Essay on Beethoven
Throuought his lifetime, the composer Ludwig van Beethoven made many great achievements through music that, even in modern times, continue to reach and inspire people from all walks of life. Though nearly all of Beethoven's sucesses were achieved through his will power and strong sense of ambition, some recognition must be acredited to his father, who, through rash treatment in Ludwig's earlier years, helped drive him to pursue his love of music.
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Little is known about Beethoven's actual birthday, due simply to the idea that Beethoven believed himself to be two years younger than his family and community suggested he was. "All throughought his life, Beethoven insisted that he was born in 1772, however, according to church records and personal family documentations kept during the time period, it is known that Beethoven's approximate time of birth and baptism was either december fifteenth or sixteenth, 1770 in Bonn, Germany" (Solomon 7-8).
Beethoven was the second child born to his parents, and was their only child who would ever show an interest and obvious talent in the fine arts, namely musical composition and performance. Life in his home was peaceful for the majority of the time, but when young Ludwig's newfound love and talent in music surfaced, his carefree youth soon turned to a violence-filled quest for what his father desired most in life: Fame and Fortune. Ludwig's father, a drunkard, would often pull the young boy from his bed at ungodly hours of the morning and force him to practice the piano until dawn, or until the small child could no longer function due to sleep deprevation. "With his newfound talent came a very unpleasant childhood, due to his fathers brutality" (Solomon 9). While not a great deal is known about Beethoven's mother, it is theorized that she was most likely a first or second cousin of his father. In Ludwig's early years, his mother was one of the very rare and precious people in his life. She was a wonderful mother, comforter, and peacemaker. She served her children well in this manner.
Beethoven made his concert debut at the age of eight. He played a small portion of a composition by the great composer Mozart. When the concert had ended and the crowds had cleared, young Beethoven, eager to publicize his abilities, ran to find Mozart so as to minimize the threat of his father realizing his absence. Young Beethoven had traveled a great distance to get to Vienna, Austria from Bonn, and in all of his excitement found this opportunity to be critiqued by such a distinguished man and musician as Mozart irresistable. "In Vienna, Mozart listened polietely to Beethoven's playing, but did not appear to be greatly impressed. 'Now,' young Beethoven said, 'I will improvise.' Here he showed imagination and originality. But Mozart withheld words of praise until Beethoven had passed the sevierest test of all: Spontaneous improvision on a given theme. Mozart gave the theme, Beethoven improvised. At last Mozart was convinced. 'You will someday make a big noise in the world' " (Cross and Ewen 47). When the sounds of the piano led his fathers ear to young boy, he took his son and returned to Germany. Beethoven's next opportunity to make something of his beyond obvious talen wouldn't come until he was twenty-two years old.
In November, 1792, Beethoven made a second trip to Vienna, this time permanently. He was to take on an apprenticeship under the great and world-renounded musician Joseph Haydn, who saw the talent and Beethoven possessed. "Haydn soon grew impatient with the boy's boorish manners and because intollerant of the way Beethoven broke the rules of harmony" (Cross and Ewen 48-49). Before long Beethoven and Haydn parted ways. Later in March of 1795, Beethoven made his first appearance in Vienna, this time conducting one of his own works, his first symphony, written when he was only fourteen years old.
Little is known about Beethoven's actual birthday, due simply to the idea that Beethoven believed himself to be two years younger than his family and community suggested he was. "All throughought his life, Beethoven insisted that he was born in 1772, however, according to church records and personal family documentations kept during the time period, it is known that Beethoven's approximate time of birth and baptism was either december fifteenth or sixteenth, 1770 in Bonn, Germany" (Solomon 7-8).
Beethoven was the second child born to his parents, and was their only child who would ever show an interest and obvious talent in the fine arts, namely musical composition and performance. Life in his home was peaceful for the majority of the time, but when young Ludwig's newfound love and talent in music surfaced, his carefree youth soon turned to a violence-filled quest for what his father desired most in life: Fame and Fortune. Ludwig's father, a drunkard, would often pull the young boy from his bed at ungodly hours of the morning and force him to practice the piano until dawn, or until the small child could no longer function due to sleep deprevation. "With his newfound talent came a very unpleasant childhood, due to his fathers brutality" (Solomon 9). While not a great deal is known about Beethoven's mother, it is theorized that she was most likely a first or second cousin of his father. In Ludwig's early years, his mother was one of the very rare and precious people in his life. She was a wonderful mother, comforter, and peacemaker. She served her children well in this manner.
Beethoven made his concert debut at the age of eight. He played a small portion of a composition by the great composer Mozart. When the concert had ended and the crowds had cleared, young Beethoven, eager to publicize his abilities, ran to find Mozart so as to minimize the threat of his father realizing his absence. Young Beethoven had traveled a great distance to get to Vienna, Austria from Bonn, and in all of his excitement found this opportunity to be critiqued by such a distinguished man and musician as Mozart irresistable. "In Vienna, Mozart listened polietely to Beethoven's playing, but did not appear to be greatly impressed. 'Now,' young Beethoven said, 'I will improvise.' Here he showed imagination and originality. But Mozart withheld words of praise until Beethoven had passed the sevierest test of all: Spontaneous improvision on a given theme. Mozart gave the theme, Beethoven improvised. At last Mozart was convinced. 'You will someday make a big noise in the world' " (Cross and Ewen 47). When the sounds of the piano led his fathers ear to young boy, he took his son and returned to Germany. Beethoven's next opportunity to make something of his beyond obvious talen wouldn't come until he was twenty-two years old.
In November, 1792, Beethoven made a second trip to Vienna, this time permanently. He was to take on an apprenticeship under the great and world-renounded musician Joseph Haydn, who saw the talent and Beethoven possessed. "Haydn soon grew impatient with the boy's boorish manners and because intollerant of the way Beethoven broke the rules of harmony" (Cross and Ewen 48-49). Before long Beethoven and Haydn parted ways. Later in March of 1795, Beethoven made his first appearance in Vienna, this time conducting one of his own works, his first symphony, written when he was only fourteen years old.
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Warning!!! All free online essays, sample essays and essay examples on the Beethoven topics are plagiarized and cannot be completely used in your school, college or university education.
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Warning!!! All free online essays, sample essays and essay examples on the Beethoven topics are plagiarized and cannot be completely used in your school, college or university education.
If you need a custom essay, dissertation, thesis, term paper or research paper on your topic, EffectivePapers.com will write your papers from scratch. We work with experienced PhD and Master's freelance writers to help you with writing any academic papers in any subject! We guarantee each customer great quality and no plagiarism!
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