COMPOSERS

---

Ludwig Van Beethoven

1770-1827

---

Beethoven was born on December 17, 1770 in Bonn, in the Rhineland of Germany.

He lived in Vienna from 1792 until his death. Beethoven's Father and Grandfather

were court musicians. Ludwig carried on the family tradition in exemplary form,

becoming one of history's greatest composers. Beethoven's dynamic musical

style infused his compositions with his confidence in human action.

Again and again dissonance and turmoil are resolved with enthusiasm and rejoicing.

Fate is trampled by triumphant music. Turbulence in his personal life, including

his becoming incurably deaf at 29, tested his optimism. He surmounted his

difficulties through a rigorous regime of composition. In his later career his

music was even more free and imaginative. On his deathbed Beethoven

was planning a tenth symphony, a composer to the very end. Despite his

notoriously brusque manner, Beethoven was revered by Viennese society

as its greatest celebrity. The funeral of this great immortal was attended

by 20,000 friends and admirers.