Beethoven’s life
On December 17, 1770, Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in the church in Bonn, Germany. As for his birthday, there is still no accurate circumstantial evidence to determine it; it is generally believed to be December 16, the day before his baptism.
When Beethoven was born, Bonn was a small town with a population of less than 30,000. The east of the city is adjacent to the Rhine River, and the north of the city is surrounded by green mountains. Schumann, the author of "Fantasia", once wrote: "... When a boat on the Rhine passed by here, and foreigners asked the giant's name, every child could answer - it was Beethoven. The foreigners on the boat thought This is the name of a German emperor." Schumann's last words have changed for today, more than a hundred years later. Because now Beethoven belongs to the whole world. People all know his "Destiny", his "Hero", his "Passion" and "Pathosity", and they know that the creator Beethoven is a great musician and an engineer of the human soul.
In Beethoven's time, Bonn was the seat of the court of the Elector of Cologne. Beethoven's grandfather Ludwig (1712-1773) served as court music director. Beethoven's father Johann (about 1740-1792) also sang and played violin in the court orchestra, and became court musician in 1756. With a meager income, he also taught private students and played piano to make ends meet. Beethoven's mother, Maria Magdalena (1746-1787), was the daughter of the palace chef. They gave birth to five boys and two girls, but only Beethoven and his two brothers grew up.
Beethoven learned piano from his father at an early age and showed his musical talent very early. On March 26, 1778, seven-year-old Beethoven performed at a concert for the first time. At that time he played a piano concerto. Also participated in trio performances. The teacher who had the greatest influence on Beethoven when he was a boy was the German composer and court organist in Bonn, Nie Fei (1748-1798). Beginning in 1781, Nie Fei taught Beethoven piano, organ, and composition, and explained the style of Bach's works to Beethoven. Nie Fei wrote a report introducing Beethoven, which was published in the "Music Magazine" in March 1783. The article writes: "He is an eleven-year-old boy with outstanding talents and a bright future. His piano playing is extremely dexterous and powerful, and his sight-reading ability is outstanding. He can play almost all of Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier" with ease. Come down... Niefer now gave Beethoven a compositional training. In order to encourage him to compose, a piano piece composed by him with nine variations on a march theme was published in Mannheim. The young genius was eligible to receive an offer. If he continues to make progress as he does now, he will definitely become the second Mozart." This report proves that Nie Fei was very discerning and also showed that Beethoven had shown extraordinary musical talent at that time. . The age mentioned in the report is younger than Beethoven's actual age. This is because Beethoven's father said that Beethoven was only "six years old" (actually seven years and three months old) when Beethoven performed for the first time. Music prodigy. For this reason, even Beethoven himself kept counting his age by two years. In this year, Beethoven's three piano pieces "Selected Sonatas" composed in 1782-1783 were published by Bosler in Speyer. Also published in the same year were a rondo and a song.
In February 1784, Beethoven began to serve as a court musician.
In early April 1787, he came to Vienna for the first time and heard Mozart's performance. But within half a month, Beethoven had to rush back to Bonn with the news that his mother was critically ill. Soon my mother died of illness. Beethoven wrote emotionally in a letter: "To me, she is a very good mother. I love my mother and she is my best friend." As his father's alcoholism worsened after his mother's death, He no longer looks after the family. The heavy burden of life fell on the shoulders of Beethoven, who was under seventeen years old. He must overcome poverty and support his two younger brothers in his father's stead. In 1788, Beethoven went to the palace theater as a viola musician. The next year, he received half of his father's salary and the wheat originally paid to his father from the palace. Beethoven used his meager income to barely support the family. Life is a battle without luck. Beethoven was violently impacted by real life, but the young Beethoven resolutely shouldered the heavy burden, faced the wind and waves, and walked forward in stride.
In May 1789, Beethoven entered the University of Bonn together with his close friend Reicher, who was a court musician. Beethoven absorbed nutrients from the works of Lessing, Goethe and Schiller like a sponge. Beethoven had close contacts with the famous Breuning family in Bonn. Beethoven gained a wealth of knowledge about literature, philosophy, history and other aspects from the young artists who gathered at Breuning's house. He also made a friend named Waldstein (1762-1823).
In July 1792, the great Austrian composer Haydn came to Bonn on his way back from London. The court musicians invited him to a dinner party held in the suburbs of Goldsberg. At this time, Beethoven took out the cantata he had composed and asked Haydn to correct it. After seeing it, Haydn agreed to teach him composition in Vienna. With Waldstein's enthusiastic help, the Elector of Cologne agreed to give Beethoven a year's leave to study in Vienna. Before leaving, Waldstein wrote in Beethoven's memorial book: "May you use your tireless efforts to accept the spirit of Mozart from Haydn."
About November 10, 1792, Beethoven Arriving in Vienna, he studied counterpoint under Haydn. There are 245 exercises that Beethoven did at that time that are still preserved, of which 42 were corrected by Haydn. After Haydn left Vienna in January 1794, Beethoven loved to study with Albrechtsberger, the music director of St. Stephen's Cathedral. This music theorist, composer, and music educator used his own "Basic Course in Composition" as a teaching material for Beethoven. Under the guidance of this strict teacher, Beethoven wrote exercises in fourteen months, including "Piano Trio in E flat major" and the first draft of the unfinished "Symphony No. 1 in C major". In addition to these two teachers, Beethoven also studied composition with John Schenck from August 1793 to the end of May 1794.
In March 1794, the Bonn court stopped sending Beethoven living expenses that were not enough. Beethoven had to perform, teach private students, and publish his works to make ends meet. In 1795, he made his debut on the stage in Vienna, where famous pianists gathered, and became active in the music scene as the most outstanding pianist. In the same year, Beethoven published "Three Piano Trios" at his own expense. At this time, his two younger brothers came to Vienna one after another. For their sake, Beethoven had to consider the issue of financial income. Some of Beethoven's orchestral dances were produced in this context. For example, "Twelve Minuets" and "Twelve German Dances" were composed for the masquerade hosted by the Artists' Pension Society on November 22, 1795. He used this income to support the lives of his three brothers.
On April 2, 1800, Beethoven held his first solo concert. In addition to Mozart's symphonies and arias from Haydn's oratorios, the repertoire also includes the revised "Piano Concerto No. 1", the "Symphony No. 1" completed in the same year, the "Septet in E flat major", and Beedo's Finn's own piano improvisation. Beethoven's status as a composer began to be consolidated from this time on. The following year, he composed such masterpieces as "Moonlight Sonata", "Pastoral Sonata" and "Violin Sonata "Spring"".
On October 6 and October 10, 1802, Beethoven wrote two wills to his two younger brothers in Heiligenstadt, a small town outside Vienna, asking them to start a new life after his death. dismantle. For musicians, hearing, which is more important than the beating of the pulse, deteriorated significantly, which dealt a fatal blow to Beethoven, making him feel desperate, extremely lonely, and even thought of committing suicide and wrote a will. However, even in the face of adversity, Beethoven still wished people happiness. The concluding words of the will on October 6 read: "I am worthy of your thoughts, because I always miss you when I am alive and want to make you happy. I hope you are happy!" As some critics pointed out: It is not so much Heiligenstadt. The suicide note is the product of Beethoven's crisis. It is better to say that the suicide note is the testimony of Beethoven overcoming the crisis. He was once tortured by a fatal hearing problem and even wanted to end his life for a while; but his sense of responsibility as a composer awakened him and resolutely decided to fight his fate and be resurrected - this plot process is exactly what "" "The literary prototype of the Eroica Symphony" is the basic principle of Beethoven's dramatic creative style.
While writing his will in 1802, Beethoven completed "Three Violin Sonatas" and "Three Piano Sonatas", the latter including the "Tempest Sonata". The following summer he devoted himself to composing the "Eroica Symphony" and completed the "Piano Concerto No. 3".
Composed "Waldstein Sonata" in 1804. In 1805, he completed the "Passionate Sonata" and the opera "Leonora". The following year was the Violin Concerto, Piano Concerto No. 4 and Symphony No. 4. From 1807 to 1808, there were "Symphony of Destiny", "Pastoral Symphony", "Coriolan Overture", and "Leonorera Overture No. 1". In 1809, he composed "The Fifth "Emperor" Concerto". The following year, he wrote the overture of the same name and nine other soundtracks for Goethe's tragedy "Egmont" and completed the "Farewell Sonata". It can be seen from some of the repertoire listed above that in the years after writing Heiligenstadt's suicide note, Beethoven was like Prometheus breaking the iron chain. His creativity burst out with the spark of life and wrote the next chapter. All masterpieces. These works are full of the belief of victory through struggle.
Beethoven's later years were tragic and desolate. In order to fight for the guardianship of his nephew Carl, he fought a lawsuit with his sister-in-law for four and a half years. Then, Karl continued to add pain to Beethoven. After 1820, Beethoven became completely deaf in both ears, but he still sang joy.
In February 1824, Beethoven completed the "Ninth "Chorus" Symphony" ending with "Ode to Joy" composed with Schiller's verses. In the same year, he also completed his masterpiece "Missa Solemnis". The representative works completed in his later years include the last five piano sonatas and six string quartets.
On February 27, 1827, Beethoven, who had been bedridden for three months due to cirrhosis of the liver, underwent his fourth operation to remove ascites. He knew death was approaching. On March 23, he said in Latin to his friend Breuning and personal secretary Schindler: "Ah! Friends, cheers, the comedy is over." On March 24, the doctor told Beethoven his final words. The time is coming. From this night on, Beethoven fell into a coma.
At about 5 pm on March 26, 1827, heavy rain mixed with snowflakes fell violently. At 5:45 a spring thunder roared, and lightning illuminated the dark room. Beethoven suddenly opened his eyes and raised his clenched fist with his right hand. A few seconds later he put down his right hand, and Beethoven had already passed away.
Beethoven's funeral was held at three o'clock in the afternoon on March 29, 1827. The coffin was lifted by the singers, and the eight conductors held the cloth ends covering the coffin. Schubert, Zerny and others escorted the coffin holding torches of pine branches on both sides of the coffin. About 20,000 Viennese citizens first went to Beethoven's earliest residence in Vienna, the church on Archa Street, to hold a requiem ceremony. At this time, the sixteen-part a cappella song "Lord, Free Us" composed by Zei Fried was sung. The coffin was then transported to Wellinger Cemetery in a carriage drawn by four horses. At the entrance of the cemetery, actor Anschutz read a eulogy written by Beethoven's friend during his lifetime, the famous Austrian dramatist Greer Patzer. The coffin is then moved to the cemetery and buried with three laurel crowns prepared in advance. In 1888, Beethoven's remains were moved to the Vienna Central Cemetery together with Schubert's remains, where they were laid to rest with other musicians.
"Strive to do good, love freedom above all else, even for the sake of the throne, and never flout the truth." Beethoven's life proved this famous saying he wrote down when he was twenty-two years old. Beethoven is everything that loves life and light.