Ludwig Van Beethoven is considered to be one of the greatest composers in history. He is well known for many musical pieces, but these two in particular: “Symphony No. 9” and “Sonata Quasi una Fantasia”—or, as it is more commonly called, “Moonlight Sonata.” He lived a unique and somewhat strange life that is fascinating to follow, and he wrote music that was revolutionary for its time, and is still relevant today. Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, in 1770. He began his career in music at a young age, at the severe encouragement of his physically-abusive father. It is even speculated that his father’s abuse aided his future hearing loss in some way. He left home at only seventeen and went to the capitol of music: Vienna, Austria. In Vienna, he met another legendary, young composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The two only met the once, as Beethoven returned to Bonn when his mother fell ill and died, and Mozart died before Beethoven made it back to Vienna. …show more content…
For a man who composed and performed music as his livelihood, this was truly devastating. He even contemplated suicide as early as 1802, but all the unwritten music still inside his head kept him going. By the time he was in his fifties, he was completely deaf. He continued to compose and even conduct his music. All his attempts to conduct his own music in concert were laughable, yet he continuously insisted that he conduct some of his own concerts. Despite this, during one of his performances, the audience gave him a standing ovation. Since Beethoven could not hear the applause, someone from the orchestra had to turn him around so he could see the audience standing and