Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Germany on December 17, 1770 (237 years ago). He was one of seven children. His father, Johann, was Beethoven's first music teacher. When Beethoven was 17 years old he went to Vienna where he met and played piano for Mozart. Mozart predicted that he would "make a big noise in the world."

Beethoven was born during a musical era known as the Classical period. When Beethoven died his music was part of the transition into a new musical era, known as the Romantic period.

Beethoven had a bad temper, but was also known to be kind and generous. He even donated money to the last surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach (another well known musician).

At the age of 28, Beethoven began to lose his hearing, and by age 47, he was completely deaf. However, he continued to create music. Perhaps he could "hear" his music through feeling the vibrations the music made or maybe he could hear the notes and harmonies in his mind.

He died on March 26, 1827 at the age of 57. His last words were, "I shall hear in heaven". Over 200,000 people lined the streets for his funeral.

The last movement of **Symphony No. 9 i**s 45 minutes long. Beethoven was completely deaf when he wrote this symphony. In fact, when the piece was first performed, one of his soloists had to turn him around because, Beethoven did not know he was receiving a standing ovation.

Watch a Performance of part four of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. media type="youtube" key="H9V5yUsrmdg&hl=en" height="355" width="425"

Another name for the finale is "Joyful,Joyful". Here is a modern version of the movement.

[|Listen to a Radio Broadcast about Beethoven and his music] media type="custom" key="545167"

Another name for the finale is "Ode to Joy". Here is a commerical from the 90's that changes the words of the song to fit their product. media type="youtube" key="VF6cgZDdQvo&hl=en" height="355" width="425"

For more information about [|Beethoven], check out the National Arts Center website.


 * Symphony 6** is another on of Beethoven's well known symphonies. He got his inspiration for this one while walking on the countryside. Disney has animated this Symphony in their movie "Fantasia". Here are some clips from the film.

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