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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]
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:
See also:
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Ludwig is 38 degrees from Zendaya Coleman, 37 degrees from Sting Sumner, 33 degrees from Josh Brolin, 39 degrees from Timothée Chalamet, 37 degrees from José Ferrer, 34 degrees from Frank Herbert, 28 degrees from Richard Jordan, 34 degrees from David Lynch, 27 degrees from Virginia Madsen, 37 degrees from Charlotte Rampling, 40 degrees from Patrick Stewart and 33 degrees from Denis Villeneuve on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
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Categories: Germany, Featured Connections | Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen | Wien, Österreich | Zentralfriedhof, Wien, Österreich | Classical Composers | Y-DNA Haplogroup I-M253 | Germany, Notables | German Roots | Notables
My Y-DNA results: https://www.mitoydna.org/public/YKit?MtyID=T16827
https://discover.familytreedna.com/y-dna/I-FT396000/notable
https://blog.familytreedna.com/beethoven-first-dna-test/
https://www.mitoydna.org/public/YKit?MtyID=T18467
Anyone have an idea on how I could compare my Y-DNA to his?
Steve
I have posted an image of an excerpt from Ludwig van Beethoven's baptism. Beethoven had asked Franz Gerhard Wegeler, professor of medicine in Bonn, to arrange this certificate for him because he needed it in connection with his intention to marry Therese Malfatti, for whom Beethoven is believed to have written the Bagatelle in 1810. Für Elise' has composed. It is written in French (because Bonn belonged to France at the time). It mentions the date of baptism (December 17, 1770), the names of Beethoven (Ludovicus) and those of his father (Joannes van Beethoven) and mother (Helena Keverichs) and those of his godfather (Laedevicus van Beethoven, his grandfather) and godmother ( Gertrudis Müller's dicta Baums, the neighbour). The document was issued at the town hall of Bonn, June 2, 1810, confirming his baptism on December 17, 1770.
I think this is the first direct source for this profile.
Met vriendelijke groet, Joop
Published: March 22, 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.041
we conclude that the most plausible explanation for our observations entails that at least one extra-pair paternity (EPP) event occurred on Beethoven’s direct paternal line, between the conception of Aert van Beethoven’s son Hendrik in Kampenhout, Belgium, in c.1572, and the conception of Ludwig van Beethoven seven generations later in 1770, in Bonn, Germany. ... As a result, we are unable to conclusively prove or disprove relatedness between Beethoven and the descendants of Karl van Beethoven (his nephew).
mitochondrial haplogroup H1b1+16,362C with a private mutation at C16,176T
I1a-Z139 Y chromosome haplogroup.
edited by Patrick O'Keefe
P.S. I've removed the reference to Bach.
edited by [Living Kelts]