Download Talyna Taumoelau

Talyna Taumoelau
I’m sure you get a lot of papers on the composer Ludwig van Beethoven. He is a
very popular artist and has a lot of musical pieces that not only I but many people just
love. The reason I chose to write my project on Beethoven is because of his musical piece
Moonlight Sonata. Listening to that piece alone just brought out so many emotions that is
hard to come by when listening to classical music. It inspired me to listen to another
piece and another. I did come across other artists that I also was fond of but I thought it
would be appropriate to write on the composer that first swept me off my feet and was
the main reason I came to love different genres’ of music.
Beethoven was born in Boon back then it was the capital of the Electorate of
Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was baptized on December 17th, 1770,
Beethoven came from a family that also loved music. His grandfather Lodwijk van
Beethoven was a musician who came from Mechelen or what is now called Belgium.
Lodwijk was employed as a bass singer at the court of Elector of Cologne. Later on in his
life he rised to the position of Kapellmeister or otherwise known as a music director.
Lodwijk had one son, Johann born in 1740 and also worked as a temor in the musical
establishment. Johann also gave lessons on the piano and violin to help support his
financial needs. Johann then married Maria Magdalena Keverich in 1767 and she gave
birth to Ludwig Van Beethoven on Dec. 17th, 1770. The only birth record that survives of
Beethoven’s birth is at the Parish of St. Regius. As children of that generation were
traditionally baptized the day after birth in the Catholic Rhine country and known that
Beethoven’s family and friends celebrated his birthday on Dec. 16th, most scholars also
accept Beethoven’s birthday on this day. Beethoven has two younger brothers, Caspar
born April 8th, 1774 and Nikolaus born Oct. 2nd, 1776 the three children were the only
ones who survived infancy among the seven children born to Johann van Beethoven.
Beethoven’s first musical teacher was his father. Beethoven took an interest in
music at a very early age. His father taught him day and night, his father had no doubt in
his mind that Beethoven was a gifted child and envisioned creating a new Mozart, a child
prodigy. On March 26th, 1778 at the age of seven Beethoven gave his first public
performance. His father announced at his performance that Beethoven was six years old
and because of this Beethoven always believed that he was younger than what he actually
was. However the teaching of Beethoven’s father were limited and after Beethoven
learned music such as compositions by musicians such a Gottlob Neefe, Neefe
recognized Beethoven’s extraordinary talents and became his second teacher. Neefe
didn’t only teach Beethoven music but also taught him the works of philosophers, ancient
and modern. In 1782 Beethoven published his first work, 9 Variations in C Minor for
piano. At fourteen Beethoven was recommended and appointed as the organist of the
court of Maximillian Franz. This new position enabled him to new social circles other
than those of his father and family. Here he met new people that remained friends for the
rest of his life; The Ries family, the Von Breuning family, Elenore Amenda, and Franz
Wegeler.
Prince Maximillian Franz was also aware of Beethoven’s music and sent
Beethoven to Vienna in 1787 to meet Mozart to further his education. Later Beethoven
received a letter to return back to Bonn. The letter stated that his mother was dying;
Beethoven’s mother was the only person in his family with whom he had a strong and
loving relationship with. She then passes on July 17th, 1787. Five years after that incident
Beethoven returned back to Vienna to once again pursue his musical education. However
Beethoven never returned to his birth home. In Vienna Beethoven took lessons from
Haydyn, Albrechtsberger, and sallieri. In 1794 Beethoven composed Opus 1, the Trios
for Piano. A year later Beethoven made his first public performance in Vienna. A tour
followed after that that went through Prague, Dresden, Leipzig, and Berlin. In 1800
Beethoven organized a new concert in Vienna which was the presentation of his first
symphony. In 1801 Beethoven confessed to his friends that we was afraid of slowly
going deaf. In 1802 he wrote his famous text expressing the unfairness of his life, that he
a musician could become deaf and that it was something he did not want to live through.
However Beethoven did not commit suicide instead he threw himself into his greatest
Beethoven music, Sonatas for Piano, the second and third symphonies, etc. On April 7th,
1805 the Eroica symphony was played for the first time and during that time Beethoven
finished the only opera he wrote, Leonore. The following years after that Beethoven
composed many symphonies, he took on many students that he found young and
attractive, and fell in love with several of them.
In 1809 Beethoven was offered an annual grant of 4,000 florins, which allowed
him to live without financial constraint. The only condition was that Beethoven was not
to leave Vienna. He accepted. This made him the world’s first independent comoposer. In
1813 Beethoven composed, The Victory of Wellington, a piece written for a mechanical
instrument made by Maelzel. Maelzel was a genius inventor and probable inventor of
metronome. He had already met Beethoven and had created various devices to help
Beethoven with his hearing.
On Nov. 15th, 1815 Beethoven’s brother Kaspar died, leaving guardianship to his
two sons to Beethoven and his wife. Beethoven took this role very seriously but found it
hard to live and understand a child with his condition of being deaf. Beethoven then tried
to raise them like his own hoping they would too become a musical prodigy but the
closest they came were conducting Beethoven’s symphonies’. In 1826 Beethoven caught
a cold coming back from his brother’s place. The illness complicated other health
problems that Beethoven had suffered throughout his life. He passed away March 26th
1827.
Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven
1. Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight) – For Pianos: Approximately 15 min.
The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor is properly known as the Moonlight
Sonata. It was completed in 1801 and was dedicated in 1802 to one of Beethoven’s Pupil,
Countess Giulietta Guiccaiardi. Giulietta who would have accepted Beethoven’s proposal
but never married because it was forbidden by one of her parents. This piece was one of
Beethoven’s most popular compositions for the piano. The name “Moonlight Sonata”
has its origins in remarks by the German music critic and poet Ludwig Rellstab. Five
years after Beethoven’s death Rellstabe likened the effect of the first movement to that of
moonlight shining upon Lake Lucerne. In ten years it was then known as Moonlight
Sonata. This sonata consists of three movements; Adagio sostenuto, Allegreto, and Presto
agitato.
The first movement is easily the most well known. The famous mysterious,
almost haunting melody is dark and whisper like. The first movement plays the main
melody, develops and then plays it again. Although this part is very small the second
movement of the sonata is in the form of a scherzo, which is usually a fast moving and
was usually used in in the place of a minuet and trio during Beethoven’s time. The main
key used in the second movement is D flat major. The third movement is twice as long as
the first two movements and is very different from the first two it has a rapid progression
from note to note that are both invigorating and powerful.
Works Cited
• http://www.lvbeethoven.com/Bio/BiographyLudwig.html
• http://www.biography.com/people/ludwig-van-beethoven-9204862
• http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php?template=portal_en
• http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/onestopbeethoven/a/moonlightsonata.htm
• http://www.all-about-beethoven.com/moonsonata.html