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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Clara Butt (Recorded 1909 - 1925)
Clara Butt, Landon Ronald, Grace Torrens
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Prima Voce on Jan 1, 2003
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Beethoven, L. van: Cello Sonata No. 3, Op. 69, Brahms, J.: Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 38, Reger, M.: Cello Suite No. 2, Op. 131c
Classical - Released by RCD music on Jun 12, 2012
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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas on Period Instruments
Classical - Released by Claves Records on Jan 1, 2001
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Ludwig Van Beethoven - Complete Sonatas For Piano and Violin, Vol. I
Classical - Released by Classic Themes on Jul 5, 2010
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Arthur Schnabel - Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concertos No. 3 & No. 4
Classical - Released by JamadaDigital on Jan 12, 2015
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Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Bruno Walter, John Finley Williamson, Westminster Choir
Symphonic Music - Released by Urania on Jan 1, 2003
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Piano Classics 1, die schönsten klassischen Klavier-Melodien
Classical - Released by Media Sound Art on Oct 30, 2018
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Oscillations
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on May 10, 2013
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Perspectives 6: Beethoven • Berio • Schumann
Classical - Released by AVIE Records on Apr 7, 2014
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Sinta Quartet Plays Beethoven: Op.95, Op. 131, Op. 132
Chamber Music - Released by Bright Shiny Things on Dec 15, 2023
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Classical Dreaming - Cello & Piano
Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Mar 18, 2022
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Brendel plays Beethoven
Alfred Brendel, Ludwig van Beethoven
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Jan 4, 2021
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John Eliot Gardiner conducts Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven, John Eliot Gardiner
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Aug 1, 2020
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The Power of Beethoven – featuring David Garrett
Ludwig van Beethoven, David Garrett
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Sep 21, 2020
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Happy New Year! Joyful Classical
Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frédéric Chopin
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Dec 26, 2020
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Abbado conducts Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Jun 20, 2020
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Gilels plays Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven, Emil Gilels
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Jul 4, 2020
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Encores for Cello
Chamber Music - Released by Heritage Records on Jul 16, 2014
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A Tribute: Maurizio Pollini
Maurizio Pollini, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Apr 8, 2024
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Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5
Hannes Minnaar, Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on Feb 20, 2015
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