Ludvig van Beethoven was born in December 1770,
in Bonn, Germany.
He studied piano and violin with his dad
from a very young age.
His dad Johann, was like,
"Oh damn!
Look at how successful Leopold Mozart got
just from having 2 prodigy kids!"
He even lied about Ludwig’s age on the concert posters,
just to make him look more prodigy.
You think only Asian mums can...
KUNG PAO YOUR CHICKEN,
or...
MAPO YOUR TOFU?
Well,
Johann van Beethoven started the trend
way back in the 18th century.
He was an abusive alcoholic.
Nein, nein!
- *groans in pain* - Out of tune!
- *groans in pain* - You never practice!
- Argh! - I need to make money!
Uh...
Someone please call the Child Protective Services.
When he was 16, he went to Vienna
because he wanted Mozart to be his senpai.
No one knows if they had actually met,
because Ludwig had to go home,
'cause his mother got sick.
After his mother died,
his father's drinking problem got worse,
so he had to take up the responsibility
of supporting the family.
Unfortunately in order to do that,
he decided to join the viola gang.
Press E# to pay respect.
At 1792, he moved to Vienna,
and his first teacher there was a dude
who wrote this Surprise Symphony.
He also started cultivating patrons.
How it works is basically you have to compose or perform
whatever and whenever your patrons want,
and you'll get financial support in return.
Yeah, basically like a sugar daddy.
One of the most important woman in his life
was a student of his called Josephine.
Despite that it was not socially acceptable
for noble people to marry commoners,
Josephine and Ludwig were in a very close relationship.
He wrote her numerous passionate love letters,
and she's believed to be the addressee of
a mysterious love letter,
addressed to his "immortal beloved".
Historians think there may have been
another important woman in his life called Elise,
but her identity remains unknown.
Yup, everyone plays it.
Many of his piano sonatas are also considered
must-learns for piano students today.
If you walk past practice rooms in music unis,
chances are you’ll hear a handful of pianists
crying and screaming while learning his
Pathetique or Moonlight.
At the end of the 18th century,
Ludwig had begun to realize that
he was gradually losing his hearing.
(I can't hear you!)
He moved to a small town in Austria called Heiligenstadt
as recommended by his doctor.
While he was there,
he wrote a famous letter to his brothers:
"Also, by the way,
I really wanted to kill myself because of this.
But I feel like I have so much art in me
that I need to present to the world before I die,
so I didn't."
In early 1804,
Beethoven finished composing his 3rd Symphony,
which marks the transition between
Classicism and Romanticism in many aspects.
Yeah, he's kind of like the daddy of romanticism.
The first movement alone,
is almost the length of an entire classical Symphony.
Foreseeing the YouTube watch time game there.
This is why we say Beethoven was way ahead of his time.
He also started to move away from the
conventional structures set by the boomers before him
by introducing a long coda at the end of the 1st movement.
Instead of using the coda to quickly wrap up the movement,
this bloke used it to further develop and explore themes.
People at his time thought his symphony was alright,
but it was too long and seemed endless.
Thinking he was a hero in the French Revolution
for overthrowing monarchy,
Beethoven dedicated this symphony to Napoleon.
But he soon learned,
that Napoleon had crowned himself king.
Beethoven was so mad,
he scratched out the title violently.
Soon after the completion of Eroica,
Beethoven started drafting what would eventually
become this really obscure symphony
that you probably haven’t heard of.
It’s definitely not regarded as the most recognizable
musical motif in human history.
He began to compose his 9th symphony at 1822.
He was like,
"What crazy stuff haven't I done yet?
Ah, maybe use a chorus
and vocal soloists in a symphony."
By this time he had pretty much gone completely deaf,
but he still insisted to conduct the premiere himself.
As recalled by violinist Joseph Böhm:
"Beethoven himself conducted, that is,
he stood in front of a conductor's stand
and threw himself back and forth like a madman.
At one moment he stretched to his full height,
at the next he crouched down to the floor,
he flailed about with his hands and feet
as though he wanted to play all the instruments
and sing all the chorus parts."
He was a few bars off
from what the musicians are playing.
So he was still waving his arms when the music ended.
3 years after the premiere of his 9th symphony,
Beethoven had died from illness at the age of 56.
Later in history,
some other prominent composers also died
after writing their 9th symphony,
or while penning their 10th.
Not only did Beethoven change forever
the course of classical music history,
he apparently also created the curse that would
kill off composers after their 9th symphony!