Ludwig van Beethoven (Bonn,1770-Vienna,1827)

 He was a German composer and pianist, who lived between the Classical and Romantic eras. Beethoven became one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His most known compositions include: 9 symphonies, 5 concerts for piano, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string quartets. He also composed other chamber music, choral works and songs.

• Background and early life

    Beethoven was the grandson of Lodewijk van Beethoven, a musician who moved at the age of twenty to Bonn. Lodewijk had one son, Johann van Beethoven (1740–1792), who worked as a tenor and gave lessons on piano and violin to supplement his income.

     Johann married Maria Magdalena Kewerich in 1767.Beethoven was born of this marriage in Bonn. Seven children born to Johann van Beethoven, and only Ludwig, the second-born, and two younger brothers survived infancy.

Beethoven's first music teacher was his father. Sometime after 1779, Beethoven began his studies with his most important teacher in Bonn, Christian Gottlob Neefe. Neefe taught Beethoven composition, and by March 1783, had helped him write his first published composition. Maximilian Frederick noticed Beethoven's talent early and subsidized and encouraged the young man's musical studies.

In March 1787 Beethoven traveled to Vienna for the first time, apparently in the hope of studying with Mozart.After just two weeks Beethoven learned that his mother was severely ill, and returned home. His mother died shortly thereafter, and his father lapsed deeper into alcoholism. As a result, Beethoven became responsible for the care of his two younger brothers, and he spent the next five years in Bonn.

• Establishing his career in Vienna

Beethoven was probably first introduced to Joseph Haydn in late 1790. With the Elector's help, Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792. From 1790 to 1792, he composed a significant number of works that demonstrated his growing range and maturity.

Beethoven did not immediately set out to establish himself as a composer, but rather devoted himself to study and performance. His friend Nikolaus Simrock had begun publishing his compositions. Beethoven's first public performance in Vienna was in March 1795, a concert in which he first performed one of his piano concerts.

 Beethoven became regarded as one of the most important of a generation of young composers following Haydn and Mozart.

• Loss of hearing

Around 1796, by the age of 26, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. He suffered from a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to hear music; he also avoided conversation. The cause of Beethoven's deafness is unknown, but it has variously been attributed to typhus, auto-immune disorders, and even his habit of immersing his head in cold water to stay awake.

• Custody struggle

  After the illness and death of his brother, Kaspar, Beethoven immediately became embroiled in a protracted legal dispute with Carl's wife Johanna over custody of their son Karl. While Beethoven was successful at having his nephew removed from her custody in February 1816, the case was not fully resolved until 1820.On 18 December 1818 the case was transferred to the Magistracy, where he lost guardianship. Beethoven appealed and regained custody.

• Late works (1822-1827)

  Beethoven began a renewed study of older music, including works by J. S. Bach and Handel, and he returned to the keyboard to compose.

• Illness and death

  There is dispute about the cause of Beethoven's death: alcoholic cirrhosis, syphilis, infectious hepatitis, lead poisoning, sarcoidosis and Whipple's disease have all been proposed. Some analyses have led to controversial assertions that Beethoven was accidentally poisoned to death by excessive doses of lead-based treatments administered under instruction from his doctor.

• Memorials

  The Beethoven Monument, Bonn, was unveiled in August 1845, in honor of his 75th anniversary. It was the first statue of a composer created in Germany. Vienna did not honor Beethoven with a statue until 1880. There is a museum, the 'Beethoven Haus', in central Bonn, the place of his birth.