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82-608: Friedrich Hofmeister, born in 1787, first founded a music store in Leipzig in April, 1807. Early listings include composers Ludwig van Beethoven , Luigi Cherubini , Franz Anton Hoffmeister , Carl Maria von Weber , Johann Nepomuk Hummel , John Field and Franz Liszt . In the early years, he published a balance of music by popular composers, pedagogical material, and young composers such as Robert Schumann , Chopin, Clara Wieck-Schumann and Hector Berlioz . Pedagogical volumes included

164-578: A child prodigy , claiming that Beethoven was six (he was seven) on the posters for his first public performance in March 1778. In 1780 or 1781, Beethoven began his studies with his most important teacher in Bonn, Christian Gottlob Neefe . Neefe taught him composition; in March 1783, Beethoven's first published work appeared, a set of keyboard variations ( WoO 63). Beethoven soon began working with Neefe as assistant organist, at first unpaid (1782), and then as

246-592: A Gitarrenschule (guitar) by Johann Traugott Lehmann (1811); the Violinenschule (violin) of Hubert Ries (1841) is still in use, and several volumes of etudes published in the 19th century. Hofmeister's early publishing practices sometimes brought him into conflict with composers. In 1833 Berlioz objected to publication by Hofmeister of an unauthorized four-handed piano version of his Franc-Juges overture , saying "your arranger has butchered my score, clipped its wings, ... and sewn it back up again such that I find

328-1147: A Passion cantata as a pasticcio of Altnickol , J. S. Bach , Graun , Kuhnau and Telemann in 1997, and includes Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel 's Christmas cantatas (2007) and the Bockes-Passion (2011). Hofmeister kept the tradition of the publishing the works of new composers, including Harald Banter , Vytautas Barkauskas , Árni Egilsson , Elisenda Fábregas , Christoph Förster , Bernd Franke , Patrick Hagen , Timo Jouko Herrmann , Walter Thomas Heyn , C. René Hirschfeld , Stephan König , Ralf Kubicek , Claus Kühnl , Martin Kürschner , Rainer Lischka , Rafael Lukjanik , Peter Mai , Cecilia McDowall , Kelly-Marie Murphy , Gisbert Näther , Loretta K. Notareschi , Lorenzo Palomo , Hannes Pohlit , Kateřina Růžičková , Stefan Schäfer , Kurt Schwaen , Siegfried Thiele , Karl Ottomar Treibmann , Siegfried Tiefensee , Graham Waterhouse , and Elsa Laura Wolzogen . Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827)

410-550: A ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus (op. 43). The work received numerous performances in 1801 and 1802 and he rushed to publish a piano arrangement to capitalise on its early popularity. Beethoven completed his Second Symphony in 1802, intended for performance at a concert that was cancelled. The symphony received its premiere one year later, at a subscription concert in April 1803 at the Theater an der Wien , where Beethoven had been appointed composer in residence. In addition to

492-476: A close relationship with the upper-class von Breuning family, and gave piano lessons to some of the children. The widowed Helene von Breuning became a "second mother" to Beethoven, taught him more refined manners and nurtured his passion for literature and poetry. The warmth and closeness of the von Breuning family offered the young Beethoven a retreat from his unhappy home life, dominated by his father's decline due to alcoholism. Beethoven also met Franz Wegeler ,

574-498: A composer and later wrote about their encounters. The young Carl Czerny , who later became a renowned pianist and music teacher himself, studied with Beethoven from 1801 to 1803. He described his teacher in 1801: Beethoven was dressed in a jacket of shaggy dark grey material and matching trousers, and he reminded me immediately of Campe 's Robinson Crusoe , whose book I was reading just then. His jet-black hair bristled shaggily around his head. His beard, unshaven for several days, made

656-474: A composer, flutist, and violinist of about his own age who was a nephew of the court orchestra's conductor, Josef Reicha . From 1790 to 1792, Beethoven composed several works, none of which were published at the time; they showed a growing range and maturity. Musicologists have identified a theme similar to those of his Third Symphony in a set of variations written in 1791. It was perhaps on Neefe's recommendation that Beethoven received his first commissions;

738-555: A composer. This may be attributed to the varied response his initial publications attracted, and also to ongoing issues in his family. While passing through Augsburg , Beethoven visited with composer Anna von Schaden and her husband, who gave him money to return to Bonn to be with his ailing mother. Beethoven's mother died in July 1787, shortly after his return from Vienna, where he stayed for around two weeks and possibly met Mozart. In 1789, due to his chronic alcoholism, Beethoven's father

820-464: A cure at the spa of Teplitz (now Teplice in the Czech Republic ), where he wrote two more overtures and sets of incidental music for dramas, this time by August von Kotzebue – King Stephen Op. 117 and The Ruins of Athens Op. 113. Advised again to visit Teplitz in 1812, he met there with Goethe, who wrote: "His talent amazed me; unfortunately he is an utterly untamed personality, who

902-453: A decade, and one in C ;major composed for the most part during 1795. Viewing the latter as the more substantive work, he chose to designate it his first piano concerto , publishing it in March 1801 as Opus 15, before publishing the former as Opus 19 the following December. He wrote new cadenzas for both in 1809. Shortly after his public debut, Beethoven arranged for the publication of

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984-612: A distinctly Mozartian flavour. Beethoven did not immediately set out to establish himself as a composer but rather devoted himself to study and performance. Working under Haydn's direction, he sought to master counterpoint . He also studied violin under Ignaz Schuppanzigh . Early in this period, he also began receiving occasional instruction from Antonio Salieri , primarily in Italian vocal composition style; this relationship persisted until at least 1802, and possibly as late as 1809. With Haydn's departure for England in 1794, Beethoven

1066-678: A few minor pieces, and began but abandoned a sixth piano concerto. Between 1815 and 1819, Beethoven's output dropped again to a level unique in his mature life. He attributed part of this to a lengthy illness that he called an inflammatory fever that he had for more than a year starting in October 1816. Solomon suggests it is also doubtless a consequence of the ongoing legal problems concerning his nephew Karl, and of Beethoven finding himself increasingly at odds with current musical trends. Unsympathetic to developments in German romanticism that featured

1148-505: A long time", was not without difficulties; among the criticisms was that "the players did not bother to pay any attention to the soloist". By the end of 1800, Beethoven and his music were already much in demand from patrons and publishers. In May 1799, Beethoven taught piano to the daughters of Hungarian Countess Anna Brunsvik. During this time, he fell in love with the younger daughter, Josephine . Among his other students, from 1801 to 1805, he tutored Ferdinand Ries , who went on to become

1230-662: A mutual acquaintance, Bettina Brentano (who also wrote to Goethe at this time about Beethoven). Other works of this period in a similar vein were the F minor String Quartet Op. 95 , to which Beethoven gave the subtitle Quartetto serioso , and the Op. 97 Piano Trio in B-flat major known, from its dedication to his patron Rudolph, as the Archduke Trio . In the spring of 1811, Beethoven became seriously ill, with headaches and high fever. His doctor Johann Malfatti recommended he take

1312-673: A new way." An early major work employing this new style was the Third Symphony in E-flat, Op. 55, known as the Eroica , written in 1803–04. The idea of creating a symphony based on the career of Napoleon may have been suggested to Beethoven by General Bernadotte in 1798. Sympathetic to the ideal of the heroic revolutionary leader, Beethoven originally gave the symphony the title "Bonaparte", but disillusioned by Napoleon declaring himself Emperor in 1804 , he scratched Napoleon's name from

1394-527: A paid employee (1784) of the court chapel. His first three piano sonatas , WoO 47, sometimes known as Kurfürst (Elector) for their dedication to Elector Maximilian Friedrich , were published in 1783. In the same year, the first printed reference to Beethoven appeared in the Magazin der Musik – "Louis van Beethoven [sic] ... a boy of 11 years and most promising talent. He plays the piano very skilfully and with power, reads at sight very well ...

1476-531: A pension of 4000 florins a year. In the event, Rudolf paid his share of the pension on the agreed date. Kinsky, immediately called to military duty, did not contribute and died in November 1812 after falling from his horse. The Austrian currency destabilized and Lobkowitz went bankrupt in 1811 so that to benefit from the agreement Beethoven eventually had recourse to the law, which in 1815 brought him some recompense. The imminence of war reaching Vienna itself

1558-573: A performance of one of his own piano concertos on 29 March at the Burgtheater and ending with a Mozart concerto on 31 March, probably the D minor concerto , for which he had written a cadenza soon after his arrival in Vienna. By this year he had two piano concertos available for performance, one in B-flat ;major he had begun composing before moving to Vienna and had worked on for over

1640-553: A piano sonata for the first time in five years, his Sonata in E minor, Opus 90 . He was also one of many composers who produced music in a patriotic vein to entertain the many heads of state and diplomats who came to the Congress of Vienna that began in November 1814, with the cantata Der glorreiche Augenblick (The Glorious Moment) (Op. 136) and similar choral works which, in the words of Maynard Solomon, "broadened Beethoven's popularity, [but] did little to enhance his reputation as

1722-405: A preeminent musician in Bonn. The portrait he commissioned of himself toward the end of his life remained displayed in his grandson's rooms as a talisman of his musical heritage. Ludwig had two sons, the younger of whom, Johann , worked as a tenor in the same musical establishment and gave keyboard and violin lessons to supplement his income. Johann married Maria Magdalena Keverich in 1767; she

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1804-556: A reputation as a performer and improviser in the salons of the Viennese nobility. His friend Nikolaus Simrock began publishing his compositions, starting with a set of keyboard variations on a theme of Dittersdorf (WoO 66). By 1793, he had established a reputation in Vienna as a piano virtuoso, but he apparently withheld works from publication so that their eventual appearance would have greater impact. In 1795, Beethoven made his public debut in Vienna over three days, beginning with

1886-416: A revival of Fidelio , which, in its third revised version, was also well received at its July opening in Vienna, and was frequently staged there during the following years. Beethoven's publisher, Artaria , commissioned the 20-year-old Moscheles to prepare a piano score of the opera, which he inscribed "Finished, with God's help!"—to which Beethoven added "O Man, help thyself." That summer Beethoven composed

1968-439: A ridiculous monster..." Although Hofmeister maintained friendly as well as professional relations with Liszt for many years, in 1839 his company published a pirated edition of twelve études by Liszt, which led to later disputes with the composer. After 1847, control of the company largely devolved onto Hofmeister's two sons, Adolph Moritz Hofmeister and Wilhelm Hofmeister. Hofmeister was one of four major publishers to disseminate

2050-505: A serious composer". In April and May 1814, playing in his Archduke Trio, Beethoven made his last public appearances as a soloist. The composer Louis Spohr noted: "the piano was badly out of tune, which Beethoven minded little, since he did not hear it ... there was scarcely anything left of the virtuosity of the artist ... I was deeply saddened." From 1814 onward Beethoven used for conversation ear-trumpets designed by Johann Nepomuk Maelzel (a number of these are on display at

2132-567: A set of keyboard variations. He found relief from a dysfunctional home life with the family of Helene von Breuning , whose children he loved, befriended, and taught piano. At age 21, he moved to Vienna , which subsequently became his base, and studied composition with Haydn. Beethoven then gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist, and was soon patronised by Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky for compositions, which resulted in his three Opus 1 piano trios (the earliest works to which he accorded an opus number ) in 1795. His first major orchestral work,

2214-409: A work which was extremely popular during Beethoven's lifetime. With premieres of his First and Second Symphonies in 1800 and 1803, Beethoven became regarded as one of the most important of a generation of young composers following Haydn and Mozart. But his melodies, musical development, use of modulation and texture, and characterisation of emotion all set him apart from his influences, and heightened

2296-464: A young medical student, who became a lifelong friend and married one of the von Breuning daughters. Another frequenter of the von Breunings was Count Ferdinand von Waldstein , who became a friend and financial supporter of Beethoven during this period. In 1791, Waldstein commissioned Beethoven's first work for the stage, the ballet Musik zu einem Ritterballett (WoO 1). The period of 1785 to 1790 includes virtually no record of Beethoven's activity as

2378-458: Is clear from his correspondence of the period and, later, from the conversation books, that he occasionally had sex with prostitutes. In early 1813, Beethoven apparently went through a difficult emotional period, and his compositional output dropped. His personal appearance degraded—it had generally been neat—as did his manners in public, notably when dining. Family issues may have played a part in this. Beethoven had visited his brother Johann at

2460-482: Is not altogether wrong in holding the world to be detestable, but surely does not make it any more enjoyable ... by his attitude." Beethoven wrote to his publishers Breitkopf and Härtel , "Goethe delights far too much in the court atmosphere, far more than is becoming in a poet." But following their meeting he began a setting for choir and orchestra of Goethe's Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt (Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage) , Op. 112, completed in 1815. After it

2542-552: Is unknown. In the autumn of 1808, after having been rejected for a position at the Royal Theatre, Beethoven received an offer from Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte , then king of Westphalia , for a well-paid position as Kapellmeister at the court in Cassel . To persuade him to stay in Vienna, Archduke Rudolf, Prince Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz, after receiving representations from Beethoven's friends, pledged to pay him

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2624-651: The First Symphony , premiered in 1800, and his first set of string quartets was published in 1801. Despite his advancing deafness during this period, he continued to conduct, premiering his Third and Fifth Symphonies in 1804 and 1808, respectively. His Violin Concerto appeared in 1806. His last piano concerto (No. 5, Op. 73, known as the Emperor ), dedicated to his frequent patron Archduke Rudolf of Austria , premiered in 1811, without Beethoven as soloist. He

2706-798: The French occupation of the city . In addition to being a financial failure, this version of Fidelio was also a critical failure, and Beethoven began revising it. Despite this failure, Beethoven continued to attract recognition. In 1807 the musician and publisher Muzio Clementi secured the rights to publish his works in England, and Haydn's former patron Prince Esterházy commissioned the Mass in C , Op. 86, for his wife's name-day. But he could not count on such recognition alone. A colossal benefit concert he organized in December 1808, widely advertised, included

2788-560: The late piano sonatas . His only opera , Fidelio , first performed in 1805, was revised to its final version in 1814. He composed Missa solemnis between 1819 and 1823 and his final Symphony, No. 9 , the first major example of a choral symphony , between 1822 and 1824. Written in his last years, his late string quartets , including the Grosse Fuge , of 1825–1826 are among his final achievements. After several months of illness, which left him bedridden, he died on 26 March 1827 at

2870-530: The Beethoven-Haus in Bonn). His 1815 compositions include an expressive second setting of the poem An die Hoffnung (Op. 94) in 1815. Compared to its first setting in 1805 (a gift for Josephine Brunsvik), it was "far more dramatic ... The entire spirit is that of an operatic scena." But his energy seemed to be dropping: apart from these works, he wrote the two cello sonatas Op. 102 nos. 1 and 2 , and

2952-561: The Literary Society in Bonn commissioned a cantata to mark the recent death of Joseph II (WoO 87), and a further cantata, to celebrate the subsequent accession of Leopold II as Holy Roman Emperor (WoO 88), may have been commissioned by the Elector. These two Emperor Cantatas were not performed during Beethoven's lifetime and became lost until the 1880s, when Johannes Brahms called them "Beethoven through and through" and of

3034-1084: The Second Symphony, the concert also featured the First Symphony, the Third Piano Concerto , and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives . Reviews of the concert were mixed, but it was a financial success; Beethoven was able to charge three times the cost of a typical concert ticket. In 1802, Beethoven's brother Kaspar began to assist the composer in handling his affairs, particularly his business dealings with music publishers. In addition to successfully negotiating higher payments for Beethoven's latest works, Kaspar also began selling several of Beethoven's earlier unpublished compositions and encouraged his brother (against Beethoven's preference) to make arrangements and transcriptions of his more popular works for other instruments and combinations. Beethoven decided to accede to these requests, as he

3116-540: The age of 56. Beethoven was the grandson of Ludwig van Beethoven , a musician from the town of Mechelen in the Austrian Duchy of Brabant in what is now the Flemish region of Belgium , who moved to Bonn at the age of 21. Ludwig was employed as a bass singer at the court of Clemens August , Archbishop-Elector of Cologne , eventually rising to become, in 1761, Kapellmeister (music director) and hence

3198-426: The chief piece he plays is Das wohltemperierte Klavier of Sebastian Bach , which Herr Neefe puts into his hands". Maximilian Friedrich's successor as Elector of Bonn was Maximilian Franz . He gave some support to Beethoven, appointing him Court Organist and assisting financially with Beethoven's move to Vienna in 1792. During this time, Beethoven met several people who became important in his life. He developed

3280-444: The custom in the region at the time was to carry out baptism within 24 hours of birth. There is a consensus (with which Beethoven himself agreed) that his birth date was 16 December, but no documentary proof of this. Of the seven children born to Johann van Beethoven, only Ludwig, the second-born, and two younger brothers survived infancy. Kaspar Anton Karl (generally known as Karl) was born on 8 April 1774, and Nikolaus Johann , who

3362-460: The difficulties they caused in both professional and social settings (although it is likely some of his close friends were already aware of the issues). The cause was probably otosclerosis , possibly accompanied by degeneration of the auditory nerve . On his doctor's advice, Beethoven moved to the small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt , just outside Vienna, from April to October 1802 in an attempt to come to terms with his condition. There he wrote

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3444-590: The document now known as the Heiligenstadt Testament , a letter to his brothers that records his thoughts of suicide due to his growing deafness and his resolution to continue living for and through his art. The letter was never sent and was discovered in his papers after his death. The letters to Wegeler and Amenda were not so despairing; in them Beethoven commented also on his ongoing professional and financial success at this period, and his determination, as he expressed it to Wegeler, to "seize Fate by

3526-451: The elderly Count Joseph Deym, who died in 1804. Beethoven began to visit her and commenced a passionate correspondence. Initially, he accepted that Josephine could not love him, but he continued to address himself to her even after she had moved to Budapest, finally demonstrating that he had got the message in his last letter to her of 1807: "I thank you for wishing still to appear as if I were not altogether banished from your memory". Malfatti

3608-491: The end of October 1812. He wished to end Johann's cohabitation with Therese Obermayer, a woman who already had an illegitimate child. He was unable to convince Johann to end the relationship and appealed to the local civic and religious authorities, but Johann and Therese married on 8 November. The illness and eventual death of his brother Kaspar from tuberculosis became an increasing concern. Kaspar had been ill for some time; in 1813 Beethoven lent him 1500 florins , to procure

3690-584: The event for his mechanical instrument the Panharmonicon . This Beethoven also transcribed for orchestra as Wellington's Victory (Op. 91, also known as the Battle Symphony ). It was first performed on 8 December, along with his Seventh Symphony , Op. 92, at a charity concert for victims of the war, a concert whose success led to its repeat on 12 December. The orchestra included several leading and rising musicians who happened to be in Vienna at

3772-457: The family. It would seem that Antonie and Beethoven had an affair during 1811–1812. Antonie left Vienna with her husband in late 1812 and never met with (or apparently corresponded with) Beethoven again, although in her later years, she wrote and spoke fondly of him. Some speculate that Beethoven was the father of Antonie's son Karl Josef, though the two never met. After 1812 there are no reports of any romantic liaisons of Beethoven's; however, it

3854-422: The few major works he completed include the 1818 Hammerklavier Sonata (Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106) and his settings of poems by Alois Jeitteles , An die ferne Geliebte Op. 98 (1816), which introduced the song cycle into classical repertoire. In 1818 he began musical sketches that eventually formed part of his Ninth Symphony. Stefan Sch%C3%A4fer Stefan Schäfer (born 6 January 1986)

3936-606: The final movement, Das Wiedersehen (The Return), is dated in the manuscript with the date of Rudolf's homecoming of 30 January 1810. During the French bombardment of Vienna in May, Beethoven took refuge in the cellar of his brother Kaspar's house. The subsequent occupation of Vienna and disruptions to cultural life and to Beethoven's publishers, together with Beethoven's poor health at the end of 1809, explain his significantly reduced output during this period, although other notable works of

4018-420: The first of his compositions to which he assigned an opus number , the three piano trios, Opus 1 . These works were dedicated to his patron Prince Lichnowsky, and were a financial success; Beethoven's profits were nearly sufficient to cover his living expenses for a year. In 1799, Beethoven participated in (and won) a notorious piano 'duel' at the home of Baron Raimund Wetzlar (a former patron of Mozart) against

4100-424: The help of assiduous labour you shall receive Mozart's spirit from Haydn's hands." Beethoven left Bonn for Vienna in November 1792 amid rumours of war spilling out of France . Shortly after departing, Beethoven learned that his father had died. Over the next few years, he responded to the widespread feeling that he was a successor to the recently deceased Mozart by studying Mozart's work and writing works with

4182-555: The impact some of his early works made when they were first published. For the premiere of his First Symphony, he hired the Burgtheater on 2 April 1800, and staged an extensive programme, including works by Haydn and Mozart, as well as his Septet, the Symphony, and one of his piano concertos (the latter three works all then unpublished). The concert, which the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung called "the most interesting concert in

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4264-549: The lower part of his swarthy face still darker. In late 1801, Beethoven met a young countess, Julie Guicciardi , through the Brunsvik family; he mentions his love for Julie in a November 1801 letter to a friend, but class difference prevented any consideration of pursuing it. He dedicated his 1802 Sonata Op. 27 No. 2 , now commonly known as the Moonlight Sonata , to her. In the spring of 1801, Beethoven completed

4346-430: The manuscript's title page, and the symphony was published in 1806 with its present title and the subtitle "to celebrate the memory of a great man". The Eroica was longer and larger in scope than any previous symphony. When it premiered in early 1805 it received a mixed reception. Some listeners objected to its length or disliked its structure, while others viewed it as a masterpiece. Other middle-period works extend in

4428-626: The music of Gustav Mahler and the first to publish Mahler's Second Symphony . Hofmeister also published several songs in the early 20th century by composer Eugen Haile . In the twentieth century, the company had various owners until its appropriation by East Germany after World War II. It remains in operation today, with branches in Frankfurt and Leipzig. The company supports projects of regional importance, such as "Edition Denkmäler Mitteldeutscher Barockmusik". The collection of works by composers from Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt started with

4510-652: The musicologist Maynard Solomon has argued that the intended recipient was Antonie Brentano ; other candidates included Julie Guicciardi, Therese Malfatti and Josephine Brunsvik. All of these had been regarded by Beethoven as possible soulmates during his first decade in Vienna. Guicciardi, although she flirted with Beethoven, never had any serious interest in him and married Wenzel Robert von Gallenberg in November 1803. (Beethoven insisted to his later secretary and biographer, Anton Schindler , that Guicciardi had "sought me out, crying, but I scorned her".) Josephine had, since Beethoven's initial infatuation with her, married

4592-766: The premieres of the Fifth and Sixth ( Pastoral ) symphonies, the Fourth Piano Concerto , extracts from the Mass in C, the scena and aria Ah! perfido Op. 65 and the Choral Fantasy op. 80 . There was a large audience (including Czerny and the young Ignaz Moscheles ), but it was under-rehearsed, involved many stops and starts, and during the Fantasia Beethoven was noted shouting at the musicians "badly played, wrong, again!" The financial outcome

4674-454: The repayment of which he was ultimately led to complex legal measures. After Kaspar died on 15 November 1815, Beethoven immediately became embroiled in a protracted legal dispute with Kaspar's widow Johanna over custody of their son Karl , then nine years old. Beethoven had successfully applied to Kaspar to have himself named the sole guardian of the boy. A late codicil to Kaspar's will gave him and Johanna joint guardianship. While Beethoven

4756-646: The same dramatic manner the musical language Beethoven had inherited. The Rasumovsky string quartets and the Waldstein and Appassionata piano sonatas share the Third Symphony's heroic spirit. Other works of this period include the Fourth through Eighth Symphonies, the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives , the opera Fidelio , and the Violin Concerto . Beethoven was hailed in 1810 by

4838-720: The style that marked Beethoven's music distinct from the classical tradition. Beethoven probably was first introduced to Joseph Haydn in late 1790, when Haydn was travelling to London and made a brief stop in Bonn around Christmastime. In July 1792, they met again in Bonn on Haydn's return trip from London to Vienna, when Beethoven played in the orchestra at the Redoute in Godesberg . Arrangements were likely made at that time for Beethoven to study with Haydn. Waldstein wrote to Beethoven before his departure: "You are going to Vienna in fulfilment of your long-frustrated wishes ... With

4920-562: The styles of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , and is sometimes characterized as heroic. During this time, Beethoven began to grow increasingly deaf . In his late period, from 1812 to 1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and expression. Born in Bonn , Beethoven displayed his musical talent at a young age. He was initially taught intensively by his father, Johann van Beethoven , and later by Christian Gottlob Neefe . Under Neefe's tutelage in 1783, he published his first work,

5002-508: The supernatural (as in operas by Spohr, Heinrich Marschner and Carl Maria von Weber ), he also "resisted the impending Romantic fragmentation of the ... cyclic forms of the Classical era into small forms and lyric mood pieces" and turned towards study of Bach, Handel and Palestrina . An old connection was renewed in 1817 when Maelzel sought, and obtained, Beethoven's endorsement for his newly developed metronome . During these years

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5084-559: The throat; it shall certainly not crush me completely". In 1806, Beethoven noted on one of his musical sketches: "Let your deafness no longer be a secret—even in art." Beethoven's hearing loss did not prevent him from composing music, but it made playing at concerts—an important source of income at this phase of his life—increasingly difficult. It also contributed substantially to his social withdrawal. Czerny remarked that Beethoven could still hear speech and music normally until 1812. Beethoven never became totally deaf; in his final years, he

5166-454: The time, including Giacomo Meyerbeer and Domenico Dragonetti . The work received repeat performances at concerts staged by Beethoven in January and February 1814. These concerts brought Beethoven more profit than any others in his career, and enabled him to buy the bank shares that were the most valuable assets in his estate at his death. Beethoven's renewed popularity led to demands for

5248-473: The violin. His tuition began in his fifth year. The regime was harsh and intensive, often reducing him to tears. With the involvement of Pfeiffer, who was an insomniac , there were irregular late-night sessions with the young Beethoven dragged from his bed to the keyboard. Beethoven's musical talent became obvious at a young age. Aware of Leopold Mozart 's successes in this area with his son Wolfgang and daughter Nannerl , Johann attempted to promote his son as

5330-699: The virtuoso Joseph Wölfl ; and the next year he similarly triumphed against Daniel Steibelt at the salon of Count Moritz von Fries . Beethoven's eighth piano sonata, the Pathétique (Op. 13, published in 1799), is described by the musicologist Barry Cooper as "surpass[ing] any of his previous compositions, in strength of character, depth of emotion, level of originality, and ingenuity of motivic and tonal manipulation". Between 1798 and 1800, Beethoven composed his first six string quartets (Op. 18) (commissioned by, and dedicated to, Prince Lobkowitz), published in 1801. He also completed his Septet (Op. 20) in 1799,

5412-903: The writer and composer E. T. A. Hoffmann , in an influential review in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung , as the greatest of (what he considered) the three Romantic composers (that is, ahead of Haydn and Mozart); in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony his music, wrote Hoffmann, "sets in motion terror, fear, horror, pain, and awakens the infinite yearning that is the essence of romanticism". During this time, Beethoven's income came from publishing his works, from performances of them, and from his patrons, for whom he gave private performances and copies of works they commissioned for an exclusive period before their publication. Some of his early patrons, including Lobkowitz and Lichnowsky, gave him annual stipends in addition to commissioning works and purchasing published works. Perhaps his most important aristocratic patron

5494-727: The year include his String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat major, Op. 74 ( The Harp ) and the Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp major, Op. 78, dedicated to Josephine's sister Therese Brunsvik . At the end of 1809, Beethoven was commissioned to write incidental music for Goethe 's play Egmont . The result (an overture, and nine additional entractes and vocal pieces, Op. 84), which appeared in 1810, fit well with Beethoven's heroic style and he became interested in Goethe, setting three of his poems as songs (Op. 83) and learning about him from

5576-562: The years that followed, Beethoven frequently interfered in his nephew's life in what Karl perceived as an overbearing manner. Beethoven was finally motivated to begin significant composition again in June 1813 when news arrived of the French defeat at the Battle of Vitoria by a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington . The inventor Johann Nepomuk Maelzel persuaded him to write a work commemorating

5658-519: Was Archduke Rudolf of Austria , the youngest son of Emperor Leopold II , who in 1803 or 1804 began to study piano and composition with him. They became friends, and their meetings continued until 1824. Beethoven dedicated 14 compositions to Rudolf, including such major works as the Archduke Trio Op. 97 (1811) and Missa solemnis Op. 123 (1823). His position at the Theater an der Wien

5740-571: Was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transition from the Classical period to the Romantic era in classical music. His early period, during which he forged his craft, is typically considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to around 1812, his middle period showed an individual development from

5822-488: Was almost completely deaf by 1815, and he then gave up performing and appearing in public. He described his problems with health and his unfulfilled personal life in two letters, his Heiligenstadt Testament (1802) to his brothers and his unsent love letter to an unknown " Immortal Beloved " (1812). After 1810, increasingly less socially involved as his hearing loss worsened, Beethoven composed many of his most admired works, including later symphonies, mature chamber music and

5904-679: Was expected by the Elector to return home to Bonn. He chose instead to remain in Vienna, continuing his instruction in counterpoint with Johann Albrechtsberger and other teachers. In any case, by this time it must have seemed clear to his employer that Bonn would fall to the French, as it did in October 1794, effectively leaving Beethoven without a stipend or the necessity to return. But several Viennese noblemen had already recognised his ability and offered him financial support, among them Prince Joseph Franz Lobkowitz , Prince Karl Lichnowsky , and Baron Gottfried van Swieten . Assisted by his connections with Haydn and Waldstein, Beethoven began to develop

5986-575: Was felt in early 1809. In April, Beethoven completed writing his Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, which the musicologist Alfred Einstein has called "the apotheosis of the military concept" in Beethoven's music. Rudolf left the capital with the Imperial family in early May, prompting Beethoven's piano sonata Les Adieux (Sonata No. 26, Op. 81a), actually titled by Beethoven in German Das Lebewohl (The Farewell), of which

6068-519: Was forced to retire from the service of the Court and it was ordered that half of his father's pension be paid directly to Ludwig for support of the family. Ludwig contributed further to the family's income by teaching (to which Wegeler said he had "an extraordinary aversion" ) and by playing viola in the court orchestra. This familiarised him with a variety of operas, including works by Mozart, Gluck and Paisiello . There he also befriended Anton Reicha ,

6150-447: Was generally known as Johann, the youngest, was born on 2 October 1776. Beethoven's first music teacher was his father. He later had other local teachers, including the court organist Gilles van den Eeden (d. 1782), Tobias Friedrich Pfeiffer, a family friend, who provided keyboard tuition, Franz Rovantini, a relative who instructed him in playing the violin and viola, and court concertmaster Franz Anton Ries , who instructed Beethoven on

6232-483: Was powerless to prevent publishers from hiring others to do similar arrangements of his works. Beethoven told the English pianist Charles Neate (in 1815) that his hearing loss began in 1798, during a heated quarrel with a singer. During its gradual decline, his hearing was further impeded by a severe form of tinnitus . As early as 1801, he wrote to Wegeler and another friend, Karl Amenda, describing his symptoms and

6314-426: Was published in 1822 with a dedication to the poet, Beethoven wrote to him: "The admiration, the love and esteem which already in my youth I cherished for the one and only immortal Goethe have persisted." While Beethoven was at Teplitz in 1812, he wrote a ten-page love letter to his " Immortal Beloved ", which he never sent to its addressee. The identity of the intended recipient was long a subject of debate, although

6396-417: Was still able to distinguish low tones and sudden loud sounds. Beethoven's return to Vienna from Heiligenstadt was marked by a change in musical style, and is now often designated as the start of his middle or "heroic" period, characterised by many original works composed on a grand scale. According to Czerny, Beethoven said: "I am not satisfied with the work I have done so far. From now on I intend to take

6478-586: Was successful at having his nephew removed from her custody in January 1816, and had him removed to a private school, in 1818 he was again preoccupied with the legal processes around Karl. While giving evidence to the court for the nobility , the Landrechte , Beethoven was unable to prove that he was of noble birth and as a consequence, on 18 December 1818 the case was transferred to the civil magistrate of Vienna, where he lost sole guardianship. He regained custody after intensive legal struggles in 1820. During

6560-494: Was terminated when the theatre changed management in early 1804, and he was forced to move temporarily to the suburbs of Vienna with his friend Stephan von Breuning. This slowed work on Leonore (his original title for his opera), his largest work to date, for a time. It was delayed again by the Austrian censor and finally premiered, under its present title of Fidelio , in November 1805 to houses that were nearly empty because of

6642-554: Was the daughter of Heinrich Keverich (1701–1751), who was head chef at the court of Johann IX Philipp von Walderdorff , Archbishop of Trier . Beethoven was born of this marriage in Bonn, at what is now the Beethoven House Museum, Bonngasse 20. There is no authentic record of the date of his birth; but the registry of his baptism , in the Catholic Parish of St. Remigius on 17 December 1770, survives, and

6724-422: Was the niece of Beethoven's doctor, and he had proposed to her in 1810. He was 40, and she was 19. The proposal was rejected. She is now remembered as the possible recipient of the piano bagatelle known as Für Elise . Antonie (Toni) Brentano (née von Birkenstock), ten years younger than Beethoven, was the wife of Franz Brentano, the half-brother of Bettina Brentano , who provided Beethoven's introduction to

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