Download Ludwig Van Beethoven

 Date of birth is uncertain
 Baptized December 17th 1770
 He believes he was born on a different date
 Beethoven admired his grandfather most
 His father began teaching him music
 His father’s brutality greatly affected Beethoven
 Student of the clavier, violin, and organ
 Considered a child prodigy
 His father set up Beethoven’s first recital
 He was regarded as average at best in school
 “Not a sign was to be discovered of that spark of
genius which glowed so brilliantly in him
afterwards”
 “Music comes to me more readily than words.”
 Quit school at age 10
 Studied with Mozart
 “Keep your eyes on him; some day he will give the
world something to talk about” –Mozart
 Composed a musical memorial for the late Holy
Roman Emperor Joseph II
 Memorial now considered to be his earliest
masterpiece.
 Studied with Joseph Haydn, Antonio Salieri, and
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Johann Albrechtsberger
Public debut in Vienna on March 29, 1795
“first” piano concerto in C Major
Debut Symphony No. 1 in C Major
Symphony No. 3, his greatest work to date
“ One of the most original, most sublime, and most
profound products that the entire genre of music has
ever exhibited”
 Beethoven lost his hearing
 “I must confess that I lead a miserable life. For almost
two years I have ceased to attend any social functions,
just because I find it impossible to say to people: I am
deaf. If I had any other profession, I might be able to
cope with my infirmity; but in my profession it is a
terrible handicap”
 Despite his handicap Beethoven
composed at an extraordinary rate
 He was reportedly lonely and miserable
 Short tempered
 Greedy
 Paranoid
 In love with a married woman
 Missa Solemnis
 Quartet No. 14
 The Ninth Symphony
 Died on March 26, 1827
 56 years old
 Post-hepatitic cirrhosis of the liver
 Composed during 1804-08
 Premiered in Vienna on December 22, 1808
 Theater was extremely cold
 Performed during third hour of a 4 hour long program
 The orchestra played it terribly at first
 “opens the realm of the colossal and immeasurable to
us…evokes terror, fright, horror, and pain, and awakens
that endless longing that is the essence of
Romanticism.”
 Beethoven was completely deaf when this was
composed
 Made Beethoven the best composer of all time
 World War II era broadcasts
 “A Fifth of Beethoven”
 Beethoven Movies
 Movement 1
 Sonata-allegro form
 Infamous four notes start off the symphony in C minor
 Cadence
 rich texture
 bridge begins with a French horn solo
 Light Timbre
 Theme II is introduced
 Motif A is played throughout by the contrabass.
 Crescendo
 Development of Motif A
 Fermata by clarinets
 Mild crescendos
 The bridge motif is used
 Slow to medium to fast paced
 The bridge motif is used again. This is done as a reminder of the
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bridge from the exposition.
Recapitulation signifying the return of Theme I in C minor
Crescendos
Theme II comes in at C major
Forte
Coda
 Contrast in the piece
 Gradual rise in melody
 Famous four notes played with more force and slower
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tempo
The second movement starts
Movement II is in the Theme and Variations form
Theme A is introduced in A-flat major
Theme B introduced in A-flat major
Slow and soft rhythm
Major chord
Variation 1. Theme A in A-flat major
Variation 1. Theme B
 "Bio.com." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d.
Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
 "History.com." History.com. A&E Television Networks,
n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.