Ludwig Van Bethoven

Ludwig Van Bethoven was a legend and regarded as one of the greatest masters of musical construction.He was baptized December 17, 1770, no one really knows when he was born but his birthday is celebrated on December 16th beause it was customary then to baptize a child a day after he was born. He is believed to be the best and greatest composer of his time. He was the second-oldest child of the court musician and tenor singer Johann van Beethoven, and his mother was Maria Magdalena Keverich, he was born in Bonn, German. Ludwig's father drilled him thoroughly with the ambition of showcasing him as a child prodigy. Ludwig gave his first public performance as a pianist when he was eight years old. At the age of eleven ,Beethoven's first music teacher was his father Johann, who was reportedly a harsh instructor and it was told he use to hit slap him (his ears) several times if he made any mistake. Johann later engaged a friend, Tobias Pfeiffer, to preside over his son's training, and it is said Johann and his friend would at times come home late from a night of drinking to pull young Ludwig out of bed to practice until morning. He received the necessary systematic training in piano performance and composition from Christian Gottlob Neefe, organist and court musician in Bonn. Neefe helped Beethoven publish his first work: a set of keyboard variations. In 1787, the young Beethoven traveled to Vienna for the first time, in hopes of studying with Wolfgang Ammadeus Mozart is not clear whether he succeeded in meeting Mozart, or if he did whether Mozart was willing to accept him as a pupil; but unfortunately the declining health of Beethoven's mother (she was dying of tuberculosis) forced him to return home after only about two weeks in Vienna. The only person in his family with whom he had developed a strong and loving relationship passed away on July 17th 1787 when he was 16. Due to his father's worsening alcohol addiction, Beethoven was responsible for raising his two younger brothers.

Around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. He suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to perceive and appreciate music; he would also avoid conversation, his hearing loss became profound: there is a well-attested story that, at the end of the premiere of his Ninth symphony he had to be turned around to see the tumultuous applause of the audience; hearing nothing, he began to weep. Beethoven’s

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