I already wrote articles about two famous people that I look up to. Now I have to write one about a famous musician, known worldwide, to whom I have the utmost respect for, Ludwig van Beethoven.
Ok, so most of you may find this kind of weird, being used to today's rock bands and other types of modern music. But if you ask me for the definition of the word “music”, I wouldn't hand you a dictionary, I would make you listen to one of Beethoven's compositions. To me, this man was outstanding, not only for the excellence of his work, but also for the struggles he faced during his life. He is widely considered as one of the best (if not the best) musicians who ever lived. He is also considered by many as a musical genius.
In my opinion, I agree with the first remark. As for the second, we could have some doubts. You see, as opposed to Mozart, Beethoven had to write, re-write, think, correct and spend hours working on his compositions until he got them right. All Mozart needed was a desk to work on, a paper and pen, and he would write down masterpieces of music, from the top of his head, without making a single mistake, as if he were writing a letter to a friend. In this case, we shouldn't really consider Beethoven as a genius, because he didn't have the natural talent in writing music that Mozart had. Also, Mozart started composing at the age of just four years whereas Beethoven began developing his musical skills when he was around 8.
However, if we put those arguments to one side and concentrate on the final results, Beethoven's compositions, can we not say that they were the work of a true genius? Just listen to any one of his symphonies; do you think anyone could be able to do that? I honestly don't think so. Yes, it took Beethoven a lot more time and more practice than what it took Mozart to make a brilliant piece of music, but when you look at the final result, wasn't it all worthwhile? If you look at it from this perspective you could really say “Practice makes Perfect”... and Amen to that.
As for his life, we can say he had his ups and downs like everybody else. His father was his first music teacher, and took him around Europe to play for rich aristocrats. Unfortunately, the young Beethoven wasn't as talented as Mozart, and didn't entertain people much with his music. His father used to beat Mozart and was also a heavy drinker. He would sometimes come home very late at night with a friend, completely drunk, and used to take Beethoven out of bed to make him play the piano. When Ludwig was 16 his mother died of tuberculosis and he was left to take care of his two younger brothers. In 1792 he moved to Vienna, where he started developing his music skills further under instructions of famous musicians such as Antonio Salieri and maybe even Mozart himself. His life saw another tragedy at around 1801, when Beethoven began to lose his hearing. He suffered a rare form of tinnitus, which caused a “roaring” in his ears. His loss of hearing resulted in Beethoven falling into a depression, and even considering suicide. However, at around 1816, Beethoven overcame his problems and began composing again. It was during this period of his career, that he composed his final symphony, probably the greatest of all his compositions, featuring the famous “Ode to Joy”. His music generally depicted scenes of struggle and tension, followed by peace and glorification.
Now, hoping that you have recovered from the brief history lesson, I would like to give you my opinion. As I said before, what amazed me about Beethoven is not just his music, but also his life. The man recovered from a serious depression, got back to work (even though completely deaf) and composed one of the greatest pieces of music ever made. His determination and his courage are something that I admire very much.
About his music, what was so special about it? Well, apart from all the stuff that a music teacher would tell you about Beethoven introducing new methods in the structure of symphonies, expanding the orchestra, using odd chords; you don't need to know all that stuff to find out what was so special about his music. Just listen to his music. I have never heard a type of music as emotionally and musically powerful as Beethoven's. As I mentioned before, his music often depicted peace and joy after a period of struggle, which in my opinion, could reflect the struggles he faced in his life.
In conclusion, I would like to point out some pieces of his music which I really enjoyed and I really think define Beethoven as one of music's most prodigious sons. Here are some bits of music which I found just amazing and powerful, and that I hope you will enjoy as much as I did.
1) 5th Symphony, Final part of the 1st Movement.
2) Fur Elise
3) “The Pastoral”
4) “The Moonlight Sonata”
5) 9th Symphony, Last Movement (“The Ode to Joy”)
Ok, so most of you may find this kind of weird, being used to today's rock bands and other types of modern music. But if you ask me for the definition of the word “music”, I wouldn't hand you a dictionary, I would make you listen to one of Beethoven's compositions. To me, this man was outstanding, not only for the excellence of his work, but also for the struggles he faced during his life. He is widely considered as one of the best (if not the best) musicians who ever lived. He is also considered by many as a musical genius.
In my opinion, I agree with the first remark. As for the second, we could have some doubts. You see, as opposed to Mozart, Beethoven had to write, re-write, think, correct and spend hours working on his compositions until he got them right. All Mozart needed was a desk to work on, a paper and pen, and he would write down masterpieces of music, from the top of his head, without making a single mistake, as if he were writing a letter to a friend. In this case, we shouldn't really consider Beethoven as a genius, because he didn't have the natural talent in writing music that Mozart had. Also, Mozart started composing at the age of just four years whereas Beethoven began developing his musical skills when he was around 8.
However, if we put those arguments to one side and concentrate on the final results, Beethoven's compositions, can we not say that they were the work of a true genius? Just listen to any one of his symphonies; do you think anyone could be able to do that? I honestly don't think so. Yes, it took Beethoven a lot more time and more practice than what it took Mozart to make a brilliant piece of music, but when you look at the final result, wasn't it all worthwhile? If you look at it from this perspective you could really say “Practice makes Perfect”... and Amen to that.
As for his life, we can say he had his ups and downs like everybody else. His father was his first music teacher, and took him around Europe to play for rich aristocrats. Unfortunately, the young Beethoven wasn't as talented as Mozart, and didn't entertain people much with his music. His father used to beat Mozart and was also a heavy drinker. He would sometimes come home very late at night with a friend, completely drunk, and used to take Beethoven out of bed to make him play the piano. When Ludwig was 16 his mother died of tuberculosis and he was left to take care of his two younger brothers. In 1792 he moved to Vienna, where he started developing his music skills further under instructions of famous musicians such as Antonio Salieri and maybe even Mozart himself. His life saw another tragedy at around 1801, when Beethoven began to lose his hearing. He suffered a rare form of tinnitus, which caused a “roaring” in his ears. His loss of hearing resulted in Beethoven falling into a depression, and even considering suicide. However, at around 1816, Beethoven overcame his problems and began composing again. It was during this period of his career, that he composed his final symphony, probably the greatest of all his compositions, featuring the famous “Ode to Joy”. His music generally depicted scenes of struggle and tension, followed by peace and glorification.
Now, hoping that you have recovered from the brief history lesson, I would like to give you my opinion. As I said before, what amazed me about Beethoven is not just his music, but also his life. The man recovered from a serious depression, got back to work (even though completely deaf) and composed one of the greatest pieces of music ever made. His determination and his courage are something that I admire very much.
About his music, what was so special about it? Well, apart from all the stuff that a music teacher would tell you about Beethoven introducing new methods in the structure of symphonies, expanding the orchestra, using odd chords; you don't need to know all that stuff to find out what was so special about his music. Just listen to his music. I have never heard a type of music as emotionally and musically powerful as Beethoven's. As I mentioned before, his music often depicted peace and joy after a period of struggle, which in my opinion, could reflect the struggles he faced in his life.
In conclusion, I would like to point out some pieces of his music which I really enjoyed and I really think define Beethoven as one of music's most prodigious sons. Here are some bits of music which I found just amazing and powerful, and that I hope you will enjoy as much as I did.
1) 5th Symphony, Final part of the 1st Movement.
2) Fur Elise
3) “The Pastoral”
4) “The Moonlight Sonata”
5) 9th Symphony, Last Movement (“The Ode to Joy”)
