Ludwig Van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven is in my opinion one of the best composers that ever lived. I have been fascinated with his works even as a small child. I as well as so many others feel such an emotional attachment to his works. His music has been used in countless areas for over 200 years. I believe anyone whose music is observed for that long deserves credit where credit is due.

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. He was the son of Johann van Beethoven and Maria Magdalena Keverich. Only he and two younger brothers survived of the seven children that were born to them. He was named after his grandfather Lodewijk van Beethoven. Both his grandfather and his father were known musicians and his father saw that at an early age Ludwig was very musically inclined. Seeing the potential in his son he set out to make him a new "Mozart". This is probably why he was so strict and rigid in training Beethoven and in pushing his performances. The fact that his father was a raging alcoholic probably only added to it.

Ludwig gave his first performance at the ripe old age of eight in Cologne. At age eleven he was given formal training from Christian Gottlob Neefe. By the age of twelve he published his first works, nine variations in C minor for the piano. He quickly grew increasingly popular with the royals in Cologne. Later, he left to train in Vienna under other well known composers such as Haydn, Albrechtsberger, Schenck, and Salieri after the death of his mother in 1787. During his younger years he performed more than he composed. Even though Beethoven started composing in the Classical Period, he is considered to be a composer of the Romantic Period.