Ludwig van Beethoven (bef. 1770 - 1827)

Born before 17 Dec 1770 in Bonn, Kurfürstentum Köln, Heiliges Römisches Reich

Ancestors

Died 26 Mar 1827 after age 56 in Wien, Niederösterreich, Kaisertum Österreich

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Biography

Ludwig van Beethoven is Notable.

Origins and Family

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany and was baptised there on 17 December 1770^[1] (see extract in attached images). He was believed to be the grandson of Lodewijk van Beethoven (1712-1773), a musician from Mechelen in the Southern Netherlands (now part of Belgium), who at the age of twenty moved to Bonn. However, DNA testing of Ludwig's hair and comparison to several documented van Beethoven cousins has determined that there was a non-paternal event between Ludwig and his ancestor Aert van Beethoven (abt.1535-abt.1608); some speculate that his grandfather Lodewijk was not his father Johann's biological father.^[2][3]

Ludwig's father, Johann van Beethoven, was a court musician and harsh disciplinarian, who started Ludwig with his first music lessons. Johann in later years suffered from alcoholism. He had married Maria Magdalena Keverich in 1767.^[4] She was the daughter of Johann Heinrich Keverich, who had been the head chef at the court of the Archbishopric of Trier. She was a dour, earnest woman, who gave birth to seven children, four of whom died young.^[5] Besides Ludwig, the only ones to survive childhood were his younger brothers Nikolaus Johann and Kaspar Anton Karl, both of whom are known by their last given names. Nikolaus Johann was baptized on 2 October 1776.^[6]

Kaspar Anton Karl was baptized on 8 April 1774.^[7] He was not well liked, and biographer Jan Swafford, writing in Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph, described Karl as a “slowly unfolding disaster.”^[8] He and Ludwig however were close, and Karl took over the handling of Ludwig's affairs as Ludwig's deafness increased. Swafford writes, “Carl had the family impatience and quick temper, with little of Ludwig’s intelligence and still less of his talent.” Music publishers dreaded negotiations with Karl. Beethoven’s student Ferdinand Ries called him a “terribly coarse man,” noting that “for the sake of a single ducat, Carl breaks 50 promises, and as a result makes bitter enemies for his brother.”

In 1802, Ludwig retired to Heiligenstadt, a small town north of Vienna, in an attempt to slow his encroaching deafness. During his stay he penned the Heiligenstadt Testament, an unsent letter to his brothers describing his torment. He also agreed to compose the three Sonatas, Opus 31 Nos. 1-3 for the Zurich publisher Nägeli. Meanwhile, Karl planned to sell the sonatas to a Leipzig publisher, evidently for a higher fee. When the composer resisted and stood by his original agreement, it caused such friction that the brothers were seen slugging it out on a street in Heiligenstadt. Ries chronicled the “violent” episode, adding, “Next day he gave me the sonatas, to send them immediately to Zurich.”

It is theorized Ludwig's childhood was not joyous, and as his deafness progressed, his adult years were also not very happy. He never married or had children.

Ludwig died on 26 March 1827 in Vienna, Austria. His funeral procession on 29 March 1827 in Vienna was attended by an estimated 10,000 people. He was buried in the Währing cemetery, north-west of Vienna. His remains were exhumed for study in 1863 and moved to Vienna's Zentralfriedhof, where they were reburied in a grave near Schubert's.^[1]

Music and Career

Ludwig van Beethoven, who became one of the Western world's all-time favorite composers, got a strong start, but not a happy one, when he was taught music by his demanding, alcoholic father, who had been inspired by the example of the child prodigy Mozart 15 years earlier.

Beethoven is often seen as the transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic styles of music. For those who are not very familiar with classical music: For Classical, think of Haydn and Mozart, of "pleasing sounds" according to the Britannica article linked to this profile; for Romantic, think Brahms—much grander and more passionate. According to some accounts, his music shocked his contemporaries, which might surprise us today.

It is well-known that Beethoven grew deaf (though not completely) beginning in his thirties, a tragic fate for someone so musically brilliant. Perhaps less well-known was his irascible personality, sometimes slovenly demeanor and household, and wild appearance especially later during his lifetime. He never married, though there are records suggesting that he would have liked to.

It is interesting to note the times that Beethoven lived through—the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era.

Beethoven wrote some of the most beautiful music ever created, including his nine symphonies, piano sonatas, and piano concertos. His Third, Sixth, and Ninth Symphonies are often noted as examples. Here are a few YouTube links:

• Für Elise. This is a short, well-known piece; here it is played faster than in some versions.
• Seventh Symphony, Second Movement.
• How a Great Symphony Was Written – Leonard Bernstein Talks About the First Movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. This is a charming lecture by a young Leonard Bernstein on Beethoven's composition of the First Movement of his Fifth Symphony.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Wikipedia: Ludwig van Beethoven
2. ↑ https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)00181-1
3. ↑ DNA From Beethoven’s Hair Unlocks Medical and Family Secrets. In: The New York Times, 22 Mar 2023
4. ↑ Wikipedia: Johann van Beethoven
5. ↑ Wikipedia: Maria Magdalena van Beethoven
6. ↑ Wikipedia: Nikolaus Johann van Beethoven
7. ↑ Wikipedia: Kaspar Anton Karl van Beethoven
8. ↑ Swafford, Jan. Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014

See also:

• Kerman, Joseph, Alan Tyson, Scott G. Burnham, Douglas Johnson, and William Drabkin. Beethoven, Ludwig van at Grove Music Online. 2001. Accessed 30 Sep 2021, Oxford Music Online. [$]
• Wikidata: Item Q255, de:Wikipedia
• Britannica.com: Ludwig van Beethoven. German Composer
• The Family of Beethoven. In: The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, Vol. 18, No. 413 (Jul. 1, 1877), pp. 327-329
• Ludwig van Beethoven on Find A Grave: Memorial #9528924. Retrieved 25 Sep 2016.
• U.S. News & World Report, 31 August 1992, p. 89
• https://www.exploreclassicalmusic.com/beethoven-family/#:~:text=His%20father%2C%20Johann%20van%20Beethoven%2C%20was%20a%20court,seven
• http://www.theomolberg.de/Beethoven/beethoven-frm3.htm
• http://www.theomolberg.de/frameBeethoven.html
• http://www.theo-molberg.de/Beethoven.html
• Ludwig van Beethoven, Grave of Honor, Vienna Central Cemetery, Vienna, Austria. Personally photographed by Michael Noya, 29 May 2023.
• Ludwig is mentioned in the book 'BOOSEY & HAWKES: THE PUBLISHING STORY' written by Helen Wallace.'Boosey & Hawkes, the Publishing Story' by Helen Wallace-1
• Beth Britten's biography of her brother Benjamin Britten the composer, entitled 'My Brother Benjamin', published by The Kensal Press in 1986 (ISBN 0-946041-40-7), includes extensive family trees. Hundreds of friends, professional connections and people in the 'music world' are also mentioned in the text.'My Brother Benjamin' by his sister Beth Britten
• 'Virginia Woolf' a biography by her nephew Quentin Bell, published by The Hogarth Press, Pimlico, London in 1996. ISBN 0 7126 7450 0, includes extensive family trees. Hundreds of friends, professional connections and people in the 'Bloomsbury set' are also mentioned in the text.'Virginia Woolf' a biography by her nephew Quentin Bell

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCUfBFX5AD4