What Ludwig van Beethoven wrote. Great musical works of Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in an era of great changes, the main of which was the French Revolution. That is why the theme of heroic struggle became the main one in the composer’s work. The struggle for republican ideals, the desire for change, a better future - Beethoven lived with these ideas.

Childhood and youth

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770 in Bonn (Austria), where he spent his childhood. Frequently changing teachers were involved in educating the future composer; his father’s friends taught him to play various musical instruments.

Realizing that his son had musical talent, the father, wanting to see a second Mozart in Beethoven, began to force the boy to study long and hard. However, hopes were not justified; Ludwig did not turn out to be a child prodigy, but he received good compositional knowledge. And thanks to this, at the age of 12, his first work was published: “Piano Variations on the Theme of Dressler’s March.”

Beethoven began working in a theater orchestra at the age of 11 without finishing school. Until the end of his days he wrote with errors. However, the composer read a lot and learned French, Italian and Latin without outside help.

The early period of Beethoven's life was not the most productive; in ten years (1782-1792) only about fifty works were written.

Vienna period

Realizing that he still had a lot to learn, Beethoven moved to Vienna. Here he attends composition classes and performs as a pianist. He is patronized by many music connoisseurs, but the composer behaves coldly and proudly towards them, sharply responding to insults.

This period is distinguished by its scale, two symphonies appear, “Christ on the Mount of Olives” - the famous and only oratorio. But at the same time, a disease makes itself known - deafness. Beethoven understands that it is incurable and is progressing rapidly. Out of hopelessness and doom, the composer delves into creativity.

Central period

This period dates from 1802-1012 and is characterized by the flowering of Beethoven's talent. Having overcome the suffering caused by the disease, he saw the similarity of his struggle with the struggle of the revolutionaries in France. Beethoven's works embodied these ideas of perseverance and steadfastness of spirit. They manifested themselves especially clearly in the “Eroica Symphony” (symphony No. 3), the opera “Fidelio”, “Appassionata” (sonata No. 23).

Transition period

This period lasts from 1812 to 1815. At this time, great changes were taking place in Europe; after the end of Napoleon's rule, it was going to be carried out, which contributed to the strengthening of reactionary-monarchist tendencies.

Following political changes, the cultural situation also changes. Literature and music move away from the heroic classicism familiar to Beethoven. Romanticism begins to take over the vacated positions. The composer accepts these changes and creates the symphonic fantasy “Battle of Vattoria” and the cantata “Happy Moment”. Both creations have big success from the public.

However, not all of Beethoven's works from this period are like this. Paying tribute to the new fashion, the composer begins to experiment, look for new paths and musical techniques. Many of these finds were considered ingenious.

Later creativity

Last years Beethoven's life was marked by political decline in Austria and the composer's progressive illness - deafness became absolute. Having no family, immersed in silence, Beethoven took in his nephew, but he only brought grief.

Beethoven's works of the late period are strikingly different from everything he wrote earlier. Romanticism takes over, and the ideas of struggle and confrontation between light and dark acquire a philosophical character.

In 1823, Beethoven's greatest creation (as he himself believed) was born - “Solemn Mass,” which was first performed in St. Petersburg.

Beethoven: "Fur Elise"

This work became Beethoven's most famous creation. However, during the composer's lifetime, Bagatelle No. 40 (formal title) was not widely known. The manuscript was discovered only after the composer's death. In 1865, it was found by Ludwig Nohl, a researcher of Beethoven's work. He received it from the hands of a certain woman who claimed that it was a gift. It was not possible to determine the time when the bagatelle was written, since it was dated April 27 without indicating the year. The work was published in 1867, but the original, unfortunately, was lost.

It is not known for certain who Eliza is, to whom the piano miniature is dedicated. There is even a suggestion, put forward by Max Unger (1923), that the original title of the work was “Für Teresa,” and Nohl simply misread Beethoven’s handwriting. If we accept this version as true, then the play is dedicated to the composer’s student, Teresa Malfatti. Beethoven was in love with the girl and even proposed to her, but was refused.

Despite the many beautiful and wonderful works written for the piano, Beethoven for many is inextricably linked with this mysterious and enchanting piece.

Ludwig van Beethoven - great German composer, one of the famous “Viennese classics”, conductor and pianist.

Biography

Childhood

Beethoven's father, Johann, was a singer (tenor) in the court chapel. Mother, Mary Magdalene (nee Keverich), was the daughter of a chef who worked at court. He was the eldest son in the family and had six younger brothers.

Education

His father wanted to make little Ludwig a second Mozart, and from a young age he taught him to play the violin and harpsichord. In 1780, Christian Gottlob Nefe, an organist and composer, came to Bonn. He became Beethoven's real teacher. Due to poverty, Ludwig dropped out of school, but independently learned Latin, French and Italian.

Creative path

At the age of 12, Ludwig is already working, since after the death of his grandfather the family is in need. At the same time, Nefe helps him publish his first essay.

After the death of his mother in 1887, Beethoven joined the orchestra as a violist. Wanting to continue his studies and get an education, the composer began attending university lectures in 1789. He supported the French Revolution that took place in those years and joined Freemasonry.

He is actively involved in teaching, teaching music to his many students, including Stefan Breuning, Ferdinand Ries, Karl Czerny, Theodor Leschetizky.

After meeting Haydn, Beethoven went to Vienna to take lessons from the great composer.

Haydn and Beethoven have different views on music: the teacher is frightened by the dark tonality of the student’s musical compositions. Soon Antonio Salieri became Beethoven's teacher.

Despite his almost always careless appearance: disheveled hair, shabby clothes - Beethoven conquered Vienna with his virtuoso piano playing. His character is quite complex, he is quarrelsome and has a high opinion of himself.

During the 10 years of the Viennese period, Beethoven became a popular composer. Here he wrote 20 piano sonatas, 3 piano concertos, 8 violin sonatas, many quartets and other chamber works, the oratorio “Christ on the Mount of Olives,” the First and Second Symphonies, and the ballet “The Works of Prometheus.”

But from 1796 Beethoven began to lose his hearing. He is given an incurable diagnosis - inflammation of the inner ear (tinitis). Solitude in little Heiligenstadt does not bring relief. Beethoven writes a letter, called the Heiligenstadt Testament, in which the composer describes his terrible and painful experiences about the disease.

In the last years of his life, he constantly criticized the authorities. However, it is so popular that the government does not touch it. Beethoven becomes gloomy, irritable, and uncommunicative. Almost without leaving home, he creates his most famous works (Third Symphony, opera Fidelio). The hearing leaves him completely. He communicates with family and friends exclusively using conversation notebooks.

Beethoven's liver begins to deteriorate.

Personal life

The composer's personal life was full of secrets, but it never worked out, although there were always many women around him.

In Vienna, his student was the beautiful Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, with whom the composer became seriously interested and even thought about marrying her. He dedicated his beautiful “Moonlight Sonata” to her. However, the Countess married Count Gallenberg, whom she considered the best composer.

Another of his students, the beautiful Teresa Brunswik, also became interested in Beethoven. She devoted herself to raising children and charity, but she had a long, heartfelt friendship with the composer. After Beethoven's death, a tender letter was found, the addressee of which is unknown, but many of the composer's biographers believe it was Teresa Brunswik. The letter is famous under the name “Letter to the Immortal Beloved.”

The last hope for happiness for Beethoven was Bettina Brentano, Goethe's friend, a German writer. But here, too, failure awaited him: in 1811 she married another, the writer Achim von Arnim. Happiness passed over the great composer.

Death

Beethoven died in Vienna on March 26, 1827. His coffin was escorted by over twenty thousand people to his favorite melody - the funeral mass Requiem in C minor by Luigi Cherubini.

Beethoven's major achievements

• Beethoven is rightfully a key figure in Western classical music.
• He is one of the most performed composers in the world.
• Beethoven wrote in all genres: opera, choral works, music for dramatic performances.
• Author of immortal instrumental works: overtures, violin, piano and cello sonatas, symphonies, concerts for violin and piano, quartets.
• His work had a huge influence on symphonism of the 19th and 20th centuries.
• Beethoven created a new piano style, contrasting extreme registers, making extensive use of the pedal, and using massive chord harmonies.

Important dates in Beethoven's biography

• 1770 - birth
• 1778 - little Beethoven's first performance in Cologne
• 1780 - study with Nefe
• 1782 - work as an assistant to the court organist, publication of the first composition, variations on the theme of Dressler's march
• 1887 - death of mother, position of violist in the orchestra
• 1789 - attending lectures at the university
• 1792 - beginning of the Viennese period
• 1796 - onset of illness
• 1781 - “Moonlight Sonata”
• 1803 - “Kreutzer Sonata”
• 1805 - opera “Fidelio”
• 1824 - Ninth Symphony
• 1827 - death

• Before creating another immortal masterpiece, Beethoven dipped his head in ice water. Most likely, this was the main cause of hearing loss. But the habit was so strong that the composer could not give it up until the end of his days.
• In 1822, a Hungarian boy named Liszt entered to study with Carl Czerny, a former student of Beethoven. Hearing him at a concert, Beethoven was excited by his playing and silently kissed the little pianist. Liszt kept the memory of this kiss all his life. It was this Hungarian boy, who later became a great composer, who inherited Beethoven's unique style of playing. In 1839, having arrived in Bonn and learning that the monument to Beethoven was not erected due to a lack of government money Money, Liszt was indignant for a long time, and then donated the missing amount. The monument was completed.
• On March 26, the day of Beethoven’s death, a terrible snow storm raged over Vienna and terrible lightning flashed. The dying composer suddenly stretched out on his bed, stood up, shook his fist at the sky and died.
• In 2007, Christian Reiter, a Viennese forensic medicine expert, examined Beethoven's preserved hair and concluded that the composer's body contained more than permissible norm which could have caused death. According to his assumptions, Beethoven’s attending physician Andreas Vavruch regularly pierced the patient’s peritoneum and applied lead lotions to the resulting wound.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770─1827) – a German composer and pianist who vividly represented the “classical Viennese school”, is one of the world’s most performed composers. He wrote compositions for choirs, music for dramatic performances and operas. His most significant works are considered to be concerts and sonatas for violin, cello, and piano.

Childhood

On December 16, 1770, a boy was born in Bonn, who was given the name Ludwig. The next day he was baptized in the Catholic Church of St. Remigius.

The boy's father, Johann Beethoven, was a singer who sang in the court chapel as a tenor. Ludwig's mother, Maria Magdalene (maiden name Keverich), was the daughter of a cook, her father served at the court in Koblenz. Johann and Maria married in 1767, during their marriage they had seven children, but only three survived; Ludwig was the eldest child in the family.

His paternal grandfather’s name was also Ludwig; in addition to German, Flemish blood flowed in his veins. He was also a singer, served in the same chapel where his son Johann was later taken. My musical career He graduated as bandmaster and was a very respected man.

Ludwig Beethoven's childhood years were spent in poverty, as his father drank heavily and spent almost all of his salary on booze and girls. At the same time, he wanted to raise a second Mozart from his son, and he taught him to play the violin, piano and harpsichord.

But Ludwig did not turn out to be a miracle child; he was unsure of the violin, and on the piano he did not so much master the technique of performance as he improvised.

Ludwig's father gave him lessons to his friends and colleagues; one taught the boy the violin, the other the organ.

But he was truly taught to play musical instruments by the organist and composer Christian Nefe, who arrived in Bonn in 1780. He immediately managed to discern talent in the child.

Youth

When my grandfather died, things became very difficult for the family financially. Ludwig had to stop studying at school and go to work. Already at the age of 12 he helped the court organist. And he continued his studies on his own, learned Latin, Italian and French languages, read a lot, especially loved Homer and Plutarch, Goethe, Schiller and Shakespeare.

Beethoven's first written musical works occurred at the same time. While he did not publish anything, he later revised many of his youthful works.

In 1787, Ludwig had the opportunity to visit Vienna, the musical capital of Europe. There Mozart himself listened to his improvisations, who predicted a great future for the guy.

Unfortunately, the young man was forced to return home; his mother was dying, and he was left with two younger brothers and a dissolute father.

When his mother died, Beethoven lived and worked in Bonn for another five years. Enlightened city families paid attention to the gifted young man and, thanks to his ardent nature and greed for music, Beethoven quickly became a fixture at any musical gathering.

The Breuning family especially helped the talented young composer; they encouraged him to continue his studies in Vienna.

And in 1792, Ludwig left for Vienna, where he remained until the end of his life.

Vein

Arriving in Vienna, Ludwig began to look for a teacher. Unfortunately, Mozart had died the year before. At first Beethoven studied with Haydn, then his mentor went to England and passed the student on to Albrechtsberger. Later, Ludwig began studying with Antonio Salieri.

Beethoven quickly found friends and patrons of the arts in Vienna; Prince Likhnovsky introduced the young composer to a circle where both professional and titled amateur musicians gathered. Ludwig played, amazing the listeners, and gradually the fame of a virtuoso pianist came to him.

Ludwig combined a good disposition with a very stern character. One day, while he was playing the piano, someone started talking to his neighbor. Beethoven stopped playing, saying: “I don’t play for such pigs!” And no amount of persuasion helped bring him back to the instrument.

What else distinguished him from the young people of that time was his careless appearance. He always walked around unkempt and clumsily dressed.

But neither his daring character nor his appearance prevented him from creating unique works:

• oratorio “Christ on the Mount of Olives”;
• about twenty sonatas and three piano concertos;
• First and Second Symphonies;
• eight violin sonatas;
• ballet "Creations of Prometheus".

His works were widely published and were a huge success.

Deafness, solitude, death

In 1796, Ludwig developed inflammation of the inner ear and began to lose his hearing. In despair, he retired to the small provincial town of Heiligenstadt, and even had thoughts of suicide. However, realizing how much more he could create, Ludwig drove away these nonsense from himself. During this period, he began work on the Third Symphony, which later received the name Heroic, as it was written by a deaf composer.

Due to deafness, Ludwig rarely left the house; he became gloomy and unsociable. But it was during this period that his best works were created.

Beethoven was quite amorous, but never received reciprocity in return. He dedicated his famous “Moonlight Sonata” to the young Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. He really liked this girl, and he even thought about proposing to her, but stopped in time, deciding that a deaf composer was not the most suitable part for a young beauty.

In the last years of his life, Beethoven composed noticeably less frequently. He took custody of his nephew after the death of his brother, tried in every possible way to give him a decent education, but the young man was only interested in billiards and cards. Ludwig was very worried about this.

In addition to deafness and nervousness, liver problems were added. The composer's health began to deteriorate sharply. In mid-March 1827, Ludwig's lungs became inflamed. On March 26, the composer passed away. He was buried at the Central Vienna Cemetery, 20 thousand people followed the coffin, and his favorite “Requiem” sounded.

Beethoven was lucky to be born in an era that perfectly suited his nature. This is an era rich in great social events, the main one of which is the revolutionary coup in France. The Great French Revolution and its ideals had a strong impact on the composer - both on his worldview and on his work. It was the revolution that gave Beethoven the basic material for comprehending the “dialectics of life.”

The idea of ​​heroic struggle became the most important idea in Beethoven's work, although it was far from the only one. Efficiency, an active desire for a better future, a hero in unity with the masses - this is what the composer brings to the fore. The idea of ​​citizenship and the image of the main character - a fighter for republican ideals - make Beethoven's work similar to the art of revolutionary classicism (with the heroic paintings of David, Cherubini's operas, revolutionary marching songs). “Our time needs people with a powerful spirit,” said the composer. It is significant that he dedicated his only opera not to the witty Susana, but to the courageous Leonora.

However, not only social events, but also the composer’s personal life contributed to the fact that heroic themes came to the fore in his work. Nature endowed Beethoven with the inquisitive, active mind of a philosopher. His interests have always been unusually broad, they extended to politics, literature, religion, philosophy, and natural sciences. Truly immense creative potential was opposed by a terrible illness - deafness, which could seemingly close the path to music forever. Beethoven found the strength to go against fate, and the ideas of Resistance and Overcoming became the main meaning of his life. It was they who “forged” the heroic character. And in every line of Beethoven's music we recognize its creator - his courageous temperament, unbending will, intransigence to evil. Gustav Mahler formulated this idea as follows: “The words allegedly spoken by Beethoven about the first theme of the Fifth Symphony - “So fate knocks on the door” ... for me, far from exhausting its enormous content. Rather, he could say about her: “It is I.”

Periodization of Beethoven's creative biography

• I - 1782-1792 - Bonn period. The beginning of a creative journey.
• II - 1792-1802 - Early Viennese period.
• III - 1802-1812 - Central period. Time for creative flourishing.
• IV - 1812-1815 - Transitional years.
• V - 1816-1827 - Late period.

Beethoven's childhood and early life

Beethoven's childhood and youth (until the autumn of 1792) were associated with Bonn, where he was born in December 1770 of the year. His father and grandfather were musicians. Close to the French border, Bonn was one of the centers of German enlightenment in the 18th century. In 1789, a university was opened here, among whose educational documents Beethoven’s grade book was later found.

In early childhood, Beethoven's professional education was entrusted to frequently changing, “random” teachers - acquaintances of his father, who gave him lessons in playing the organ, harpsichord, flute, and violin. Having discovered his son’s rare musical talent, his father wanted to make him a child prodigy, a “second Mozart” - a source of large and constant income. To this end, both he himself and the choir friends he invited began to technically train little Beethoven. He was forced to practice at the piano even at night; however, the young musician’s first public performances (concerts were organized in Cologne in 1778) did not live up to his father’s commercial plans.

Ludwig van Beethoven did not become a child prodigy, but he discovered his talent as a composer quite early. Had a great influence on him Christian Gottlieb Nefe, who taught him composition and playing the organ from the age of 11, is a man of advanced aesthetic and political convictions. Being one of the most educated musicians of his era, Nefe introduced Beethoven to the works of Bach and Handel, enlightened him on issues of history, philosophy, and most importantly, brought him up in the spirit of deep respect for his native German culture. In addition, Nefe became the first publisher of the 12-year-old composer, publishing one of his early works - piano variations on a theme of Dressler's march(1782). These variations were Beethoven's first surviving work. The following year three piano sonatas were completed.

By this time, Beethoven had already begun working in the theater orchestra and held the position of assistant organist in the court chapel, and a little later he also earned money by teaching music lessons in aristocratic families (due to the poverty of the family, he was forced to enter the service very early). Therefore, he did not receive a systematic education: he attended school only until he was 11 years old, wrote with errors all his life and never learned the secrets of multiplication. Nevertheless, thanks to his own perseverance, Beethoven managed to become an educated person: he independently mastered Latin, French and Italian, I constantly read a lot.

Dreaming of studying with Mozart, Beethoven visited Vienna in 1787 and met his idol. Mozart, after listening to the young man’s improvisation, said: “Pay attention to him; he will someday make the world talk about himself.” Beethoven failed to become Mozart's student: due to his mother's fatal illness, he was forced to urgently return back to Bonn. There he found moral support in the enlightened the Breuning family.

The ideas of the French Revolution were enthusiastically received by Beethoven's Bonn friends and had a strong influence on the formation of his democratic beliefs.

Beethoven's talent as a composer did not develop as rapidly as Mozart's phenomenal talent. Beethoven composed rather slowly. For 10 years of the first - Bonn period (1782-1792) 50 works were written, including 2 cantatas, several piano sonatas (now called sonatinas), 3 piano quartets, 2 trios. A large part of Bonn's creativity also consists of variations and songs intended for amateur music-making. Among them is the familiar song “Groundhog”.

Early Viennese period (1792-1802)

Despite the freshness and brightness of his youthful compositions, Beethoven understood that he needed to study seriously. In November 1792, he finally left Bonn and moved to Vienna, the largest musical center in Europe. Here he studied counterpoint and composition with I. Haydn, I. Schenk, I. Albrechtsberger And A. Salieri . At the same time, Beethoven began performing as a pianist and soon gained fame as an unsurpassed improviser and a brilliant virtuoso.

The young virtuoso was patronized by many distinguished music lovers - K. Likhnovsky, F. Lobkowitz, Russian Ambassador A. Razumovsky and others; Beethoven's sonatas, trios, quartets, and later even symphonies were first heard in their salons. Their names can be found in the dedications of many of the composer's works. However, Beethoven's manner of dealing with his patrons was almost unheard of at the time. Proud and independent, he did not forgive anyone for attempts to humiliate his human dignity. The legendary words uttered by the composer to the patron who insulted him are known: “There were and will be thousands of princes, but there is only one Beethoven.” Although he did not like to teach, Beethoven was nevertheless the teacher of K. Czerny and F. Ries in piano (both of them later won European fame) and the Archduke Rudolf of Austria in composition.

In the first Viennese decade, Beethoven wrote mainly piano and chamber music: 3 piano concertos and 2 dozen piano sonatas, 9(out of 10) violin sonatas(including No. 9 - “Kreutzerova”), 2 cello sonatas, 6 string quartets, a number of ensembles for various instruments, the ballet “Creations of Prometheus”.

With the beginning of the 19th century, Beethoven's symphonic work began: in 1800 he completed his First symphony, and in 1802 - Second. At the same time, his only oratorio, “Christ on the Mount of Olives,” was written. The first signs of an incurable disease, progressive deafness, that appeared in 1797 and the realization of the hopelessness of all attempts to treat the disease led Beethoven to a mental crisis in 1802, which was reflected in the famous document - "Heiligenstadt Testament" . The way out of the crisis was creativity: “... A little was missing for me to commit suicide,” the composer wrote. - “It was only art that held me back.”

Central period of creativity (1802-1812)

1802-12 - the time of the brilliant flowering of Beethoven's genius. His deep-rooted ideas of overcoming suffering through the power of spirit and the victory of light over darkness after a fierce struggle turned out to be consonant with the ideas of the French Revolution. These ideas were embodied in the 3rd (“Eroic”) and Fifth symphonies, in the opera “Fidelio”, in the music for J. V. Goethe’s tragedy “Egmont”, in Sonata No. 23 (“Appassionata”).

In total, the composer created during these years:

six symphonies (No. 3 to No. 8), quartets Nos. 7-11 and other chamber ensembles, the opera Fidelio, piano concertos 4 and 5, Violin Concerto, as well as the Triple Concerto for violin, cello and piano with orchestra.

Transitional years (1812-1815)

The years 1812-15 were turning points in the political and spiritual life of Europe. The period of the Napoleonic Wars and the rise of the liberation movement was followed by Congress of Vienna (1814-15), after which in domestic and foreign policy European countries Reactionary-monarchist tendencies intensified. The style of heroic classicism gave way to romanticism, which became the leading trend in literature and managed to make itself known in music (F. Schubert). Beethoven paid tribute to the victorious jubilation by creating the spectacular symphonic fantasy “The Battle of Vittoria” and the cantata “Happy Moment”, the premieres of which were timed to coincide with the Vienna Congress and brought Beethoven unprecedented success. However, other works of 1813-17 reflected a persistent and sometimes painful search for new paths. At this time, cello (No. 4, 5) and piano (No. 27, 28) sonatas, several dozen arrangements of songs of different nations for voice and ensemble, and the first vocal cycle in the history of the genre were written "To a Distant Beloved"(1815). The style of these works is experimental, with many ingenious discoveries, but not always as integral as in the period of “revolutionary classicism.”

Late period (1816-1827)

The last decade of Beethoven's life was marred both by the general oppressive political and spiritual atmosphere in Metternich's Austria and by personal adversity and upheaval. The composer's deafness became complete; from 1818, he was forced to use “conversation notebooks” in which his interlocutors wrote questions addressed to him. Having lost hope for personal happiness (the name of the “immortal beloved” to whom Beethoven’s farewell letter dated July 6-7, 1812 was addressed remains unknown; some researchers consider her to be J. Brunswick-Dame, others - A. Brentano), Beethoven accepted took care of raising his nephew Karl, the son of his younger brother who died in 1815. This led to a long-term (1815-20) legal battle with the boy's mother over sole custody rights. The capable but frivolous nephew caused Beethoven a lot of grief.

The late period includes the last 5 quartets (Nos. 12-16), “33 variations on the Diabelli waltz”, piano Bagatelles op. 126, two sonatas for cello op.102, fugue for string quartet, All these works qualitatively different from everything previous. This allows us to talk about style late Beethoven, which has a clear resemblance to the style of Romantic composers. The idea of ​​the struggle between light and darkness, central to Beethoven, becomes emphasized in his late work. philosophical sound. Victory over suffering is no longer achieved through heroic action, but through the movement of spirit and thought.

In 1823 Beethoven finished "Solemn Mass", which he himself considered his greatest work. The “Solemn Mass” was first performed on April 7, 1824 in St. Petersburg. A month later, Beethoven’s last benefit concert took place in Vienna, in which, in addition to parts from the mass, his final concert was performed. Ninth Symphony with a final chorus on the words of “Ode to Joy” by F. Schiller. The Ninth Symphony with its final call - “Embrace, millions”! - became the composer’s ideological testament to humanity and had a strong influence on symphony in the 19th and 20th centuries.

About traditions

Beethoven is usually spoken of as a composer who, on the one hand, ends the classicist era in music, and on the other, opens the way to romanticism. In general this is true, but his music does not completely coincide with the requirements of either style. The composer is so universal that no stylistic features cover the entirety of his creative appearance. Sometimes in the same year he created works that were so contrasting with each other that it was extremely difficult to recognize common features between them (for example, the 5th and 6th symphonies, which were first performed in the same concert in 1808). If we compare works created in different periods, for example, in early and mature, or mature and late, then they are sometimes perceived as creations of different artistic eras.

At the same time, Beethoven's music, for all its novelty, is inextricably linked with previous German culture. It is undeniably influenced by the philosophical lyrics of J. S. Bach, the solemn heroic images of Handel’s oratorios, Gluck’s operas, and the works of Haydn and Mozart. The musical art of other countries, primarily France, and its mass revolutionary genres, so far from the gallantly sensitive style of the 18th century, also contributed to the formation of Beethoven’s style. Its typical ornamental decorations, arrests, and soft endings are becoming a thing of the past. Many of the fanfare-march themes of Beethoven's works are close to the songs and hymns of the French Revolution. They vividly illustrate the strict, noble simplicity of the music of the composer, who loved to repeat: “It’s always simpler.”

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) - German composer, pianist, conductor.

He received his initial musical education from his father, a singer of the Bonn Court Chapel, and his colleagues. Since 1780, he was a student of K. G. Nefe, who raised Beethoven in the spirit of the German Enlightenment. From the age of 13, organist of the Bonn Court Chapel.

Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in 1770 in Bonn, near the French border. His father and grandfather were court musicians. Little Ludwig showed his musical abilities early and his father began lessons with him at the age of five, hoping to make his son, like Mozart, a prodigy, and to benefit materially from this.

The classes were chaotic. Beethoven's father was often rude, cruel, and overly demanding. He forced the boy to play the same exercises for hours. Sometimes, coming home late at night, he woke up his son and sat him down at the instrument.

Ludwig's mother was kind and affectionate, but she could not properly influence her father. So, Beethoven's childhood was difficult and joyless.

At the age of eight, Beethoven began performing in concerts. He played various instruments, tried to write music and improvised well. But systematic education and regular classes began only at the age of eleven, when Ludwig himself already worked at court as an assistant to the court organist-musician, who accompanies church services on the organ.

The organist was the talented composer Neefe, a cultured musician who was well versed in the technique of writing music and had an excellent knowledge of musical literature. Neefe loved his student very much and was not only a good teacher for him, but also a mentor and friend. It was Neefe who advised and helped Beethoven in 1787 to go to Vienna to study with Mozart.

Mozart, who was tired of visiting numerous child prodigies, did not greet Beethoven particularly warmly. But, having heard the improvisation of a seventeen-year-old boy on a topic given right away, the brilliant composer turned to his friends who were in the next room: “Pay attention to this young man - in the future the whole world will talk about him,”

Beethoven was unable to work with Mozart, as he was soon forced to return back to Bonn due to his mother's illness. Ludwig was unable to return to Vienna soon because his mother died, and he was forced to take care of the family.

Despite caring for his younger brothers and financial difficulties, Beethoven worked a lot at this time, expanding his general and musical education. He listened to lectures on philosophy at the university for some time, quickly became imbued with the advanced ideas of the time associated with the French bourgeois revolution of 1789, became familiar with the democratic ideas of the French enlighteners, and this laid the foundation for Beethoven’s republican views, thoughts about social justice, about human freedom, about the fight against tyranny.

In 1792, after the death of his father, Beethoven again went to Vienna, where he gained fame and popularity as a brilliant performer and improviser. He became a music teacher in some of the houses of Viennese nobles, and this gave him the means to live.

Beethoven had a highly developed sense of self-esteem; he acutely and painfully felt the humiliation of a court musician and therefore was often harsh towards people who insulted him with their swagger. Beethoven often emphasized that having talent is much more important and honorable than having noble birth. “There are many princes - there is only one Beethoven,” he declared to the philanthropist Prince Likhnovsky.

During these years, Beethoven wrote a lot, revealing complete maturity in his work. Some piano sonatas of this period especially stand out, in particular: No. 8 - “Pathetique”, No. 12 - sonata with a funeral march, No. 14 - “Moonlight”, the first two symphonies, and the first quartets.

Beethoven's well-being is soon disrupted by a serious illness. 3 At the age of 26, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. The treatment did not provide relief and in 1802 Beethoven began to think about suicide. But the high calling of a musician-artist, his love for art, which “should strike fire from a courageous soul” and with the help of which he could “address millions,” forced Beethoven to overcome the feeling of despair. In the so-called “Heiligenstadt Testament”, written at that time to his brothers, he says: “... a little more - and I would have committed suicide, only one thing held me back - art. Ah, it seemed impossible to me to leave the world before I I will fulfill everything to which I felt called." In another letter to his friend, he wrote: "... I want to grab fate by the throat."

The further period until 1814 was the most productive in Beethoven's work. It was during this period that he wrote the most significant works, in particular almost all the symphonies, starting with the third, “Eroica”, wrote the overtures “Egmont”, “Coriolanus”, the opera “Fidelio”, many sonatas, including the sonata “Appassionata” . After the end of the Napoleonic wars, life throughout Europe changed. A period of political reaction begins. A difficult Metternich regime is established in Austria. These events, to which were added difficult personal experiences - the death of his brother and illness, led Beethoven to a difficult mental state. During this time he wrote very little.

In 1818, Beethoven felt better and devoted himself to creativity with renewed enthusiasm, writing a number of major works, among which a special place is occupied by the 9th Symphony with chorus, “Solemn Mass” and the last quartets and piano sonatas.

Three years before Beethoven's death, friends organized a concert of his works, in which the 9th Symphony and excerpts from the "Solemn Mass" were performed. The success was enormous, but Beethoven did not hear the applause and enthusiastic screams of the audience. When one of the singers turned him to face the audience, he, seeing the general admiration of the listeners, lost consciousness from excitement. At that time Beethoven was already completely deaf. Already in 1815, during conversations, he resorted to notes.

The last years of Beethoven's life were a period of even more oppressive political reaction, which manifested itself especially sharply in Vienna. Beethoven often openly expressed his republican and democratic views, his indignation at the then order, for which he was often threatened with arrest.

Beethoven's health condition deteriorated sharply. Beethoven died in March 1827.

Based on materials from a scientific manual for teachers. schools