Date of Birth
16 December 1770,
Bonn, Germany
26 March 1827,
Vienna, Austria (cirrhosis of the liver)
Height
5' 3¾" (1.62 m)
Mini Biography
Beethoven was the child of a Flamian musician family and became a member of the electoral orchestra of Bonn in 1783. In 1787 he studied at Mozart's in Vienna and in 1792 he moved all to Vienna becoming a student of Joseph Haydn. The Vienna High Society loved him as a piano player as well as as composer. In 1802 his deafness became serious making Beethoven a real eccentric until his Death in 1827.
The four-note motive that he wrote as the famous opening of his Fifth Symphony.
Trivia
Depicted in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) and the comic books based on the movie and its sequel by Marvel Comics. Portrayed by Gary Oldman in Immortal Beloved (1994), Ed Harris in Copying Beethoven (2006) and Erich von Stroheim in Napoléon (1955).
Was planning a tenth Symphony at the time of his Death.
Insisted on conducting the premiere of his ninth Symphony even though he was totally deaf. One of the musicians had to turn him around to the audience to see they were applauding wildly.
Usually worked on several compositions at once. Always struggled to achieve the rightness present in his music; sometimes altered a passage as many as 20 times.
Always considered his "Moonlight" sonata to be inferior to many of his other works for piano, even though it became enormously popular.
Originally dedicated his third Symphony to Napoléon Bonaparte, then scratched out the dedication when he learned Bonaparte had proclaimed himself Emperor of France.
As a young man he studied piano and composition with Antonio Salieri and Joseph Haydn, who were very impressed by his talent. Beethoven met 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart' only once, when he was 13 and played some improvisations on the piano for Mozart at a social event. Mozart, impressed, said to the guests, "Keep your eye on this lad. Someday he will give the world something to talk about".
Is generally regarded as the first romantic composer; his third Symphony was a radical departure from anything written up until that time.
The finale of his Ninth Symphony, often called "Ode to Joy", was the first to use a choir in a strictly symphonic work. Presently, it is used as the "national anthem" of the European Union.
The Beatles' song "Because" is reportedly based on the chord pattern of his "Moonlight Sonata" played backwards.
A First Movement and Allegro for what would have been Beethoven's 10th Symphony were realized by Barry Cooper in 1989, compiled mostly from 50 sketches and rough drafts (none containing more than 30 bars of music). According to Cooper, " . . . all the basic thematic material is Beethoven's, but appropriate harmony has had to be added in places where it is missing, the movement has had to be orchestrated in Beethoven's style (with the aid of only a few clues in the sketches), and linking passages based on Beethoven's themes have been inserted where necessary.".
Suffered from textbook symptoms of lead poisoning; hair samples have revealed lead in concentrations 100 times that of normal.
According to his correspondence, he grew up under a physically and mentally abusive father.
Frequently worked as a musical tutor to members of the aristocracy.
He described the opening of his Fifth Symphony as "Death knocking upon the door". It would later be used as a signature piece for the Allies during WW2, since the notes unintenionally were Morse Code for the letter "V" (for "Victory").
There is no actual record of Beethoven's birth. He is traditionally assumed to have been born on December 16, 1770 because his baptism was recorded as taking place on the following day, but the real natal Date and hour are unknown. As an adult, Beethoven considered himself to be two years younger than his given age and obstinately evaded the question of his birth date. December 16 is still internationally celebrated as Beethoven's birthday by music lovers.
He was considered by Leonard Bernstein to have been the greatest composer who has ever lived.
His Ninth Symphony has the scherzo as the second movement, and the adagio (slow) movement as the third. This was a radical departure from common practice; it was customary to make the second movement in a symphony the slow One, and the third movement a scherzo.
Was perhaps the first composer to use brass instruments as part of the orchestral texture of a composition; they had previously been used only at special moments where they would stand out, or as solo instruments.
The second movement of his Ninth Symphony has a passage in which the tympani (kettledrums) play solo and tuned to a certain pitch. This had never been done in a symphony.
His funeral on March 29, 1827, was a major public event. An estimated 20,000 people stood in reverence as his funeral bier passed through the streets of Vienna. Soldiers were needed to control grief-stricken crowds. After nine priests blessed his body, he was buried in a grave marked by a simple pyramid with One word: "Beethoven".
His final words are subject to historical debate. According to One report, he said "Friends, applaud. The comedy is over." Another has him saying, "I shall hear in Heaven." Yet another has him saying, "I feel as if up to now I had written no more than a few notes." While another has him saying to his friend Johann Hummel (who was at his bedside), "Is it not true, Hummel, that I have some talent after all?" Another has him saying, "There, do you hear the bell? Don't you hear it ringing? The curtain must drop. Yes! My curtain is falling." Another report has him saying nothing; simply shaking his fists defiantly at the heavens as a thunderstorm raged outside his window.
He was the first composer to use the piccolo in a Symphony.
He was the first composer to use trombones in a Symphony.
He eventually became very dissatisfied with the lessons that he took from Joseph Haydn, and actually said, "I never learned anything from Haydn". Haydn, once an admirer of his music, became rather critical of what would later become highly acclaimed Beethoven compositions.
He would have become a pupil of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, if he had not received an urgent telegram saying that his mother was critically ill, forcing him to return home again. By the time Beethoven was free to take lessons from Mozart, Mozart was dead.
He was a student of Antonio Salieri
Appropriately, but coincidentally, the first four notes of his Fifth Symphony are also Morse Code for the letter V, which is the Roman numeral for five.
He used the harp in only One of his compositions - his ballet "The Creatures of Prometheus".
Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony" was sampled in the 1970s disco era by Walter Murphy, who renamed the instrumental piece "A Fifth of Beethoven", which became an international hit.
music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend.
music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy, it is the wine of a new procreation, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for men and makes them drunk with the spirit.
We mortals with immortal minds are only born for sufferings and joys, and One could almost say that the most excellent receive Joy through sufferings.
