This is probably the most famous piece of music in the world

Do you recognize it?

It is the opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Baptized December 17, 1770in Bonn, Germany

Died March 26, 1827in Vienna, Austria

How old was he when he died?

Beethoven’s Birth House

Bonn, Germany

Do you think he was rich or poor?

Middle class!

• Beethoven’s father was a singer and musician.

• He taught Beethoven music beginning when he was four.

• What kind of person do you think he was from his picture?

Beethoven’s father

The Early YearsHis father was alcoholic and abusive.

• Example: He would return home late at night, often drunk and drag young Ludwig from his bed in order to beat music lessons into the boy's sleepy head.

The Early Years

But young Ludwig would prove his father wrong, as we will see...

He became a very good musician, and gave his first public concert at 7 years old.

At age 10, he quit school to spend all of his time on music

The Early Years

As a teenager, Beethoven was already supporting his family, because his father was so unreliable.

And when he was 16, he went to Vienna (Austria) to audition for Mozart (whom his father had said would laugh at him!)

• In Beethoven’s time, Vienna was the musical capital of Europe.

• What do you think the musical capital of the United States is?

Vienna

Bonn

The Early Years

Vienna was where the court of the Emperor was located. It was a rich and

important city.

The Early Years

Instead of laughing at him, as Beethoven’s father predicted, Mozart said of 16-year old Beethoven, “Watch out for him! He will give the world something to talk about.”

The Early Years

But unfortunately, Mozart had more students than he could manage, so Beethoven returned to Bonn, hoping to return when Mozart had room in his schedule.

Unfortunately, by the time Beethoven finally moved to Vienna to study with him, Mozart had died. But ....

So Beethoven studied with Franz Josef Haydn. They didn’t always get along, though, because Beethoven had many new ideas about music, and didn’t always want to listen to his older teacher.

The music of Mozart and Haydn is called classical, which means it is very orderly, balanced and clear. Listen to Haydn’s Surprise Symphony… See if you can hear why it’s called that!

(Haydn did have a sense of humor, even if Beethoven thought he was old-fashioned!)

Beethoven changed music… he didn’t want music to be orderly and clear, and he didn’t want it to be just nice entertainment for rich people. He wanted his music to make people FEEL things, to be emotionally powerful.

Beethoven changed music… he didn’t want music to be orderly and clear, and he didn’t want it to be just nice entertainment for rich people. He wanted his music to make people FEEL things, to be emotionally powerful. WHY? Let’s watch...

Beethoven’s times

• What are some of the things Beethoven said were happening in his time that made him want to change music?

American Revolution & Declaration of Independence from England, 1776

The French Revolution, 1789

Napoleon Bonaparte, the French general, unleashed bloody wars across Europe

Beethoven’s times• Beethoven wanted his music to reflect the

excitement and violence of his time.

Beethoven’s timesBut people didn’t always appreciate his new

ideas....

Beethoven’s Health

When Beethoven was around 30, he began to have trouble with his hearing.

1

What would it be like for someone whose whole life was music to lose their hearing?

Beethoven said that he felt as though someone had put him in a room, locked the door and thrown away the key.

Personality• Beethoven cared about

little else but music. He spent all his time practicing the piano and writing music.

• He didn’t like many people and had few friends.

• He had no patience for people who weren’t serious about music.

• He never bothered with good manners and was often rude.

• Why do you think he was so often rude to people?

Beethoven’s Music

Throughout his life, he wrote a total of 336 pieces of music

He wrote a total of 9 symphonies

(1800) Symphony No. 1 in C major(1803) Symphony No. 2 in D major(1805) Symphony No. 3 in E flat major "Eroica"(1807) Symphony No. 4 in B flat major(1808) Symphony No. 5 in C minor(1808) Symphony No. 6 in F major "Pastoral"(1813) Symphony No. 7 in A major(1814) Symphony No. 8 in F major(1824) Symphony No. 9 in D minor "Choral"

Beethoven’s Music

(1808) Symphony No. 5 in C minor

We call that da-da-da-DAAA rhythm a motif – a pattern in the music that returns over & over again. Beethoven used this motif throughout the Fifth Symphony.

Listen to this excerpt from the 2nd movement. Raise your hand when you hear the motif.

• But Beethoven’s music wasn’t always well-received!

Beethoven’s Music

(1808) Symphony No. 6 in F major "Pastoral"

Beethoven was inspired by the beauty of nature and the countryside.

Beethoven’s Music(1808) Symphony No. 6 in F major "Pastoral"

Second movement: The Brook. Can you hear the birds?

Most symphonies have 4 movements. The Pastoral symphony has 5 movements

Beethoven’s Music

(1808) Symphony No. 6 in F major "Pastoral"

4th movement: A Thunderstorm!

Beethoven’s Music

(1808) Symphony No. 6 in F major "Pastoral"

5th movement: Sun comes back out

• But as he got older, his health and hearing deteriorated, and he began acting more and more strangely.

• What followed was tragic and unexpected.

• But despite his troubles, Beethoven’s greatest and most joyful symphony was still to come, even though he was completely deaf at the time!

Beethoven’s Music

(1824) The 9th symphony was also called the “Choral Symphony,” because it was the first to use the human voice!

Based on poem by Schiller -- the “Ode to Joy”

Beethoven’s Music

Symphony No. 5: • the most recognized piece of

music ever written

Symphony No. 6: Pastoral • Inspired by his love of nature.

Symphony No. 9: Choral1. Written when he was

completely deaf2. Based on a poem: “Ode to Joy”3. First Symphony to have a

chorus.

Beethoven’s Music

How was he able to do this?

He had Perfect Pitch

The ability to name the letter of a pitch simply by hearing it, or the ability to produce any pitch referred to by name.

Beethoven’s Music

Beethoven was never satisfied with his writing. He would write and re-write his music many times, sometimes taking many years to finish a single piece

Look at how many corrections, and changes there are in one of his scores.

Beethoven’s Music

Original manuscript of Beethoven music

Beethoven Personal Facts

Beethoven was a slob who didn’t bathe.He didn’t change or wash his clothes.

He smelled so bad that friends would sneak away with his clothes and wash them for him

Beethoven Personal Facts

He was a short man with a huge head and hairy hands.

Beethoven Quote

Beethoven was not modest – he knew how great he was.

Once he was invited to a dinner by a prince. When

Beethoven refused, the Prince was

outraged. Beethoven’s response was this:

Beethoven Quote

“What you are, you are by accident of

birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are, and always will be,

thousands of princes, but there is only one

Beethoven”

Beethoven’s Health

Beethoven hearing devices

Beethoven’s Death

Beethoven died in Vienna, Austria

in 1827.

Over 10,000 people attended his funeral.

His final words were:"Friends applaud,

the Comedy is over."

Beethoven Lives On

A manuscript in Ludwig van Beethoven's own hand, was discovered in a Philadelphia seminary in the summer of 2005

The 80-page draft score for the Grosse Fugue for Piano-Four Hands, is considered a milestone in Beethoven's career

Beethoven Lives On

It dates from the final months of his life when he was completely deaf.

It shows the extent of Beethoven's re-workings and includes deletions, corrections and deep erasures - occasionally the

paper is rubbed right through leaving small holes

Beethoven Lives On

The score had disappeared for 115 years, had never been examined by scholars, and was hidden from the public

It was auctioned off in the fall of 2005 for approximately

$1,750,000.