Beethoven's music stands in relation to "classical music" as Heavy Metal does to Rock. It evolved from the pinnacle and full-flowering of the "Classical" age, to the full passion and exuberance of "Romanticism" which followed in Beethoven's wake. Incomparable sound from a tormented mind.

Beethoven's Life

Not unlike Bach, the composer whose work represented the peak and cusp of the Baroque period which preceded the Classical age, Beethoven grew up in a musical family.

Beethoven's first teacher was his father, a singer and instrumentalist, and by age 12 Ludwig Van Beethoven had his first music published. He then studied with prominent musicians and composers, but proved impossible as a student. Of his studies with the noted composer Haydn, Beethoven declared "From him, I learned nothing".

It was as a wildly popular young piano virtuoso that Beethoven found ready patrons, performing at the salons of Viennese high society. One of the characteristics of his piano performances was 'improvisation' -- something we more commonly associate with jazz, than with classical music.

As a pianist, Beethoven was reportedly known for fire, brilliance, and fantasy, as well as depth of feeling. These same characteristics were the ones he melded to perfection in his musical compositions.

By his late twenties, Beethoven suffered from hearing impairment. He became aware in his early thirties that this would result in total deafness. Thereafter his life was marked by periods of depression, and a sense of isolation, interspersed with the production of musical brilliance.

Beethoven came to be regarded as a great composer during his lifetime - perhaps the greatest. It is a judgement which has stood the test of time.

His last words were reported to be "I shall hear in heaven"

Beethoven's Music

Beethoven's music is almost "architectonic" - grand and daring edifices of soundspace. You can sense yourself moving through them..

A virtuoso pianist until his total deafness, Beethoven created some of the world's greatest piano sonatas, chamber works, and concertos.

But the full flowering of Beethoven's talent is evident in his symphonies: he was the master of massive orchestral composition. His pieces required the largest symphony orchestras ever assembled. His symphonies ranged from the Sixth Symphony, "Pastoral", evoking a sense of Beethoven's own love of the countryside, to the brilliant sweep of the Fifth Symphony, ablaze with power. (It should be noted that the numbering of Beethoven's works follows the order in which they were published, not necessarily the order in which they were written.)

His work is marked by forceful rhythm, sometimes using variations on a single rhythmic pattern, or the notes of a single chord, to create powerful motifs that he reprised through an entire work like signatures.

The technique is one that persists to this day - and is an underlying theme in music from rock to heavy metal.

His single opera, Fidelio, demands the full range of the human voice, treating it as if it were a symphonic instrument.

Beethoven's manuscripts, and the numerous intermediate display a creative process as intense as his music. As 20th century conductor Leonard Bernstein commented:

"Beethoven's manuscript looks like a bloody record of a tremendous inner battle"

Early drafts of his 9th Symphony show, in place of notes, rough slashes, blocking out the structure of the melody as an artist might block out a canvas.

Unlike the joyous but controlled perfection of Mozart, Beethoven's music displayed larger-than-life emotion, and was the bridge to what followed - the "Romantic" period, eventually epitomized by such composers as Tchaikovsky.

Recommended for Newbies

Must-listen-to for Beethoven newbies include Piano Sonata No. 23 In F Minor "Moonlight" and No. 14 in C# Minor "Appassionata", sometimes thought of as the perfect music for lovers, and the brilliant Fifth Symphony for full orchestra. The opening bars of the Fifth symphony, for anyone who has ever heard it, become both unforgettable and evermore instantly recognizable.

(All of Beethovens nine symphonies are highly recommended. The opening movements of Beethoven's 3rd , 5th , and 9th symphonies, and the closing movements of his 3rd and 7th symphonies, reprise the type of powerful rhythmic themes that became Beethoven signatures.)

Also a must for newbies is Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto No. 5 for piano..