!!!Beethoven, Ludwig van
Beethoven, Ludwig van, baptised Dec. 17, 1770, Bonn (Germany),
d. Vienna, March 26, 1827, composer. Though rooted in Viennese
Classicism, he became the pioneer of Romanticism. Born into a family
of musicians he received instruction from his father (tenor in the
electoral chapel at Bonn), from acquaintances of the Beethoven family
and from approx. 1780 onwards from the court organist C. G. Neefe.
From 1784 B.'s name appears on the payroll of the electoral chapel at
Bonn (from 1783 in the absence of his teacher deputised at times);
first publications appeared in Bonn; he was a close acquaintance of
the Breuning family, which would later have an influence on his time
in Vienna. 1787 he paid his first visit to Vienna to study under W. A.
Mozart but after two weeks his mother's deteriorating health
necessitated his immediate return. Dec. 1790 B. met J. Haydn in Bonn;
Nov. 1792 B. eventually embarked on his second journey to Vienna to
finish his studies under J. Haydn (B.'s patron Count Waldstein wrote
to him on this occasion: "With the help of assiduous labour you shall
receive Mozart's spirit from Haydn's hands.") This tuition lasted only
until 1794 when Haydn left Vienna for his second visit to England. B.
then received tuition from J. G. Albrechtsberger and A. Salieri.
Through the recommendations of his Bonn patrons and friends and
especially as the protege of Count Waldstein the doors of Viennese
society were opened to him. His at times idiosyncratic behaviour in
the salons did nothing to diminish the appreciation of his stunning
playing and improvisation; 1795 B. made his first public appearance at
the Burgtheater in Vienna. His close association with the aristocracy
and with Viennese society can be seen from the manifold dedications of
his works (esp. to Breuning, Brunsvik, Kinsky, Lichnowsky, Lobkowitz,
Rasumowsky, Archduke Rudolf). Many of the people favoured with
dedications were patrons, whose support or employment, entailing only
light duties, allowed him to lead the life of a free artist (e.g.
Lobkowitz and Lichnowsky); especially worth mentioning is Archduke
Rudolf who, from 1803 onwards, was not only a pupil of B. but also
became one of his most generous patrons (the "Missa solemnis was
composed for the occasion of his consecration as Bishop of Olomouc).
\\
Impairment in his hearing, first detected in 1794, deteriorated
rapidly from 1801 onwards (this ostensibly prompted him to draft the
"Heiligenstadt Testament" of 1802) until eventually he went completely
deaf around 1818 (he had given his last concert in 1815); before
becoming completely deaf the use of "conversation books" became
necessary. Today they are an important source for Beethoven
researchers. 1815 B. took on the guardianship of his nephew Karl,
which he took very seriously and weighed heavily upon him. When B.
died after a long period of ill health his funeral was an artistic
event for the Viennese. Numerous celebrities joined the funeral
procession (including Franz Schubert) and the funeral oration,
written by F. Grillparzer, was delivered by the actor H. Anschuetz.
In 1888 B.'s remains were removed from the cemetery at Waehring to a
grave of honour at Vienna's main cemetery, the Zentralfriedhof.
\\
With his symphonies and last string quartets, B. took the forms of
music he inherited in a new direction, clearly embarking on the path
of Romanticism: the highest manifestation of his art was the symphony,
the ideal and aspiration of the music generation to come (e.g. of J.
Brahms); B. symphonies mark the transition from classical forms to the
great symphony of the Romantic era (he replaced the minuet with a
scherzo), he introduced the formal innovation of incorporating choral
effects into this hitherto purely instrumental genre, as in his Ninth
Symphony. In his thematic work he explored every departure from the
norm, shown in shorter expositions (as in the Third and Fifth
Symphony), his predilection for harmonic crescendo came from the
French composers of the time of Revolution, though he refined their
bold technique by "aspiring to music as a vehicle of intense feeling
rather than to the production of an image".
\\
Monuments: in Vienna's 1st district: B. square (by C. v. Zumbusch);
19th district: B. Passage (by A. D. v. Fernkorn) and Heiligenstadt
Park; tombstone, 18th district: Schubert Park; tomb, Zentralfriedhof
(cemetery). B. residences: 1st district: Moelkerbastei; 19th district:
Heiligenstadt.
!Works
9 symphonies, opera "Fidelio" (1804/1805, 1806 and 1814), 2
masses; overtures and theatre music (Leonoren, Coriolan, Die Weihe des
Hauses, Die Ruinen von Athen, Egmont); concertos: 1 violin concerto, 5
piano concertos; 32 piano sonatas, 91 piano lieder, 10 violin sonatas,
16 string quartets; concert arias, lieder, dances, rondos, minuets,
folk-song settings ("Moedlinger Taenze"). Instrumental compositions
(G. Kinsky and H. Halm, Das Werk B., catalogue of works, 1958). -
Gesamtausgabe (complete works), 38 vols., 1862-1865; Neue
Gesamtausgabe (complete works, new edition), 1961ff; Briefwechsel,
Gesamtausgabe (correspondence, complete), ed. by S. Brandenburg et
al., 1996 ff.
!Literature
B.-Jahrbuch, 1953/54ff.; J. Schmid-Goerg and H. Schmid, L.
v. B., 1969; S. Kunze, L. v. B., 1987; E. Bauer, Wie B. auf den Sockel
kam, 1992; B. Cooper (ed.), The B. Compendium, 1991.
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