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.
Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major "Eroica"
Ludwig van Beethoven Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Ludwig van Beethoven:
"An die Hoffnung" Op. 94 LUDWIG VcN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) cn die Hoffnung op.94 (aus…
1 Joyful, joyful, we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; He…
9th Symphony Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, wir bet…
Ah perfido Ah! perfido, spergiuro, Barbaro traditor, tu parti? E son qu…
Ah perfido! Op.65 Ah! perfido, spergiuro, Barbaro traditor, tu parti? E son qu…
Ah! perfido Op. 65: "Ah! perfido" Ah! perfido, spergiuro, Barbaro traditor, tu parti? E son qu…
Ah! perfido Op. 65: "Per pietà non dirmi addio" Ah! perfido, spergiuro, Barbaro traditor, tu parti? E son qu…
Ah! Perfido Spergiuro Ah! perfido, spergiuro, Barbaro traditor, tu parti? E son qu…
Ah! perfido! Op. 65 Ah! perfido, spergiuro, Barbaro traditor, tu parti? E son qu…
An die Hoffnung op. 94 LUDWIG VcN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) cn die Hoffnung op.94 (aus…
An die Hoffnung Op. 32 LUDWIG V. BEETHOVEN (1770-1882) cn die Hoffnung op. 32 Tex…
An die Hoffnung Op. 94 LUDWIG VcN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) cn die Hoffnung op.94 (aus…
Joyful Joyful Joyful, joyful, we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; He…
Moonlight Sonata Camper Van Beethoven Camper Van Beethoven We Love You All…
Presto Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, wir bet…
String Quartet in A major Kimi no te de kirisaite Omoi hi no kioku wo Kanashimi no…
String Quartet in A major Op. 18 No. 5: III. Andante cantabile Kimi no te de kirisaite Omoi hi no kioku wo Kanashimi no…
Symphony No. 2 in D Major I saw you standing on the corner You looked so big…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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Elaine Blackhurst
@Nikos Blaxabas
My thoughts and comments are rooted in knowledge-based objectivity, not personal subjectivity, and are based on a thorough understanding of the issue under discussion.
Your list of Beethoven’s radical developments is not in dispute (neither are those of Berlioz in his Symphonie fantastique just three years after Beethoven’s death, along with a string of other shocks both before and after Beethoven), but you fall into to the trap as do so many of talking about Beethoven in isolation without having a proper understanding of the Classical period of Mozart and Haydn (c.1750-1800).
Some thoughts in response to your reply:
i) You mention the new theme in e minor appearing in the development section as an example of ‘…quite simply beyond anything ever composed in this form’.
In the development section of his E flat sonata Hob. XVI:52 (from bar 68), Haydn having transitioned over the two previous bars in descending 3rds from B flat major to G major via a diminished 7th, reaches E major; E flat major to E major is not dissimilar to the Beethoven step you noted.
ii) And specifically about introducing a new theme in the development; in the first movement of Haydn’s Symphony 45 in f# minor (‘Farewell’) one of the most astonishing features is the delay of the D major second subject which appears not in the expected exposition, but as an interlude - almost a foreign body - in the development.
In short: Haydn got there first in what is one of the greatest symphonies of the 18th century.
If interested, you can learn more about this radical evolutionary symphony that as such is arguably on a par with anything in Beethoven by reading James Webster’s c.400 page book entitled:
Haydn’s ‘Farewell’ Symphony and the Idea of Classical Style - Through-Composition and Cyclic Integration in his Instrumental Music.
Webster’s book will challenge the widely held notion that Beethoven is the only composer who made these radical developments in symphonic music, and that he ‘was quite simply beyond anything ever composed…’.
iii) Haydn’s symphonies are full of highly original touches, many of which Beethoven noted; probably too many to list here, but returning the Minuet in the Finale as happens Haydn 46 (1772) and Beethoven 5 (1808) will suffice as an example, and noting the almost identical tonal journey from darkness to light that appears in Haydn 95 (1791) and Beethoven 5 is another:
1st movements - both c minor
2nd movements - both 3rd-related
Haydn E flat
Beethoven A flat
3rd movements - both c minor/C major/c minor
4th movements - both C major
v) And all that is before I even get on to Mozart…
The greatness of Beethoven revolves around his radically new developments in music, often done in radically new ways, but he must be taken in context to understand him properly, even to acknowledging that in many cases this spectacular new music was clearly foreshadowed by his two greatest predecessors.
vi) The bible is a great book, but ‘…any fool can see that’ your comment is offensive to Muslims, Jews, and anyone of any other faith - along with those of no faith at all - who would all debate your subjective opinion vociferously, and with good reason.
Classical Music11
There are no words strong enough to describe how great this piece is. It was voted the greatest symphony of all time a few years ago by the leading conductors of the world, and with good reason.
Bo Huggabee
its great, but the 8th is better. the 8th is the greatest symphony by beethoven. i've listened to beethoven my entire life and i'm naturally gifted as any of those men are to the ability to compose and understand music. the 8th is unbelievable. the 9th, the 7th, the 5th, the 3rd, all pail in comparison to the 8th's ability to move and forget the reliance of melodic manipulations. while this one has that heavy metal push of the strings, its truly great, but not the 8th...
Isaac W
@Bo Huggabee you may not have intended to, but you can off VERY pretentious in that comment. The way I understand it is that you are saying that you are naturally just as good a musician and composer and Beethoven. And while you may be very good, I seriously doubt you are his equal. Because Beethoven has no equal except for maybe Mozart. Also, it is only your opinion that the 8th is the best. The 7th is my favourite as of right now but it might change a few years down the line. Gain some humility and accept that people may have different opinions than you. Music is subjective, not objective. It cannot be measured, therefore there is no "best" anything or anyone in music. Yes you can have favourites, but you cannot force them unto others.
Eric Preston
I'd rather put that as no good reason. Still spot on nonetheless
Bio Museum
Classical Music11 but why everyone prefers 9th and 5th?
Chris Corbin
My go to when the current state of the country and the world gets to me.
Captain Wright
In my opinion, this is the best of Beethoven's symphonies, 22:46 - 25:07 being what I believe to be some of the most beautiful and emotional music that he ever wrote. The pure power of this excerpt is an example of just how moving his music - and music as a whole - can be.
theholyrocker69
I couldn't say it better, you stealed my words!
Caprino saltador dos Alpes
Heave stolem my words too!!! There's a masterpiece ever composed!!!
Ruben G
don't forget that marvellous first movement!