Introduction
Ludwig van Beethoven, the greatest creator of world music culture, was a widely recognized German pianist, composer, and conductor. Beethoven was an exceptionally talented, goal-oriented man who continued to create his unparalleled, brilliant masterpieces despite losing his hearing. The eminent maestro was the new era’s immediate founder, replacing the exhausted Classicism. He gave the world such great sonatas as Moonlight, Pathétique, Eroica, MissaSolemnis, and many others (Kinderman 7, 25, 27). The term paper outlines Ludwig van Beethoven’s major life stages, influence on future music, and struggle with hearing loss.
Beethoven’s Life
Ludwig van Beethoven’s life was marked by a constant struggle with difficulties and hardships, reflected in his works. The great composer was born in Bonn on Sunday, December 16, 1770, into a family of musicians (Caeyers 15). Beethoven’s first music teacher was his father, who was harsh on little Ludwig (Brownlee 34). In those years, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s name was heard everywhere. Ludwig’s father planned to make his son an even more successful musician, forcing him to spend many hours practicing playing musical instruments (Caeyers 20). Ludwig’s childhood was somewhat miserable, at least because of his tyrant father and the family’s plight.
Nature gave the child an incredible talent, which developed painfully and complexly. Beethoven immersed himself in the music he created and was often completely detached from the outside world. At the age of 21, Beethoven left home to continue his studies with more experienced masters, and at the age of 25, he became an accomplished pianist (Brownlee 34).
However, before Ludwig became world-famous, he endured many hardships: his mother’s death, his father’s drunken antics, money shortage, and the need to support his younger brothers (Caeyers 8). The musician promised to escape poverty and make money with his talent. It is well known that the great composer achieved his goal despite difficult periods that plunged Ludwig into despair and hopelessness.
Early in his career, Beethoven is remembered as a virtuoso pianist who won fame as a consummate improviser and a brilliant virtuoso. After moving from Bonn to Vienna, his talent soon led him to the upper circles of Austrian society (Kinderman 7-8). A hearing impairment ended his career as a pianist, and Beethoven focused more on composing (Da Mota Gomes 40). By 1802, he realized that deafness was inevitable, but the composer still found the strength to fight on and continue his creative legacy (Reiter and Prohaska 357).
Beethoven’s lifetime fame grew steadily, and Ludwig was so famous that even his bad character, anti-monarchist statements, and gestures were forgiven. Ludwig van Beethoven died on March 26, 1827; he was 56 (Kauffman-Ortega and Valdovinos-Díaz 377). He was an outstanding composer and pianist, and his music significantly contributed to the classical music tradition and influenced many composers after him.
Influence on Music
Ludwig van Beethoven wrote music that makes people cry, laugh, rise, and fall. It inspires and gives hope that everything is possible to achieve in life, even the most unbelievable. It has been listened to for over two centuries and will be listened to forever since such music is immortal, like its author. The framework of any one direction cannot limit Ludwig’s works; they combine romanticism with classicism and contain the composer’s genius personality (Ginalski 1). No area of nineteenth-century musical art escaped Beethoven’s influence. The musician’s high ethics and boundless artistic innovation have been a guiding star for composers of various schools and movements.
Beethoven was the first to have works that were neither outwardly nor substantively bound up with feudal-princely culture or ecclesiastical art demands. He was a “free artist” who did not know the humiliating dependence on the court or the church, which was the lot of all the great musicians of previous epochs. Without exaggeration, Ludwig was the composers’ main ally in the war against vulgarity, routine, and lightness. His new, bold, and spiritualized works inspired all the advanced composer youth of the 19th century to search for truthful art that opened up new perspectives.
Beethoven’s break with the musical aesthetics of the Age of Enlightenment was the impetus for his quest to typify the new-age psychology. The unprecedented emotional power of Beethoven’s music, its new lyrical quality, the freedom of form, and the broadest range of artistic ideas and expressive means – the Romantics admired all this and further developed their music in many ways.
Ludwig’s works never cease to amaze new generations with their consonance with advanced ideas. The tendency inherent in Beethoven’s polyphonic works to create an image through a complex multi-stage development of the whole based on abstract themes has manifested itself in many schools of composition of the current century. The gravitation towards linear texture and polyphonic development echoes contemporary neoclassicist forms of expression. Beethoven’s quartet style, which found no continuation with the Western Romantic composers, has had a peculiar revival in our day. The majestic spirit, generalized thought, and large-scale concepts characteristic of Beethoven’s art live on in the work of the outstanding modern masters.
Coping with Hearing Loss
Ludwig van Beethoven suffered from severe tinnitus; the “ringing” in his ears prevented him from perceiving and appreciating music. Beethoven began to lose hearing around 1796-1798, and the cause of Beethoven’s deafness is still unknown (Franz 42). Beethoven was sensitive about hearing loss and tried to hide it, fearing that his “Viennese enemies” might exploit it. The first years of the nineteenth century became even more bleak and depressing for Beethoven, although he slowly came to terms with his progressive hearing loss. Then, the first six symphonies were written, including the “Heroic” Symphony, which is rightly included in the golden fund of world musical art.
Throughout his life, Beethoven tried to find a way to improve his hearing, spending a great deal of time researching advanced methods. All attempts to cure him failed, mainly due to the unknown etiology of his deafness. In his Heiligenstadt Testament, Beethoven described the impact of his hearing loss on his social life (Reiter and Prohaska 357). The document addresses his two younger brothers and explains his internal state. He expresses his wish to publicize the illness after his death so that “the light can be reconciled with me.” Undoubtedly, hearing loss and overcoming it impacted Beethoven’s composing. Had he not had such health problems, his music would likely have been different.
Conclusion
Ludwig van Beethoven, then and today, is one of the world’s most famous and performed composers. Not only his brilliant music but also his extraordinary personality has gained widespread popularity. He was born into a low-income family of musicians in Bonn. The boy’s talent showed itself early, and his father practiced music with him, striving to make a second Mozart out of him. Ludwig had to face many difficulties on his life path, from the death of his lovely mother to complete deafness. Nevertheless, he strived to achieve his goals, become a great musician, and help the family financially. He was a true revolutionary in music and had a significant influence on other composers.
Works Cited
Brownlee, Liz. Shaping the World: 40 Historical Heroes in Verse. Pan Macmillan, 2021, 96 pages.
Caeyers, Jan. Beethoven, A Life. University of California Press, 2022, 680 pages.
Da Mota Gomes, M. “Beethoven’s Illnesses and a Craniovertebral Junction Variant?” Revista Brasileira de Neurologia, vol. 56, no. 4, 2020, pp. 39-43.
Franz, Leonardo, et al. “Music from Deafness: What Can a Clinician Learn from Beethoven’s Late Works?” Audiologia & Foniatria – Italian Journal of Audiology and Phoniatrics, vol. 6, no. 1, 2021, pp. 41-47. Web.
Ginalski, Robert. 100 Hits of Classical Music. SAGA Egmont, 2021, 148 pages.
Kauffman-Ortega, Eric and Miguel A. Valdovinos-Díaz. “In Memoriam Ludwig Van Beethoven. Clinical History and Possible Diagnoses of the Genius of Musical Composition in Silence.” Revista de Gastroenterologíade México (English Edition), vol. 85, no. 4, 2020, pp. 375–378. Web.
Kinderman, William. Beethoven: A Political Artist in Revolutionary Times. The University of Chicago Press, 2020, 256 pages.
Reiter, Christian and Thomas Prohaska. “Beethoven’s Death—the Result of Medical Malpractice?” Wien Med Wochenschr, vol. 171, 2021, pp. 356-362. Web.
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