• Ludwig van Beethoven was a celebrated German-born composer and pianist who played an important role in the transition of Western classical music from the Classical to the Romantic period. Along with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Beethoven is considered to be one of the greatest composers in history.

• Fast Facts

  1. Born: December 17, 1770
  2. Died: March 26, 1827
  3. Origin: Bonn, Germany
  4. Lived in Vienna, Austria for most of his adult life
  5. Began to lose his hearing in 1796

• Life

  Beethoven was born in Bonn and his talents were recognized from an early age. While in his late teens, he traveled to Vienna in the hopes of studying under Mozart, but it is unclear if he ever even succeeded in meeting him. In his twenties, he lived in Vienna and began to suffer from a gradual but severe form of hearing loss which, by the time he had reached his forties, made him almost completely deaf.

• Works

  Beethoven's series of nine symphonies comprise his most epic and highly praised arrangements, although even his simpler, shorter pieces, such as Moonlight Sonata and Für Elise have become instantly recognizable classics. His Third Symphony, titled "Eroica", Beethoven originally intended to be titled "Bonaparte" as a tribute to the French leader. The Fifth Symphony has perhaps the most recognizable beginning of any tune in music history and the Ninth Symphony, also called "Ode to Joy", is considered by many to be the finest piece of music ever written.

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Robert Schumann | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Piano | Leonard Bernstein | Joseph Haydn | Antonio Salieri | Hearing Loss | Franz Schubert | Antonio Vivaldi

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