What Are Beethoven's Major Accomplishments

Ludwig Van Beethoven was the child of of Johann and Maria Magdalena Van Beethoven. He was born in Germany in December 1770. HIs birthday is questioned because there is no actual record of it. HIs baptism was on December 17th and at that time in history normally a baby was baptized the day after they were born. Therefore some believe his birthday was on December 16th. He is one of the great music composers in the Classical and Romantic eras. He followed in his grandfather’s and father’s musical footsteps as they were both singers in the archbishop choir. The death of his grandfather proved to be problematic for the family, they became poorer and his father turned to alcohol. Beethoven was forced to leave school at the age of 11 and by the

He left Bonn again to study music with Joseph Haydn in Vienna. He struggled as a composer and eventually realized that Haydn wasn’t helping his career. Some thought that Beethoven’s works were too complicated, however, he wanted his works to be unique. Even though he began to lose his hearing he continued to pursue his musical career. He wrote a lot of his music turning this time frame, it scared him that he was losing his hearing. He couldn’t hear the notes but wrote some of his greatest pieces of music after going deaf. He never married or had children. Some believed that his lack of having a wife or kids helped his music. He spent a lot of time fighting for custody of his nephew so his music took a back seat. Although he did gain custody of his nephew Karl their relationship was a difficult one. So once again he threw himself into his music and created some of his greatest works sending his nephew to boarding school. On March 26, 1827 Beethoven died after many surgeries, infections, and failing kidneys. He changed the way music was composed. He used his own format and this opened the door for composers after him to not follow such strict guidelines. This would be his legacy a way of writing music that was outside

As the revolution ended the Romantic period of music began. This era brought on a new way to think about how music should sound. They used more expression during this time period and relied on their experiences to write music. Beethoven and others were influenced by things going on around. The French Revolution changed the attitudes of society, especially for music and musicians. Beethoven was considered by many a child of the French Revolution. He was one of the first to start writing differently. The strictness of classical music changed during this time. His music, just as others from this time period, would show a greater amount of emotion. In Beethoven’s music his personality was very strong. He used the tragedies of his life to write great compositions. This became a way of writing for this time period. Music changed from balanced and simple approach during the classical period to have more of a personal style of self expression. Music with words was favored before this time period but the instrumental music was taking on a life of its own. Beethoven’s Third Symphony was actually written for Napoleon Bonaparte, however, he crossed out the dedication to him after his actions in the French Revolution and changed it to in memory of a great man. He wrote religious music and at a time when traditional religion was being questioned he wrote some of the most influential pieces of music in history. People were