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Essay on Beethoven

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Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, in 1770. He came from a family of musicians. His father and grandfather worked for the Electors of Cologne. The grandfather, Lodewyk van Beethoven came from Mechelen, Belgium and joined the court orchestra in Bonn as a bass player. He eventually became the conductor. His son Johann was a professional tenor at the court in Bonn and also played piano and violin. As Beethoven began to exhibited his outstanding musical talent at a young age, his father pushed for him to become a child prodigy. Johann gradually gave up when Beethoven ‘s recitals were only marginally successful. Beethoven's mother then died when he was in his late teens. His mother's death drove his father to become an abusive …show more content…

" By this time Beethoven was ready for the almightiest risk of his life" ( Simpson 55). He was at the stage in his life where he knew what risks he could and could not take. For years Beethoven had contemplated setting Schiller's Ode to Joy, but when he decided to make this the setting to the final movement to his ninth symphony he was very uncertain as to how to introduce the voice. " ... there are reports of him striding up and down his room trying to solve this problem" ( Pike 70). Although some of the ideas used in the Ninth Symphony appear in sketches of 1817-18, Beethoven only began concentrated work on the score in 1822. It occupied him throughout 1823, and he completed it in February 1824. The first performance took place at the Karntnerthor Theater in Vienna on May 7, 1824. Beethoven stood there completely deaf beating time and turning pages of his score, but the real conduction was done by Michael Umlauf. The orchestra leader was Schuppanigh. The dedication was to King Frederick William III of Prussia.( Steinberg 47-48)The first vocal soloists to perform this were Henriette Sontag (soprano), Karoline Ungersabatier ( alto), Anton Haizinger ( tenor), and Joseph Seipelt (bass). Only two rehearsals were gad been possible for the performance with mixed critical success. The symphony's required orchestration includes: two flutes and piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, triangle,

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