this made his music more acceptable and sellable to the population. It is in this light that his music was acceptable to all men and did not identify with any social group. The development of the cross-cutting music was a great idea that no other musician could develop and this led to the uniqueness of his music. Beethoven did not view himself as superior, in this regard, Bettina Brentano stated that no king or emperor was ever conscious of his power
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