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
-
Beethoven: Egmont Overture, Op. 84
Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Bomba-Piter on 20 Jun 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: String Quartet No.9 in C Major, Op.59 No.3 "Rasumovsky No.3"
Classical - Released by Bomba-Piter on 15 Jun 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: String Quartet No.8 in E Minor, Op.59 No.2 "Rasumovsky No.2"
Classical - Released by Bomba-Piter on 9 Jun 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clásica-Beethoven (Misas)
Classical - Released by Digital Natives on 1 Jul 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
50 Beethoven Piano Classics (Classical Music Collection)
Classical - Released by Amathus Music on 5 Apr 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven, The Consecration Of The House, Op. 124
Classical - Released by Classical.com Music on 16 Feb 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Composers Collection: Ludwig van Beethoven
Classical - Released by Classic Fox Records on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mordecai Shehori Plays Beethoven, Vol. 3 - The Early Years
Concertos - Released by Cembal d'amour CD 188 on 17 Mar 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven Sonatas for Violin and Piano 2, 4, 6
Zanta Hofmeyr, Ilia Radoslavov
Chamber Music - Released by Blue Griffin Recording on 19 Dec 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven
Camerata Cassovia, Virginio Pavarana, Paolo Giacometti
Classical - Released by Piros - Send on 20 Jun 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 In C Major, Op. 21 - Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 36
Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Symphonic Music - Released by RHI on 11 Nov 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Für Elise (Re-imagined)
Michael Hyman, Ludwig van Beethoven
Classical - Released by Bohemia Junction Recording Co. on 24 Nov 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven´s two Pillars
Christian Lindberg, Ludwig van Beethoven, Roland Pöntinen, Israel NK orchestra
Classical - Released by EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE on 30 Jan 2024
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete Masterworks of Ludwig Van Beethoven, Vol. 40
Classical - Released by Black Sheep Music on 12 Jul 2012
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Emil Gilels Plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas Nos. 12, 16
Classical - Released by Pipeline Music on 28 Nov 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Sonatas for Violin & Piano
Classical - Released by Romeo Records on 16 Jun 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Early Piano Works
Yoshima Kojima, Ludwig van Beethoven
Classical - Released by Denon on 1 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Trio No. 11 for Violin, Violoncello and Piano in G Major, Op. 121a “Kakadu Variations” (Digitally Remastered)
Conrad von der Goltz, Jan Pollacek, Kirste Hjort
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 10 Apr 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony Nos. 4 & 5
Classical - Released by Denon on 27 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"; "Waldstein" Sonata
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Dubravka Tomsic, Peter Toperczer
Classical - Released by Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. on 13 Jan 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas No. 1, 2 & 3
Classical - Released by Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. on 24 Jul 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo