Ludwig Van Beethoven

Birth
Ludwig Van Beethoven was born on December 16th, 1770
in Bonn, Germany. The actual date of his birth is still
unknown to this day.
Beethoven’s Family
Beethoven was named after his grandfather. When Beethoven’s grandfather was
young he was a choirboy and then later on in his life he sang in churches and
became a conductor. He died when Beethoven was three. Maria Magdalena
Keverich is beethoven’s mother she was born on December 19th 1746. She died
when Beethoven was 17. Beethoven had 2 brothers Caspar Anton Carl & Nikolaus
Johann. In total Beethoven’s parents had 7 children, only 3 children survived.
Beethoven was the oldest, Caspar (1774), Nickolaus (1776). Johann Van
Beethoven was Beethoven’s father he began drinking heavily after his wife passed
away. Beethoven had to take over to support the family financial so he demanded
half of his fathers salary. Johann passed away in 1792.
Beethoven’s Childhood/early life
Beethoven had a difficult childhood, his mom died when he was just a
teenager only leaving him with his father left who was a alcoholic. At age
eleven Beethoven became the assistant organist in the court orchestra. Then
at age twelve he became the harpsichordist in the court orchestra. And
finally at age seventeen Beethoven played for Mozart in Vienna and Mozart
had fantastic things to say about Beethoven. When beethoven was 11 he
dropped out of school, at age 12 he was already earning money composing and
playing the organ, harpsichord, and viola.
Beethoven when he was
thirteen years old. This is an
oil painting of him created by
Baron Von Zmeskall in 1784
and rediscovered in 1952.
Accomplishments/ Achievements
Beethoven may have been considered rude,clumsy, and even deaf he is still
considered one of the greatest composers that ever lived. He wrote 9
symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 16 string quartets, 10 sonatas for violin, 5
sonatas for cello, 30 piano sonatas,2 masses, 1 opera called “Fidelio”, and more
chamber music. By 1793 he had established a reputation in Vienna as a piano
virtuoso. He got financial success from his arranged compositions and public
performances.
Musical compositions
Beethoven has several famous musical compositions including “Fur Elise”,
“Eroica”,and Fifth Symphony. Fur Elise (For Elise) , is beethoven’s famous
“bagatelle” it was composed on April, 27th 1810, it is written in German.
Eroica or “Heroic” Beethoven’s third symphony which he originally dedicated
to to Napoleon Bonaparte. But when Napoleon crowned himself emperor
Beethoven was furious and scratched out the dedicatee name on the
manuscript. Erico was composed in 1803. Beethoven’s fifth symphony is one of
his best-known pieces in all of musical history it was composed in 1803. The
instruments used in fifth symphony were 3 flutes, 2 obes, 2 clarinets, 3
bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, strings, and percussion.
 Interesting facts
Beethoven was 20 years old when his first symphony was performed. He wrote
one opera and nine symphonies, he admired the ideals of the French Revolution.
When Beethoven noticed that he was becoming deaf he became a unhappy,
lonely man who preferred to be alone. He’s never been married or had a child of
his own. Beethoven often wrote music while taking long walks in the woods. In
1778 at the age of eight Beethoven performed in public for the first time and his
father lied about his age and told everyone that he was two years younger just to
make him seem more talented.
The death of a star
Ludwig Van Beethoven died on March 27th, 1827. He died in Vienna Austria
at the age of 56. The cause of his death was posthepatic cirrhosis the liver.
Beethoven suffered for a long time he always complained on how his ears
buzzed continuously day and night. Him being deaf stopped him from the
thing that he loved doing the most, 1811 was the last year the he performed
in public. Over 20,00 people came to his funeral.
Fascinating Images
More interesting facts..
Beethoven didn't let his deafness stop him at first, he used an ear
trumpet which is the same thing as a hearing aid. The soundboard of
the piano had a rod attached so that he could put his mouth on it to
feel the vibrations. He also used conversation books to communicate
with his friends during the last 10 years of his life.