Beethoven's Life: From Child Prodigy to Deaf Genius
Born 255 years ago, Ludwig van Beethoven bridged Classical and Romantic eras, overcoming deafness to compose timeless masterpieces like the Ninth.
Key Points
- Born Dec 16, 1770, in Bonn; trained under Neefe from age 9, admired Bach.
- Studied with Haydn and Salieri in Vienna after 1792; famed pianist until deafness hit in 1796.
- Deaf by 45 but composed masterpieces: Ninth Symphony, Solemn Mass, string quartets.
- Innovations bridged Classicism to Romanticism, influencing piano and chamber music.
Ludwig van Beethoven, the last major figure of Viennese Classicism after Haydn and Mozart, bridged the gap to Romanticism and shaped much of 19th-century music, particularly in piano works and chamber music.
Born on 16 December 1770 in Bonn to a family of Flemish origin, Beethoven marked his 255th birthday on Tuesday. His deep musical passion ignited at age nine under the guidance of organist Christian Gottlob Neefe, who also introduced him to Bach—a composer he long admired.
In 1787, Beethoven travelled to Vienna hoping to study with Mozart, but his mother's sudden illness and death forced him home. He returned five years later to work with Haydn and Salieri, quickly gaining fame as a composer and pianist after a successful 1795 concert.
His performing career stalled from 1796 onward due to encroaching deafness, which fully silenced him as a pianist by age 45. Undeterred, he continued composing, producing masterpieces in his final years, including the Solemn Mass, Ninth Symphony, numerous string quartets, and piano sonatas.
Beethoven's innovations as a composer created a clear divide in musical history. As the article concludes, the true power of writing—like Beethoven's genius—lies not just in the subject, but in the rhythm and form of the words themselves.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: