Beethoven was a German composer and pianist who was born on December 17, 1770. He remains one of the best composers in the history of Western music as his works can be ranked among the best of all classical music repertoire.
Beethoven was born in Bonn and his talent in music was realized when he was still a kid.
He was harshly and intensively taught the rudiments of music by his father Johann van Beethoven but later, composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe took up the mantle to teach Beethoven more about music.
Beethoven published his first work, a set of keyboard variations, in 1783. He stayed with the family of Helene von Breuning but when he was 21 years old, he moved to Vienna where he learnt the skill of composition.
With time, he gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist and the likes of Karl Alois and Prince Lichnowsky fell on him for compositions.
This resulted in his three Opus 1 piano trios in 1795. Beethoven’s The First Symphony was premiered in 1800 and it can be described as his first major orchestral work. He also premiered Third and Fifth Symphonies in 1804 and 1808, respectively.
Beethoven’s Violin Concerto appeared in 1806 and had the last piano concerto premiered in 1811, without Beethoven as soloist.
He stopped performing and appearing in public when he became completely deaf in 1814 and he took the opportunity to describe his health problems through music with Heiligenstadt Testament (1802) and “Immortal Beloved” (1812).
Beethoven had two sons and the younger one was Johann who worked as a tenor. He had to train people how to play the keyboard and violin to make ends meet.
Beethoven Siblings
Beethoven had a total of seven siblings.
They are Kaspar Anton Karl, Nikolaus Johann, Ludwig Maria, Maria Margarita, Anna Maria Francisca, Franz Georg van Beethoven, and Johann Peter Anton Leym.
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