Around The World (28)

Hello, Around the Worldmusics still in classical mode, today another giant of the past, Beethoven..Like last week's Mozart who died prematurely off ill health , Beethoven suffered serious illness and was deaf at 30, serious stumach achs from his early twenties onwards. Considering both were upper middle class at the time, it shows how poor and ignorant medical services were at the time (200 years ago). Death was part of life, one in 3 babies lived to grow to adulthood, life was precious and inspirational to these musical giants.. Btw i learned something new about Beethoven today, its not von but Ludwig van Beethoven a name which shows his namesakes (grandfather) flemish ancestry, Flemish or not he was born in Bonn, Germany ( which btw didnt exist until 100 years later).

Beethoven is acknowledged as one of the giants of Western classical music. He was one of the first composers to systematically and consistently use interlocking thematic devices, or "germ-motives," to achieve inter-movement unity in long compositions. Equally remarkable was his use of "source-motives," which recurred in many different compositions. He made innovations in almost every form of music he touched. Beethoven composed in various genres, including symphonies, concerti, piano sonatas, other sonatas (including for violin), string quartets and other chamber music, masses, an opera, and Lieder.

Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 16 dec 1770, he was named after his grandfather Ludwig (1712–1773), a musician of Roman Catholic Flemish ancestry, who was at one time Kapellmeister at the court of Clemens of Bavaria. Beethoven's first music teacher was his father, who was a tenor in the service of the Electoral court at Bonn. He was reportedly a harsh instructor. Johann later engaged a friend, Tobias Pfeiffer, to preside over his son's musical training. Beethoven's talent was recognized at a very early age, and by 1778 he was studying the organ and viola in addition to the piano. His most important teacher in Bonn was Christian Gottlob Neefe, who helped Beethoven publish his first composition: a set of keyboard variations.
In 1787, the young Beethoven traveled to Vienna for the first time, in hopes of studying with Mozart. It is not clear whether he succeeded in meeting Mozart, or if he did whether Mozart was willing to accept him as a pupil. In any event, the declining health of his mother, dying of tuberculosis, forced him to return home after only about two weeks in Vienna. His mother died , when Beethoven was 16. Due to his father's worsening alcohol addiction, Beethoven became responsible for raising his two younger brothers.

In 1792, Beethoven moved to Vienna, where he studied for a time with Joseph Haydn: his hopes of studying with Mozart had been shattered by Mozart's death the previous year. By 1793, Beethoven established a reputation in Vienna as a piano virtuoso. His first works with opus numbers, a set of three piano trios, appeared in 1795. He settled into the career pattern he would follow for the remainder of his life: rather than working for the church or a noble court (as most composers before him had done), he supported himself through a combination of annual stipends or single gifts from members of the aristocracy; income from subscription concerts, concerts, and lessons; and proceeds from sales of his works.

Around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing.He suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to perceive and appreciate music; he also avoided conversation.
Beethoven @ 33

Over time, his hearing loss became profound: there is a well-attested story that, at the end of the premiere of his Ninth Symphony, he had to be turned around to see the tumultuous applause of the audience; hearing nothing, he began to weep.Beethoven's hearing loss did not prevent his composing music, but it made concerts—lucrative sources of income—increasingly difficult. Beethoven used a special rod attached to the soundboard on a piano that he could bite—the vibrations would then transfer from the piano to his jaw to increase his perception of the sound.

Beethoven's personal life was troubled. His encroaching deafness led him to contemplate suicide he was often irascible, and may have suffered from bipolar disorder, and irritability brought on by chronic abdominal pain beginning in his 20s which has been attributed to his lead poisoning. He nevertheless had a close and devoted circle of friends all his life, thought to have been attracted by his reputed strength of personality. Sources show Beethoven's disdain for authority, and for social rank. He stopped performing at the piano if the audience chatted among themselves, or afforded him less than their full attention.

The women who attracted Beethoven were unattainable because they were either married or aristocratic. Beethoven never married, although he was engaged to Giulietta Guiccardi. Her father was the main obstacle to their marriage.
Beethoven @ 50

Beethoven was attracted to the ideals of the Enlightenment and by the growing Romanticism in Europe. He initially dedicated his third symphony, the Eroica (Italian for "heroic"), to Napoleon, believing that the general intended to sustain the democratic and republican ideals of the French Revolution. But in 1804, when Napoleon's imperial ambitions became clear, Beethoven took hold of the title-page and scratched the name Bonaparte out. The fourth movement of his Ninth Symphony features an elaborate choral setting of Schiller's Ode An die Freude ("Ode to Joy"), an optimistic hymn championing the brotherhood of humanity. Since 1972, an orchestral version of this part of the fourth movement, arranged by the conductor Herbert von Karajan, has been the European anthem as announced by the Council of Europe. In 1985 it was adopted as the anthem of the European Community / European Union.


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Millenium Classics - Mighty Beethoven ( 99, 77min ^ 162mb)



01 - Symphony No.5 in C minor, Op.67 - Allegro con brio (7:19)
02 - Symphony No.5 in C minor, Op.67 - Bagatelle No. 25, G.173 'Fur Elise' (3:21)
03 - Symphony No.6 in F major, Op. 68 'Pastoral' - I- Allegro ma non troppo (11:00)
04 - Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat major Op.73 'Emperor' - II-Adagio un poco mosso (7:28)
05 - Symphony No.7 in A major, Op.92 - III- Presto (8:24)
06 - Symphony No.8 in F major, Op.93 - III- Tempo di menuetto (5:31)
07 - Violin Concerto in D major, Op.61 - II- Larghetto, attacco (9:50)
08 - Piano sonota No.14 in C sharp minor, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight' - I-Adagio sostenuto (5:57)
09 - Symphony No.9 in D minor, Op.125 'Choral' - Hymn to joy (18:49)

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