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What Are Beethoven's Major Accomplishments

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Ludwig Van Beethoven was a German composer born in 1770. Through his success at combining tradition, exploration, and personal expression, he came to be regarded as the dominant musical figure of the 19th century. Beethoven’s works have inspired other musicians and has popularly been enjoyed among wider audiences. Since Beethoven never claimed the meaning behind his music, it forced those who performed his music to come up of a meaning of their own. Gradually the performers came to the conclusion that it was him expressing his personality because they were struggling to come to terms with the meaning behind his music. Now his music is understood as an autobiographical statement. It chronicles him coming to terms with his deafness gradually …show more content…

His greatest achievement was being able to raise instrumental music, previously considered inferior to vocal, to the highest degree of art. During the 18th century, music, being fundamentally original, was ranked inferior to that of literature and painting. Its highest manifestations were seen to be those in which it portrayed a text, such as an opera, oratorio, or cantata for example. A number of factors slowly came together for the purpose of enlightening a gradual change of outlook. The factors included the instrumental expertise of the Mannheim Orchestra, which contributed to the evolution of the symphony, the works of Haydn and Mozart, and superior to all, the example of Ludwig Van Beethoven made possible the late Romantic proclamation of the English essayist and critic Walter Pater stating, “All arts aspire to the condition of music.” Subsequently to Beethoven, it was no longer possible to speak of music solely as “the art of pleasing sounds.” His instrumental works integrate a forceful strength of feeling with a formerly unimagined perfection of design. Ludwig Van Beethoven conveyed the design to a further point of development than any of his predecessor. However, two characteristics single out Beethoven strongly from other composers during the time period. One of the two characteristics is a single use of differing dynamics and cheifly the device of crescendo ushering to a sudden piano. The other characteristic, most evident in the piano sonatas, is the measured infiltration of techniques obtained from improvisation, unforeseen accents, and rhythmical vagueness designed to keep the audience asking questions, and principally the use of apparently trivial, almost senseless material from which foreshadowing the ultimate goal of producing a compelling musical argument (Knapp, R. L., & Budden, J. M. Ludwig van Beethoven. Retrieved from

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Mozart, however, changed the mold. He incorporated an emotional side into his works and emphasized music based off of sound, notes, tone, and pitch as a form of art outside of religion (Brown 55). Music became more broad and open to all. In addition, Mozart had extraordinary performance skills thus, leading to his honor as an embodiment of classical movement (53). “Despite Mozart’s uncouthness and immaturity, he produced one work after another that seemed divinely sponsored as they transcended his own personality.

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Ludwig van Beethoven was a famous composer of the eighteenth-century classical music and the nineteenth-century romanticism style of music. Beethoven is still remembered for his spectacular pieces in modern times. Beethoven’s music led others to take the art of music as a serious topic. His symphonies and sonatas were revolutionary to the music world, because of this, many people today are not aware of his deafness. His deafness eventually caused him to make sacrifices in his music career.

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Music has always had an ability to make the listeners feel what the composer felt when they composed the music. But it was not until the Romantic Era that this idea of expression really took off during, after Beethoven paved a new way for composers to express themselves. The rise of programed music like symphonies began to break the Classical traditions of music for entertainment. One of the more prominent figures of the Romantic Era that really expressed himself in his music was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky’s wide and diverse musical repertoire made him into one of the most celebrated composer in history.

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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).

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At a premature time in Beethoven’s life his father, Johann van Beethoven, decided he wanted his son to become a celebrated virtuoso, and began teaching him how to play several musical instruments. His father’s lessons were severe and rigorous which, more often than not, fringed on the line of barbarism. Under his father’s tutorage Beethoven, for even the slightest of indecisions or error, was beaten, locked in a cellar, flogged, or forced to practice without a sufficient amount of sleep. Beethoven, although adept in his musical talents, was not as well versed in the academic aspect; he struggled with numbers and spelling throughout his schooling and most of his life, but was marginally thought to be a mediocre student. Soon though, his calling for music surpassed even his need for education, and he left school at age 10.

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There are many differences and similarities between the fourth movement of Beethven’s Fifth symphony and the fourth movement of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, whether it is the orchestrastion of the pieces, the dynamics, form and period. Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most well known Classical composers in music history, born into a family of musicians and was seen by his father as a profitable prodigy and had several of his piano compositions published by the age of twelve. He was the first successful freelance composer and changed the way music was composed and performed as he composed pieces that defied the standard ways of composing during the Classical era by using an expanded form structure, larger orchestra, dramatic themes and replaced minuet and trio with scherzo and trio making the third movements of his symphonies faster than traditionally performed. He also treated instruments as individuals instead of grouping them together such as the bass instruments which originally formed the Basso continuo. Beethoven experimented with the ways an instrument could be played , creating new sounds, and would have large pitch ranges between instruments which aided in the expressiveness and drama of his pieces.

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Beethoven is well known for his deafness and his ability to still create many compositions although he could no longer hear. His deafness depressed him immensely shown by a letter written to a one of his friends named Franz Wegler, in which he wrote, “I must confess that I lead a miserable life. For almost two years I have ceased to attend any social functions, just because I find it impossible to say to people: I am deaf.” (“Ludwig van Beethoven Bio”, 2017). Although he was going deaf from 1803 to 1812 he continued to write

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However, one day one of his friends reintroduced Daniel to the classical sounds of Beethoven, and immediately being attracted to such music, Daniel was forever changed into a rebel, or so he thought. Listening to music in secret, it was unbeknownst to Daniel, that he wasn’t the only one that listened to classical music. As he grew older and developed his own piano playing abilities, Daniel met others like: himself, composers, teachers, and other musicians, who were inspired by classical music, just as he was. With the knowledge and support offered by these confidants and

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Beethoven showed his musical talents at his young age. In 1792 he moved to Vienna and spent rest of his live there. He studied with Haydn and soon he gained his reputation as a virtuoso pianist that often showing his ability of improvisation during performance. Beethoven’s career as a composer can be categorized into three periods: (1) the peak of Classical period where most of his works shown influences of his teacher Joseph Haydn, as well as influences from other great musicians of all time such as Mozart.

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