Ludwig van Beethoven
The greatest composer who ever lived
Here's a time line of Beethoven's life:
- 1770 - The story begins: Born in Bonn, to Johann and Maria van Beethoven
- 1787 - A meeting with Mozart: The 16-year-old Beethoven departed for Vienna in early 1787. There, he auditioned for Mozart, whom he revered and who agreed to accept him as a pupil. But news reached the young musician that his mother was gravely ill, so he quickly returned to Bonn. She died soon afterwards, after which Johann succumbed to alcoholism, rendering Ludwig responsible for his two younger brothers. By the time he made it back to Vienna, five years had elapsed and Mozart, too, had died. Beethoven was now due to study with Haydn. Count Waldstein, an early patron and supporter, sent him a farewell note: ‘Through uninterrupted diligence, you will receive the spirit of Mozart from the hands of Haydn.’
- 1795 - At odds with Haydn: Late summer saw the first performance of Beethoven’s Op. 1 Piano Trios at the home of Prince Lichnowsky, the patron to whom Count Waldstein had introduced Beethoven and with whom he lodged upon arrival in Vienna. The trios were published by Artaria on a subscription basis. Haydn, who had recently returned from London, was in the audience and praised the first two trios, but was perturbed by the third, which happened to be Beethoven’s favourite. Beethoven was champing at the bit in general against Haydn, and later reported that he learned nothing from him. By the time Haydn died in 1809, however, the mature Beethoven had fully acknowledged his mentorship.
- 1800 - A successful symphonic start: The premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 at Vienna’s Burgtheater was described by one reviewer as ‘the most interesting concert in a long time’. Beethoven was fast becoming the most sought-after young musician in Vienna, admired for his remarkable piano playing and, in particular, his improvisations.
- 1804 - The Eroica marks a turning point: The private premiere of Symphony No.3, Eroica, took place at Prince Lobkowitz’s palace in Vienna. It represented a vital turning point. Having told his friend Franz Wegeler he intended to ‘seize fate by the throat’, Beethoven was determined to put his old life and methods behind him and find a ‘new path’. The Eroica was originally intended as a programmatic symphony entitled ‘Bonaparte’, though Beethoven’s personal admiration of Napoleon as a self-made hero did not go down that well in the heart of the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1805 - Fidelio stumbles on its first night: Circumstances could not have been less auspicious for the first performance of Beethoven’s opera Leonore at the Theater an der Wien, where he was composer in (literal) residence. Following Napoleon’s first invasion of Vienna, most of the likely audience had fled the city, so the premiere was attended by French soldiers and a handful of other observers. The response was not enthusiastic.
- 1809 - The return of Napoleon: Napoleon’s second invasion of Vienna saw his army laying siege to the city with howitzers; Beethoven, who lived beside the city walls in an apartment block called the Pasqualatihaus, took shelter in his brother Johann’s cellar, pressing pillows to his ears to protect what remained of his hearing.
- 1817 - A welcome arrival from England: When, at the end of 1817, John Broadwood of London sent Beethoven a new fortepiano, the largest and strongest instrument he had yet owned, it provided a crucial spur for him to finish his largest piano work to date: the Sonata in B flat, Op. 106, the Hammerklavier.
- 1821 - Arrested and unrecognisable: Commissioned to write three piano sonatas, Beethoven had already completed the first, Op. 109, but then faced a fresh crisis of ill health and depression during the course of 1821 which held up Opp. 110 and 111. He composed little for the rest of the year. One autumn day he set out for a walk along the Danube Canal, lost track of time and found himself far from home after dark, hungry and tired.
- 1824 - Choral masterpieces: The Missa Solemnis, Beethoven’s most ambitious choral work, was premiered just before Easter in St Petersburg, Russia, under the auspices of his patron Prince Galitzin. Its composition had occupied much of Beethoven’s time from 1819-23 and it showed him, as ever, somewhat unwilling to compromise on his immense demands upon the singers. One month later, on 7 May, the premiere of his ‘Choral’ Symphony No. 9 took place at the Theater am Kärntnertor, Vienna. The composer was supposedly conducting, but could not hear the performers in front of him and continued to conduct after they had finished. The contralto soloist, Caroline Unger, gently turned him round so that he could see the wild ovation taking place in the auditorium.
- 1826 - Karl tries to end it all: On reaching university age, Beethoven’s nephew Karl revealed that he wished to go into the military instead. Beethoven was horrified by this choice, and a massive row ensued between the two. After enduring many years of strife over his custody, Karl could take no more. From the resort of Baden a little way outside Vienna, he walked along the beautiful Helenental to the ruined castle of Rauhenstein and there attempted to shoot himself.
- 1827 - The journey ends: Beethoven died after a long illness, probably sclerosis of the liver, at the last of his many homes in Vienna, the Schwarzspanierhaus. Among the various accounts of his death, perhaps the most convincing is that in which news arrived that the publishers Schott’s of Mainz had sent him a case of the Rhineland wine he loved: ‘Too late,’ he lamented. His funeral attracted crowds of 20,000, and among the pallbearers was Franz Schubert.
“I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out; that is the reason why I compose.”
-- Ludwig van Beethoven