Classical to RomanticLudwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s life
The big moments of this life, and what was happening in the world at the same time.
A life at a glance
- 1770👶 Birth
Born in Bonn; baptised on 17 December
- 1778🎩 Careerage 8
First public concert at 7 in Cologne
- 1782🎩 Careerage 12
Assistant court organist in Bonn; pupil of Neefe
- 1783🌍 Meanwhile
First manned flight in a hot-air balloon
- 1787🧳 Journeyage 17
First trip to Vienna; his mother’s death calls him back
- 1789🏛️ Landmarkage 19
French Revolution
- 1798❤️ Private lifeage 28
First signs of deafness
- 1801🎼 Workage 31
‘Moonlight’ Sonata
- 1804🎼 Workage 34
‘Eroica’ Symphony, first dedicated to Napoleon
- 1804🌍 Meanwhile
Napoleon crowned emperor
- 1808🎼 Workage 38
Premiere of Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6 ‘Pastoral’
- 1816🌍 Meanwhile
Maelzel patents the metronome (1815–16)
- 1825🌍 Meanwhile
First public passenger railway (England)
- 1827🕯️ Deathage 57
Dies in Vienna on 26 March; thousands attend his funeral
Listen to the music
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How does this music feel to you?
Excerpts of up to 90 seconds, freely licensed recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
Once upon a time…
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany. His dad wanted to make him a child prodigy like Mozart and made him practise the piano very hard, sometimes even at night! At seven Ludwig gave his first concert.
As a young man he went to Vienna and became a fabulous pianist. But one day he started to go deaf… For a musician, that is terrible! Yet he kept composing magnificent music that he heard in his head.
He wrote the Fifth Symphony, with its famous four notes “da-da-da-daaa”, and the Ninth, with the Ode to Joy sung by a big choir.
On the night of the Ninth’s premiere he could not hear the applause: a singer turned him round so he could see the audience cheering.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s instruments
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