Ludwig von Beethoven (LOOD-vig  von  BAY-toh-ven)

Born December 15, 1770 in Bonn, Germany

Died March 26, 1827

Nationality: German

Period/Style: Classical/Romantic

About the composer:

Beethoven was one of the greatest composers of all time, and the most important composer of the 19^th Century.  He is probably best known for his Fifth Symphony, and for a tune we call “Ode to Joy” which actually comes from his Ninth Symphony.  Beethoven always loved music. He took piano lessons from his father who was a very strict teacher, and he became an outstanding pianist. Beethoven’s music was completely original and unique.  It didn’t sound like anyone else’s, and no one has ever been able to imitate it.  Beethoven lived near Vienna, and he often liked to take walks out in the countryside where he could hear birds singing and tower bells from the church in the distance. It was while on one of these walks that he began to realize he was losing his sense of hearing.  He noticed that he could no longer hear the birds, or any other sounds of nature, and before long he couldn’t even hear the loud bells from the church tower. Eventually he became completely deaf, but amazingly, he still wrote music even after that.

About the music:

Symphony #5 (25-35 min)

This is a piece that most people probably recognize, even if they don’t know the title.  The opening four-note pattern (three short notes and a long one) is repeated over and over in many ways through the first movement.  The theme is passed from one section of the orchestra to another.  For awhile it changes a little, becomes more lyrical, but you can still hear that pattern.  The second movement might be described as “melancholy.”  The third is mysterious and foreboding.  A brief theme rises from the cellos and basses, and repeats.  The main theme is then stated proudly by the French horns.  Another theme begins in the basses, then is passed on to the other strings.  This movement leads directly into the fourth movement (without a pause) which bursts into a joyful, magnificent theme.  The last movement might be described as triumphant, all the way to the end!

Leonore Overture #3  (12-15 min)

This is the third of four attempts by Beethoven to write an overture for an opera called “Fidelio”, a story about a woman who disguises herself as a jail guard to rescue her husband who has been wrongfully imprisoned.  Beethoven wrote Leonore Overtures #1 & #2, then this one, and wound up discarding all three of them. The one he finally settled on is called (appropriately enough) the Fidelio Overture.  However, of the four, this one has remained a favorite and is most often heard today.

Waldstein Sonata (VALD-shtine) (21-26 min)

Beethoven named this sonata after an old friend of his, Count Ferdinand Waldstein.  It was written in 1803 and 1804.  This is said to be the most brilliant of all of the Beethoven piano sonatas, and is definitely a virtuoso piece!