Teacher's Score: 10/10
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770 (Classical era). His father was a Tenor at the court of the Elector of Cologne but he was also an alcoholic, so Beethoven was forced to support his mom and his 2 younger brothers at a young age. At age 11, he became an assistant organist in a court chapel. One year later, he was a harpsichordist in a court chapel. 6 years after his first job, he played for Mozart in Vienna, improvising brilliantly on a theme by Mozart, who said, "Keep an eye on him - he will make a noise in the world in the world some day."
Finally, in 1792, he made Vienna his permanent home. He studied only briefly with Haydn (their personalities clashed). His talent as a pianist attracted music-loving and he was welcomed to work for very powerful patrons such as Prince Lichnowsky, Prince Lobkowitz, and Count Razumovsky. He worked under a modified form of patronage system - he forced his patrons to respect him as a friend. He earned by teaching children piano and selling his compositions to several different publishers ("I have 6 or 7 publishers for each of my works and could have more if I chose. No more bargaining. I name my terms, and they pay"). In his late 20s, he began to lose hearing, which shattered him emotionally. Finally, in 1820, because of advice from doctors, he retired to Heiligenstadt (a summer resort outside of Vienna) but he was torn between destructive forces in his soul and his desire to live and create. The Heiligenstadt Testament was a letter to his 2 brothers about his deafness and his realization for his love of music. In order to write music, he slowly fought his way back to health. The remainder of his life he mostly composed music, which was his only way of self-expression. He died in 1827 of edema, when he was famous and admired.
His life could be divided into 3 periods: In his 1st period, he was more predictable and traditional. He wrote Classical era music, inherited from Haydn and Mozart. He wrote Symphony No.1 and Symphony No.2 during this period. In the 2nd period, he began to show Romantic era characteristics. He had strong dynamic contrasts. He had explosive accents. He had longer movements. He replaced Minuet and Trio with a more energetic Scherzo and Trio. His works in this period were Fidelio, Waldstein Sonata, "Eroica" Symphony No.3 (originally dedicated to Napoleon), and "Pastoral" Symphony No.6. In the 3rd period, he used chromatic harmonies and introduced a style that he said was "for a later time". His works were "Choral" Symphony No.9. He had singing in this symphony - his words were from Schiller (court poet). The last movement of the symphony was "Ode to Joy". He had vigorous rhythms, great depth of feeling, powerful crescendos, abrupt tonal contrast, syncopation, sudden accents, and short, motivic themes.
Beethoven wrote 1 mass (Missa Solemnis), 1 song cycle (Au die ferne geliebte), 1 violin concerto (Violin Concerto in D+, op. 61), 1 triple concerto played by a piano, violin, and cello, 17 string quartets adn chamber music, 10 overtures such as Egmont and Leonore, 5 piano concertos, 1 opera (Fidelio) 32 piano sonatas such as Appassionata, Moonlight, Pathetique, and Waldstein Sonata, and 9 symphonies with lots of instruments (requires concert hall).
Finally, in 1792, he made Vienna his permanent home. He studied only briefly with Haydn (their personalities clashed). His talent as a pianist attracted music-loving and he was welcomed to work for very powerful patrons such as Prince Lichnowsky, Prince Lobkowitz, and Count Razumovsky. He worked under a modified form of patronage system - he forced his patrons to respect him as a friend. He earned by teaching children piano and selling his compositions to several different publishers ("I have 6 or 7 publishers for each of my works and could have more if I chose. No more bargaining. I name my terms, and they pay"). In his late 20s, he began to lose hearing, which shattered him emotionally. Finally, in 1820, because of advice from doctors, he retired to Heiligenstadt (a summer resort outside of Vienna) but he was torn between destructive forces in his soul and his desire to live and create. The Heiligenstadt Testament was a letter to his 2 brothers about his deafness and his realization for his love of music. In order to write music, he slowly fought his way back to health. The remainder of his life he mostly composed music, which was his only way of self-expression. He died in 1827 of edema, when he was famous and admired.
His life could be divided into 3 periods: In his 1st period, he was more predictable and traditional. He wrote Classical era music, inherited from Haydn and Mozart. He wrote Symphony No.1 and Symphony No.2 during this period. In the 2nd period, he began to show Romantic era characteristics. He had strong dynamic contrasts. He had explosive accents. He had longer movements. He replaced Minuet and Trio with a more energetic Scherzo and Trio. His works in this period were Fidelio, Waldstein Sonata, "Eroica" Symphony No.3 (originally dedicated to Napoleon), and "Pastoral" Symphony No.6. In the 3rd period, he used chromatic harmonies and introduced a style that he said was "for a later time". His works were "Choral" Symphony No.9. He had singing in this symphony - his words were from Schiller (court poet). The last movement of the symphony was "Ode to Joy". He had vigorous rhythms, great depth of feeling, powerful crescendos, abrupt tonal contrast, syncopation, sudden accents, and short, motivic themes.
Beethoven wrote 1 mass (Missa Solemnis), 1 song cycle (Au die ferne geliebte), 1 violin concerto (Violin Concerto in D+, op. 61), 1 triple concerto played by a piano, violin, and cello, 17 string quartets adn chamber music, 10 overtures such as Egmont and Leonore, 5 piano concertos, 1 opera (Fidelio) 32 piano sonatas such as Appassionata, Moonlight, Pathetique, and Waldstein Sonata, and 9 symphonies with lots of instruments (requires concert hall).
LOL Looks like first time your teacher gave you 10 out of 10. I'm doing Haydn right now.
ReplyDeleteFrom: Your friend that sits in front of you
Thanks! I have also written about Chopin and Symphonie Fantastique, which are coming soon.
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