Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (16 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a composer of the transitional period between the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He was born in Bonn, Germany.
Beethoven is widely regarded as one of the greatest masters of musical construction, sometimes sketching the architecture of a movement before he had decided upon the subject matter. He was one of the first composers to systematically and consistently use interlocking thematic devices, or “germ-motives”, to achieve unity between movements in long compositions. (Some insight into the meaning of the germ-motive device is given at the end of this bio.) Equally remarkable was his use of “source-motives”, which recurred in many different compositions and lent some unity to his life’s work. He made innovations in almost every form of music he touched. For example, he diversified even the well-crystallized form the rondo, making it more elastic and spacious, which brought it closer to sonata form. He was mostly inspired by the natural course of nature, and liked to write songs describing nature.
Beethoven composed in a great variety of genres, including symphonies, concerti, piano sonatas, other instrumental sonatas (including for violin), string quartets and other chamber music, masses, lieder, and one opera.
Beethoven’s compositional career is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods:
In the Early (Classical) period, he is seen as emulating his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart, while concurrently exploring new directions and gradually expanding the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the Early period are the first and second symphonies, the first six string quartets, the first three piano concertos, and the first twenty piano sonatas, including the famous “Pathétique” and “Moonlight” sonatas.
The Middle (Heroic) period began shortly after Beethoven’s personal crisis centering around his encroaching deafness. The period is noted for large-scale works expressing heroism and struggle; these include many of the most famous works of classical music. Middle period works include six symphonies (numbers 3 to 8), the fourth and fifth piano concertos, the triple concerto and violin concerto, five string quartets (numbers 7 to 11), the next seven piano sonatas (including the “Waldstein” and the “Appassionata”), and Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio.
Beethoven’s Late (Romantic) period began around 1816. The Late-period works are characterized by intellectual depth, intense and highly personal expression, and formal innovation (for example, the Op. 131 string quartet has seven linked movements, and the Ninth Symphony adds choral forces to the orchestra in the last movement). Many people in his time period do not think these works measured up to his first few symphonies, and his works with J. Reinhold were frowned upon. Works of this period also include the Missa Solemnis, the last five string quartets, and the last five piano sonatas.
“You - my life - my All - farewell.Oh, go on loving me - never doubtthe faithfullest heartOf your belovedLEver thineEver mineEver ours.”
“Must it be? It must be.”
“Love demands all, and has a right to all.”
“Whoever tells a lie is not pure of heart, and such a person can not cook a clean soup.”
“The day-to-day exhausted me!”
“Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the divine.”
“schon im Bette drängen sich die Ideen zu dir meine Unsterbliche Geliebte, hier und da freudig, dann wieder traurig. Vom Schicksaale abwartend, ob es unß erhört...”
“Never forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours.”
“I would rather write 10,000 notes than a single letter of the alphabet.”
“Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours.”
“Nothing is more intolerable than to have admit to yourself your own errors.”
“Never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.”
“Recommend to your children virtues, that alone can make them happy, not gold.”
“ever thine, ever mine, ever ours”
“Music is like a dream. One that I cannot hear.”
“It seemed unthinkable for me to leave the world forever before I had produced all that I felt called upon to produce”
“Good Morning, on July 7My thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved I can only live wholly with you or not at all-Be calm my life, my all. Only by calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together. Oh continue to love me, never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.Ever ThineEver MineEver Yours”
“There are and always will be thousands of princes, but there is only one Beethoven!”
“„Не съществува друго качество за надмощие освен добротата.”
“A great poet is the most precious jewel of a nation.”
“It is my wish that you may have at better and freer life than I have had. Recommend virtue to your children; it alone, not money, can make them happy. I speak from experience; this was what upheld me in time of misery.”
“Anyone who tells a lie has not a pure heart, and cannot make a good soup. ”
“I will take fate by the throat; it will never bend me completely to its will.”
“I shall seize fate by the throat.”
“Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.”
“My misfortune is doubly painful to me because it will result in my being misunderstood. For me there can be no recreation in the company of others, no intelligent conversation, no exchange of information with peers; only the most pressing needs can make me venture into society. I am obliged to live like an outcast.”
“Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est.(Applaud, my friends, the comedy is over.)[Said on his deathbed]”
“To play without passion is inexcusable!”
“Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend.”
“I love a tree more than a man.”
“Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy”