Ludwig van Beethoven
(Bonn, 1770 - Vienna, 1827) German composer.

One of the supreme creative artists our civilisation has produced, he was also the most influential composer in history. Nearly all subsequent developments in "classical" music owe something to his work, and so does the modern concept of the artist's role in society. Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, (the exact date is not known, but as he was baptized on December 17 his birthday is usually celebrated on the 16th). His father, a court singer eager to exploit his son's precocious and prodigious musical talent, held him to a rigorous programme of musical discipline. This did not prevent the young Beethoven from developing an intense love of music, but dominating, all-consuming love also rendered exceedingly difficult his friendships, his love affairs and even his everyday dealings with the outside world. His problems were exacerbated by a hearing loss that he began to notice when he was in his late 20s and that made him seriously consider suicide for a time. When his deafness became acute, it isolated him even further from other people. The isolation, however, allowed him - forced him, perhaps - to discover and explore new approaches to compositional and instrumental techniques, and created in him a belief that music ought to help light the path along which humanity was groping, from misery toward happiness, from ignorance toward knowledge. Indeed, he was one of the first major artists to believe that art had a moral mission, in a humanistic rather than a specifically religious sense; he transmuted his mistrust of individual human beings into an overwhelmingly affirmative love of humankind. His nine symphonies, 16 string quartets, 32 piano sonatas and dozens upon dozens of other major compositions constitute not only an oeuvre whose richness is paralleled by few other creative geniuses, but also a spiritual autobiography of their creator. Beethoven spent most of his active life in and near Vienna, where he was an eccentric although much respected and far from unloved figure, and he died there on 26 March 1827.

Harvey Sachs

Biographical notes (c) 1996, reprinted by permission of Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg

A selection from his works:

Orchestral: 9 Symphonies (the best known being the Eroica, the Fifth, the Pastoral and the Choral), Wellington's Victory, Overtures, Triple Concerto, 5 Piano Concertos (including No. 5 Emperor), Violin Concerto, 2 Violin Romances.

Chamber: Septet in E flat, Sextets (Op. 71 & 81b), Piano Quintet, 16 String Quartets, Grosse Fugue for String Quartet, 12 Piano Trios, 10 Violin Sonatas, 5 Cello Sonatas.

Instrumental solo: 32 Piano Sonatas, Bagatelles, Ecossaises, Diabelli Variations, Eroica Variations, Variations on Rule Britannia, Variations on Paisiello's Nel cor non più mi sento, Für Elise

Vocal: Welsh & Irish Songs (folksong arrangements), Lieder.

Choral: Mass in C, Missa solemnis, Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, Christus am Ölberge.

Stage music: The Creatures of Prometheus (incidental music), Egmont (incidental music), King Stephen (incidental music), Fidelio (opera).