Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven is considered one of the greatest classical composers who has ever
lived. He was born on December 17, 1770 in Bonn, Germany.

With an alcoholic father, who was a singer and Beethovens first teacher, Ludwig had a
difficult life as a young boy. To escape, he lost himself in music. With an extraordinary
talent for piano playing, he began composing when he was only twelve years old and soon
he became a traveling performer.

Ludwig moved to Vienna, Austria in 1792 and lived there for the
rest of his life. He wrote classical music for the piano, orchestra
and different groups of instruments. Idolized by the public,
Ludwig had a good life in Vienna. Beethoven was popular with
the city's rich and important people. Even with his popularity,
however, Ludwig faced financial problems and had to find
sponsors when his music could not support him.

Ludwig never married and had no children of his own. However,

he became so obsessed with gaining custody of his nephew, Karl,
that he did not compose for two years. After a lengthy legal
battle, he finally got custody of the boy. His relationship with his
nephew was very strained. In 1826, Karl tried to shoot himself.
He survived but left Beethoven to join the army.

Beethoven was one of the first composers to make a living without being employed by the
church or a member of the nobility. At first, he was known as a brilliant pianist, but when he
was around 30 years old, Ludwig began to lose his hearing. His deafness gradually became
worse and, by 1817, he was completely deaf. Instead of allowing deafness to overwhelm
him, Ludwig began a period of prodigious and brilliant composition. In fact, Beethoven
composed some of his best music after he was deaf.

Although he could no longer hear all the notes with his ears, Beethoven composed some of
the best-known symphonies of all time. His well-known works include his sixth ("Pastoral")
and ninth ("Choral") symphonies, and his eighth ("Pathetique") and fourteenth
("Moonlight") piano sonatas. Beethovens amazing classical music is still popular today.

Ludwig died on March 26 in 1827 but his legacy exists today through his music. The
compositional path Beethoven created allows other composers to break free from prescribed
musical formats.