Ludwig van Beethoven
The events of Beethoven's life are the stuff of Romantic legend, evoking images of the solitary creator shaking his fist at Fate and finally overcoming it through a supreme effort of creative will. His compositions, which frequently pushed the boundaries of tradition and startled audiences with their originality and power, are considered by many to be the foundation of 19th century musical principles.
Born in the small German city of Bonn on or around December 16, 1770, he received his early training from his father and other local musicians. As a teenager, he earned some money as an assistant to his teacher, Christian Gottlob Neefe, then was granted half of his father's salary as court musician from the Electorate of Cologne in order to care for his two younger brothers as his father gave in to alcoholism. Beethoven played viola in various orchestras, becoming friends with other players such as Antoine Reicha, Nikolaus Simrock, and Franz Ries, and began taking on composition commissions. As a member of the court chapel orchestra, he was able to travel some and meet members of the nobility, one of whom, Count Ferdinand Waldstein, would become a great friend and patron to him. Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792 to study with Haydn; despite the prickliness of their relationship, Haydn's concise humor helped form Beethoven's style. His subsequent teachers in composition were Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. In 1794, he began his career in earnest as a pianist and composer, taking advantage whenever he could of the patronage of others. Around 1800, Beethoven began to notice his gradually encroaching deafness. His growing despondency only intensified his antisocial tendencies. However, the Symphony No. 3, "Eroica," of 1803 began a sustained period of groundbreaking creative triumph. In later years, Beethoven was plagued by personal difficulties, including a series of failed romances and a nasty custody battle over a nephew, Karl. Yet after a long period of comparative compositional inactivity lasting from about 1811 to 1817, his creative imagination triumphed once again over his troubles. Beethoven's late works, especially the last five of his 16 string quartets and the last four of his 32 piano sonatas, have an ecstatic quality in which many have found a mystical significance. Beethoven died in Vienna on March 26, 1827.
Beethoven's epochal career is often divided into early, middle, and late periods, represented, respectively, by works based on Classic-period models, by revolutionary pieces that expanded the vocabulary of music, and by compositions written in a unique, highly personal musical language incorporating elements of contrapuntal and variation writing while approaching large-scale forms with complete freedom. Though certainly subject to debate, these divisions point to the immense depth and multifariousness of Beethoven's creative personality. Beethoven profoundly transformed every genre he touched, and the music of the 19th century seems to grow from his compositions as if from a chrysalis. A formidable pianist, he moved the piano sonata from the drawing room to the concert hall with such ambitious and virtuosic middle-period works as the "Waldstein" (No. 21) and "Appassionata" (No. 23) sonatas. His song cycle An die ferne Geliebte of 1816 set the pattern for similar cycles by all the Romantic song composers, from Schubert to Wolf. The Romantic tradition of descriptive or "program" music began with Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony No. 6. Even in the second half of the 19th century, Beethoven still directly inspired both conservatives (such as Brahms, who, like Beethoven, fundamentally stayed within the confines of Classical form) and radicals (such as Wagner, who viewed the Ninth Symphony as a harbinger of his own vision of a total art work, integrating vocal and instrumental music with the other arts). In many ways revolutionary, Beethoven's music remains universally appealing because of its characteristic humanism and dramatic power.
© Rovi Staff /TiVo
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A Tribute: Maurizio Pollini
Maurizio Pollini, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven
Klassik - Erschienen bei UME - Global Clearing House am 08.04.2024
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Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5
Hannes Minnaar, Jan Willem de Vriend
Klassik - Erschienen bei Challenge Classics am 20.02.2015
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Mozart & Beethoven: Works for Violin
Ji Won Song, Jose Gallardo, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Fritz Kreisler, Pablo de Sarasate
Klassik - Erschienen bei Rondeau Production am 27.04.2018
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Voices
Beethoven Philharmonie, Thomas Rösner
Klassik - Erschienen bei Odradek Records am 07.08.2020
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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 6, & 7
Bruno Leonardo Gelber, Ludwig van Beethoven
Klassik - Erschienen bei Denon am 01.01.2010
Qobuz’ Schallplattensammlung16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Barenboim plays Beethoven
Daniel Barenboim, Ludwig van Beethoven
Klassik - Erschienen bei UME - Global Clearing House am 11.06.2021
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Christian Elsner: Urgedanken (Beethoven, Mahler, Wagner, Brahms)
Christian Elsner, Burkhard Kehring, Ludwig van Beethoven, Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms
Klassik - Erschienen bei Rondeau Production am 02.12.2022
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Peaceful Classics
Klassik - Erschienen bei Stradivari Classics am 23.03.2011
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Key of A: Beethoven Sonata No. 9 - Franck Sonata
Lara St. John, Matt Herskowitz
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei Ancalagon LLC am 17.04.2020
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Beethoven: Complete Violin Sonatas
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei Heritage Records am 24.01.2015
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Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Symphony No.8 & Brahms: Sextet
Klassik - Erschienen bei Onyx Classics am 15.06.2015
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Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas
Klassik - Erschienen bei Regis Records am 27.05.2013
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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 13, 14 "Moonlight" & 15 "Pastorale"
Klassik - Erschienen bei Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica am 10.10.2005
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Pires plays Beethoven
Maria João Pires, Ludwig van Beethoven
Klassik - Erschienen bei UME - Global Clearing House am 22.05.2021
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Piano Meditation - Bach, Beethoven, Mozart
Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven
Klassik - Erschienen bei UME - Global Clearing House am 21.02.2021
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Beethoven: Piano Trio "Archduke"
Leonid Kogan, Mstislav Rostropovich, Emil Gilels
Klassik - Erschienen bei MUSIC ONLINE am 01.01.1957
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Música Clásica Vol.4
The Hamburg Symphony Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Meta - Monreal am 01.11.2010
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Beethoven: The Sonatas & Variations for Cello and Piano
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei Onyx Classics am 09.12.2016
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A Night of Classical: Bach, Chopin, Beethoven etc.
Klassik - Erschienen bei UME - Global Clearing House am 29.12.2023
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Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1
Klassik - Erschienen bei GM Recordings am 01.01.1996
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Beethoven: Egmont Ouverture, Symphonies No. 4 & 7
De Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht, Johannes Leertouwer
Klassik - Erschienen bei Globe am 10.08.2011
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