Music History

Ludwig van Beethoven

Lecture Notes

  1. Child of one era, founder of another (1770 – 1827)
  1. Beethoven grew up in a time when Haydn and Mozart were both actively composing
  2. By the end of his life, the Romantic Era was in place
  3. Beethoven is primarily responsible for bridging the gap between the Classical and Romantic eras
  1. Beethoven’s Early Years
  1. Born in 1770 in Bonn Germany
  1. Was born into a family of musicians
  1. Father and grandfather were both professional musicians at the court in Bonn
  2. Grandfather was highly respected
  1. Beethoven’s father was frequently a problem at the court
  1. Alcoholic, would show up to rehearsal drunk
  2. Very irresponsible
  3. As a teenager, Beethoven was put in charge of the family’s finances
  4. Around this time, Beethoven began to compose a little, used music as an escape
  1. Beethoven and Haydn
  1. In 1792, Beethoven moved to Vienna to study with Haydn
  1. Beethoven was 22
  2. Haydn was 60
  1. The lessons did not go well
  1. Haydn was old-fashioned in his style of composing, felt he deserved great respect and admiration from the young Beethoven
  2. Beethoven was rebellious and wanted to do things his own way
  1. Beethoven was an excellent pianist and found support among the music patrons in Vienna
  1. Prince Lichnowsky gave Beethoven food and housing in exchange for his occasional compositions and performances at his court
  1. Remember, this was a time of transition for composers and musicians as they moved away from their traditional jobs as musicians for the church and/or courts
  2. The prince was very lenient with Beethoven, allowed Beethoven to live in an apartment and come and go as he pleased
  3. Beethoven hated his job and frequently refused to play and compose for the prince
  1. Beethoven composed many keyboard (piano) pieces during this time in his life
  1. By the time that Beethoven was in his early 30s, he had composed many pieces of music, although most of them were on a smaller scale.
  1. Piano sonatas and string quartets
  2. 3 piano concertos (he had performed them)
  3. 2 symphonies
  1. In 1802, Beethoven learns that he is going deaf
  1. Contemplates suicide
  2. The disease progressed gradually and by 1817 (47 years old), he was completely deaf
  1. It is believed that his deafness was caused by severe “ringing in the ears” and lead poisoning (this also contributed to his overall poor health and ultimately his death)
  2. Conversations were carried on with an ear trumpet and conversation notebooks
  3. Beethoven continued to compose until his death even though he could not hear the music outside of his own head
  1. Beethoven’s Middle Years – The Heroic Phase
  1. This time in Beethoven’s life is a time of productivity and a sense of triumph over adversity
  1. Between 1802 – 1812, composed:
  1. 6 symphonies
  2. 4 concertos
  3. 5 string quartets
  4. 1 opera
  5. Various chamber pieces
  1. Compositions from this time are on a larger, grander scale
  1. Symphony No. 3 – Heroica, dedicated to Napoleon
  1. Compositions are also very lyrical and reflective
  1. Symphony No. 6 – Pastoral, depicts the German countryside through music
  1. His music became well respected and popular during this time – becomes wealthy and famous
  1. While his music reflects his willingness to overcome adversity, his personality changed
  1. Became increasingly introverted and antisocial
  2. Was sometimes seen around town muttering to himself
  3. Did odd things, like ignoring the weather (i.e. no coat in the winter, heavy coat in the summer)
  4. Beethoven hated the idea of conforming to social norms and using proper manners
  5. He was a loner and sometimes expressed sorrow over this
  1. Years of Personal Crisis
  1. 1815 – Beethoven’s brother, Karl, passes away
  1. Karl’s widow and Beethoven are awarded joint custody of Beethoven’s nephew and they both come to live with him
  2. Suddenly becoming a parent and having constant houseguests does not go well
  3. Beethoven and his sister-in-law begin a series of legal battles for custody
  1. Conflict dragged on for years and created terrible tension in the family
  2. Beethoven was eventually awarded custody
  3. Forbid his nephew from having contact with his mother
  1. Beethoven was overly strict and very possessive of his nephew
  2. When Beethoven’s nephew was 19, he attempted to commit suicide
  1. Beethoven realized that he had made some serious mistakes in this situation
  2. He allowed his nephew to return to his mother
  3. Carried much guilt about this situation with him for the rest of his life
  1. During this time, there are very few pieces of music
  1. Final Years
  1. After the years of turmoil in his family, Beethoven returned to music
  1. Began to experiment with the forms of music and the size of the orchestra
  2. This experiment peaked with the 9th Symphony
  1. 9th Symphony
  1. Completed in 1824
  2. A revolutionary work – one of the most important compositions in music history
  1. Much larger orchestra – nearly 100 players
  2. Much longer piece of music – Symphony No 1 lasts 25 minutes, Symphony No 9 lasts 60 minutes
  3. 5 movements long – the fifth movement is for chorus and vocal soloists
  4. Ode to Joy – text is from poem by a German poet that was very popular during Beethoven’s lifetime
  1. Beethoven conducted the premiere of this work in Vienna
  1. May 7, 1824 – newspaper reviews of the concert still exist
  2. Prepared the performance in only 2 rehearsals
  3. At the end of the concert, one of the singers turned him around so that he could see the standing ovation from the audience – Beethoven was completely deaf
  1. Beethoven died on March 26, 1827 at the age of 57
  1. Was given a public memorial service
  2. 20,000 people lined the streets of Vienna for his funeral procession
  1. Why do we remember Beethoven?
  1. Bridge between classical era and romantic era
  1. Composes in the classical style and romantic style
  2. Increased length of pieces
  3. Increased size of orchestra
  4. Talented piano player, frequently performed his own works
  5. Composed in every musical form during his lifetime
  1. Complete works include –
  1. 9 symphonies
  2. 1 opera
  3. 2 masses
  4. 5 piano concertos
  5. 1 violin concertos
  6. 16 string quartets
  7. Various chamber pieces including piano sonatas

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