Tennessee State University
Sounds of the Unhearing:
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Hailey Miller
Music Appreciation
Professor Williams
30 November 2017
Hailey Miller
Music Appreciation
November 16, 2017
Professor Williams
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was a German composer and pianist he was a pivotal figure between the Classical and Romantic era and remains one of the most influential composers ever. Beethoven’s personal life including the struggle of losing his hearing eventually becoming completely deaf. Some of his most renowned works were composed later when he was unable to hear. Beethoven gave a deeper meaning and more expression to his pieces unlike no other of his time. “Beethoven changed the way people thought about composing, and about how to play piano with more color and more expression.” (Tarchalski and Helen 70). At the young age four Beethoven had his first music lesson.
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He started to compose symphonies that were in sonata form. Sonata from is one of the favorite compositional forms of the classical period. This form of music included a single song or movement with instrumental music and three main parts (Anderson). He also dealt with concerto and quartet and combined music and voices in new ways no one had ever heard before.
While he was composing all his greatest works he was having a big problem of his own. Around 1796 Beethoven began going deaf and he did not want to accept the horrible fact. He could barely hear when people spoke to him, let alone his own symphonies, this was a horrible experience. He wrote a heart-breaking letter to his closest friend explain the whole story to him. He couldn’t bear to tell anyone this in person. His life was miserable, and he made it openly apparent, he began going mad. He began to argue with everyone around him and everyone suspected something was wrong with