Ludwig van Beethoven (16 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German pianis… Read Full Bio ↴Ludwig van Beethoven (16 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German pianist and composer of the transitional period between the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He is often regarded as one of the most brilliant, prolific and influential composers of all time.
Beethoven is widely regarded as a master of musical construction, sometimes sketching the architecture of a movement before he had decided upon the subject matter. He was one of the first composers to systematically and consistently use interlocking thematic devices, or 'germ-motives', to achieve unity between movements in long compositions. (Some insight into the meaning of the germ-motive device is given at the end of this bio.) Equally remarkable was his use of source-motives', which recurred in many different compositions and lent some unity to his life’s work. He made innovations in almost every form of music he touched. For example, he diversified even the well-crystallised form of the rondo, making it more elastic and spacious, which brought it closer to sonata form. He was mostly inspired by the natural course of nature, and liked to write songs describing nature.
Beethoven composed in a great variety of genres, including symphonies, concerti, piano sonatas, other instrumental sonatas (including for violin), string quartets and other chamber music, masses, lieder, and one opera.
Beethoven's compositional career is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods:
In the Early (Classical) period, he is seen as emulating his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart, while concurrently exploring new directions and gradually expanding the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the Early period are the first and second symphonies, the first six string quartets, the first three piano concertos, and the first twenty piano sonatas, including the famous "Pathétique" and "Moonlight" sonatas.
The Middle (Heroic) period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis centering around his encroaching deafness. The period is noted for large-scale works expressing heroism and struggle; these include many of the most famous works of classical music. Middle period works include six symphonies (numbers 3 to 8), the fourth and fifth piano concertos, the triple concerto and violin concerto, five string quartets (numbers 7 to 11), the next seven piano sonatas (including the "Waldstein" and the "Appassionata"), and Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio.
Beethoven's Late (Romantic) period began around 1816. The Late-period works are characterised by intellectual depth, intense and highly personal expression, and formal innovation (for example, the Op. 131 string quartet has seven linked movements, and the Ninth Symphony adds choral forces to the orchestra in the last movement). Works of this period also include the Missa Solemnis, the last five string quartets, and the last five piano sonatas.
Deconstructing the sonata form, both in the overall schema (movements, tempos) and in the micro-form, Beethoven began to use germinal ideas propelling the whole melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic progression. In the first quartet of the group (E flat major, Op.127 – February 1825), the Adagio has five variations (in this case, a source-theme becomes the backbone of the tempo). That same year, in July, Quartet in A minor, Op.132, features a first movement with the traditional two themes, but without contrast; they display and disseminate sub-sections and ‘germs’ in a circular frame, interlocking with each other. Beethoven's germ-motive is like a Bach choral, summoning the other voices around itself.
The last quartet, Op. 135 in F major, was composed in a downplayed form, going back to a more traditional four-tempo structure. But internally one finds the same frozen micro-structure: the first movement is harmonically ambiguous, whereas the scherzo sounds like Bartók, and in the finale, the canon ‘Es muss sein’ plays a joyful role. A terrible grave comes in afterward, to dissolve into a soft pizzicato: adieu music, adieu life . It was never heard by the now deaf Beethoven, and he died shortly afterward.
Beethoven is widely regarded as a master of musical construction, sometimes sketching the architecture of a movement before he had decided upon the subject matter. He was one of the first composers to systematically and consistently use interlocking thematic devices, or 'germ-motives', to achieve unity between movements in long compositions. (Some insight into the meaning of the germ-motive device is given at the end of this bio.) Equally remarkable was his use of source-motives', which recurred in many different compositions and lent some unity to his life’s work. He made innovations in almost every form of music he touched. For example, he diversified even the well-crystallised form of the rondo, making it more elastic and spacious, which brought it closer to sonata form. He was mostly inspired by the natural course of nature, and liked to write songs describing nature.
Beethoven composed in a great variety of genres, including symphonies, concerti, piano sonatas, other instrumental sonatas (including for violin), string quartets and other chamber music, masses, lieder, and one opera.
Beethoven's compositional career is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods:
In the Early (Classical) period, he is seen as emulating his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart, while concurrently exploring new directions and gradually expanding the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the Early period are the first and second symphonies, the first six string quartets, the first three piano concertos, and the first twenty piano sonatas, including the famous "Pathétique" and "Moonlight" sonatas.
The Middle (Heroic) period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis centering around his encroaching deafness. The period is noted for large-scale works expressing heroism and struggle; these include many of the most famous works of classical music. Middle period works include six symphonies (numbers 3 to 8), the fourth and fifth piano concertos, the triple concerto and violin concerto, five string quartets (numbers 7 to 11), the next seven piano sonatas (including the "Waldstein" and the "Appassionata"), and Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio.
Beethoven's Late (Romantic) period began around 1816. The Late-period works are characterised by intellectual depth, intense and highly personal expression, and formal innovation (for example, the Op. 131 string quartet has seven linked movements, and the Ninth Symphony adds choral forces to the orchestra in the last movement). Works of this period also include the Missa Solemnis, the last five string quartets, and the last five piano sonatas.
Deconstructing the sonata form, both in the overall schema (movements, tempos) and in the micro-form, Beethoven began to use germinal ideas propelling the whole melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic progression. In the first quartet of the group (E flat major, Op.127 – February 1825), the Adagio has five variations (in this case, a source-theme becomes the backbone of the tempo). That same year, in July, Quartet in A minor, Op.132, features a first movement with the traditional two themes, but without contrast; they display and disseminate sub-sections and ‘germs’ in a circular frame, interlocking with each other. Beethoven's germ-motive is like a Bach choral, summoning the other voices around itself.
The last quartet, Op. 135 in F major, was composed in a downplayed form, going back to a more traditional four-tempo structure. But internally one finds the same frozen micro-structure: the first movement is harmonically ambiguous, whereas the scherzo sounds like Bartók, and in the finale, the canon ‘Es muss sein’ plays a joyful role. A terrible grave comes in afterward, to dissolve into a soft pizzicato: adieu music, adieu life . It was never heard by the now deaf Beethoven, and he died shortly afterward.
Moonlight Sonata
Ludwig van Beethoven Lyrics
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven
We Love You
Allah u'akbar
Hare krishna
Praise the lord
And merry christmas
Aw, praise (beatrice)
And hare krishna
Aw, merry krishna
Aw, allah u'akbar
In the interest of democracy repressive action were taken
In order to preserve democracy, repressive action were taken
Well we went down to georgia, we were looking for some fun
Instead we met the devil with a fiddle and a gun
And he said i'm the baddest fiddler anywhere in the land
And when he proved it to us, well, we let him join the band
And he said
Well, the devil he don't have the bomb
And the devil he don't have a gun
The devil hasn't got a car
And the devil he can't play guitar
Dl: rain cloud, moving red, a piece of a galaxy
J: air enormous disgusting parts of a moon
V: babbling babbling landing color of blue white [blah blah] velvet
Dl: what's that? good [blah], a dull new land
J: a horrifying glad magnificent star babbling daphnia, a pulsing
V: a magnificent yellow speculation of velvet light a token rain cloud babbling (woofy)
Dl: a token velvet good. new land
J: [blah blah]
D: a new land
Camper Van Beethoven
We Love You
Allah u'akbar
Hare krishna
Praise the lord
And merry christmas
Aw, praise (beatrice)
And hare krishna
Aw, merry krishna
In the interest of democracy repressive action were taken
In order to preserve democracy, repressive action were taken
Well we went down to georgia, we were looking for some fun
Instead we met the devil with a fiddle and a gun
And he said i'm the baddest fiddler anywhere in the land
And when he proved it to us, well, we let him join the band
And he said
Well, the devil he don't have the bomb
And the devil he don't have a gun
The devil hasn't got a car
And the devil he can't play guitar
Dl: rain cloud, moving red, a piece of a galaxy
J: air enormous disgusting parts of a moon
V: babbling babbling landing color of blue white [blah blah] velvet
Dl: what's that? good [blah], a dull new land
J: a horrifying glad magnificent star babbling daphnia, a pulsing
V: a magnificent yellow speculation of velvet light a token rain cloud babbling (woofy)
Dl: a token velvet good. new land
J: [blah blah]
D: a new land
Writer(s): Simon Mulligan, Louis Knatchbull, Jin Suk Song, Beethoven, Paul John Shaw, Olivier Toussaint, David Victor Rogers, Salesses Gerard Roger Serge, Ludwig van Beethoven, Claude Foisy, Donald Gallacher, Keith Blainville Copyright: G. Schirmer Inc. O.B.O. Cutting Edge (Publishing) Ltd., Atmosphere Music Ltd., Musiccube Inc., Jack Russell Music, Delphine Editions, Fox Film Music Corporation, Orange Sky Music Ltd., Supraphon Record Library, Crml Limited, Chappell Recorded Music Library, Focus Music Publishing Ltd.
Contributed by Bailey H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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@andrearomano6
Dear friends and lovers of classical music from around the world,
I am truly touched to see how Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata continues to move and unite so many people, even more than 10 years after the video was published on my channel. It warms my heart to read your comments filled with shared emotions and thoughts, coming from every corner of the planet and from all ages and generations.
Today, I'd like to propose an emotional and introspective experiment: describe your emotions and thoughts in real-time as you listen to the Moonlight Sonata. Before you start, if you can, put on a pair of headphones and restart the video from the beginning, immersing yourself completely in your emotions.
Here's how to do it:
1 - Start writing a comment as soon as the video begins.
2 - Describe what you're feeling and the thoughts that come to mind as you listen to the melody.
3 - Let yourself go, without worrying about how long the comment is, whether there are spelling mistakes, or if you jump from one thought to another. Emotions don't follow a logical thread.
4 - Keep writing for the entire duration of the video.
5 - Ten seconds before the end of the video, hit "send" without rereading what you wrote.
Feel free to write in your native language or the one you dream in, to make this experience even more personal and emotional. And remember to write a new comment instead of replying to this message, so your contribution doesn't get lost among the comments.
I can't wait to read your streams of consciousness and discover how this wonderful composition makes you feel, through the different cultures and languages.
Enjoy listening and happy writing to all!
@andrearomano6
Dear friends and lovers of classical music from around the world,
I am truly touched to see how Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata continues to move and unite so many people, even more than 10 years after the video was published on my channel. It warms my heart to read your comments filled with shared emotions and thoughts, coming from every corner of the planet and from all ages and generations.
Today, I'd like to propose an emotional and introspective experiment: describe your emotions and thoughts in real-time as you listen to the Moonlight Sonata. Before you start, if you can, put on a pair of headphones and restart the video from the beginning, immersing yourself completely in your emotions.
Here's how to do it:
1 - Start writing a comment as soon as the video begins.
2 - Describe what you're feeling and the thoughts that come to mind as you listen to the melody.
3 - Let yourself go, without worrying about how long the comment is, whether there are spelling mistakes, or if you jump from one thought to another. Emotions don't follow a logical thread.
4 - Keep writing for the entire duration of the video.
5 - Ten seconds before the end of the video, hit "send" without rereading what you wrote.
Feel free to write in your native language or the one you dream in, to make this experience even more personal and emotional. And remember to write a new comment instead of replying to this message, so your contribution doesn't get lost among the comments.
I can't wait to read your streams of consciousness and discover how this wonderful composition makes you feel, through the different cultures and languages.
Enjoy listening and happy writing to all!
@revainyt2
Im coming from the pianist i watched already and it was amazing also this music is insane
@Smellman426
so interesting to me that even though I listen to all types of music (including other classical arrangements), something about Moonlight Sonata specifically has always drawn me to it
@wdgaster6252
thats a great experiment love your work
@andrearomano6
@@Greg-yn5ml I don't want this thought to be lost. I ask you to repost it as a comment and not under my message. It would be a waste to leave it here.
Thank you for sharing this.
@kalu36227
Great to listen
@Chartoise
If Beethoven keeps this up, he will be a super star in a couple of years.
I can hardly wait for his next album.
@snakestrife587
Chartoise I can't wait for his new mixtape
@coliban
Perhaps he should ask Justin Bieber to joint him, then it could be that this guy would become famous even faster
@abirdofprey3813
Cali Ban but Justin Beaver sucks and is in jail/prison.