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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Voices
Beethoven Philharmonie, Thomas Rösner
Classical - Released by Odradek Records on Aug 7, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart & Beethoven: Works for Violin
Ji Won Song, Jose Gallardo, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Fritz Kreisler, Pablo de Sarasate
Classical - Released by Rondeau Production on Apr 27, 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 6, & 7
Bruno Leonardo Gelber, Ludwig van Beethoven
Classical - Released by Denon on Jan 1, 2010
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Barenboim plays Beethoven
Daniel Barenboim, Ludwig van Beethoven
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Jun 11, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christian Elsner: Urgedanken (Beethoven, Mahler, Wagner, Brahms)
Christian Elsner, Burkhard Kehring, Ludwig van Beethoven, Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms
Classical - Released by Rondeau Production on Dec 2, 2022
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Peaceful Classics
Classical - Released by Stradivari Classics on Mar 23, 2011
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Key of A: Beethoven Sonata No. 9 - Franck Sonata
Lara St. John, Matt Herskowitz
Chamber Music - Released by Ancalagon LLC on Apr 17, 2020
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Beethoven: Complete Violin Sonatas
Chamber Music - Released by Heritage Records on Jan 24, 2015
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Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Symphony No.8 & Brahms: Sextet
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on Jun 15, 2015
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Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas
Classical - Released by Regis Records on May 27, 2013
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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 13, 14 "Moonlight" & 15 "Pastorale"
Classical - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on Oct 10, 2005
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Pires plays Beethoven
Maria João Pires, Ludwig van Beethoven
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on May 22, 2021
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Piano Meditation - Bach, Beethoven, Mozart
Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Feb 21, 2021
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Beethoven: Piano Trio "Archduke"
Leonid Kogan, Mstislav Rostropovich, Emil Gilels
Classical - Released by MUSIC ONLINE on Jan 1, 1957
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Beethoven: The Sonatas & Variations for Cello and Piano
Chamber Music - Released by Onyx Classics on Dec 9, 2016
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A Night of Classical: Bach, Chopin, Beethoven etc.
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Dec 29, 2023
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Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1
Classical - Released by GM Recordings on Jan 1, 1996
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Pletnev in Person
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on Sep 30, 2013
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Beethoven: Symphonies n. 2 - 7 / Symphony n. 4 - 6 Pastorale
Classical - Released by Blue music on Jan 1, 2000
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Ludwig Van Beethoven: Fantasia Corale - Johannes Brahms: Sinfonia No. 4
Fabio Luisi, Orchestre du Mai Musical Florentin
Classical - Released by Materiali Sonori on Dec 8, 2017
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Beethoven: Octet, Rondino and Quintet for Winds
Classical - Released by Passacaille on Jan 31, 2016
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