Ludwig van Beethoven

The signal crisis of Beethoven’s life, in 1802, was the deep depression wrought by the stark reality of his increasing deafness.   In his famous “Heiligenstadt Testament” from that year he articulated his resolve to live, work, and overcome this crushing development.  There ensued the remarkable production of his artistic maturity—but it did not ease his lifelong quest for...

The concerto in its various guises has long been an important part of the symphonic literature, going back to the middle of the seventeenth century.  But by Beethoven’s time, some 150 years on, concertos were most often written for one instrument—usually piano, violin, or ‘cello–with orchestral accompaniment.  Of course, many fine compositions were written for other solo...

Beethoven wrote a gaggle of overtures, some were admittedly weak (his heart really wasn’t into them, but his financial needs were), but most were what we expect of the man. Two of the four overtures associated with his opera, Fidelio, stand in the forefront of them, but the Coriolan Overture is a major work, as well. It was composed in 1807 as incidental music for a performance of the now obscure...

Beethoven wrote almost a dozen overtures, perhaps the most famous, of course, being the four that are connected with his only opera, Fidelio. Of the rest, one is a potboiler–Wellington’s Victory–and some others are not heard often today. But most are of the stellar quality that all expect. Without doubt, in the forefront of the latter group is Egmont. It is a commonplace of the...

While today, opera—for any number of reasons—is not heard as frequently as the symphony orchestra, before the twentieth century it dominated the musical scene. Only gradually did permanent instrumental ensembles evolve that focused upon symphonies and the like. Composers made their reputations, or not, as composers of opera, and that’s what the nobility (who paid the bills) largely wanted to hear...

Of Beethoven’s five concertos for piano, the last three stand as immeasurably significant contributions to the genre.  The first two are youthful works, No. 1 having been composed in 1795, three years after his removal from Bonn to Vienna.  No. 2 was begun even earlier, around 1788, while he was still in Bonn, and only seventeen years old.  When Beethoven moved to Vienna, he was with high hopes...

It is Mozart, of course, to whom we owe the creation of the mature, symphonic piano concerto. Beethoven wrote five works in this genre; the first two were composed in the 1790s and they owe much to the example of Mozart. The third, in C minor, begun around 1800, was completed in 1803, about the time of his second symphony, and it is a far darker and impassioned work than the previous concertos...

It is Mozart, of course, to whom we owe the creation of the mature, symphonic piano concerto. Beethoven wrote five works in this genre; the first two were completed in the 1790s and owe much to the example of Mozart. The third, in C minor, was completed in 1803, around the time of his second symphony, and it is a far darker and impassioned work than the previous ones. By the time of the fourth...

It is Mozart, of course, to whom we owe the creation of the mature, symphonic piano concerto.  Following in his stead, Beethoven wrote five works in this genre; the first two were composed in the 1790s and owe much to the example of Mozart.  The third, in C minor, was completed in 1803, around the time of his second symphony, and it is a far darker and impassioned work than the previous...

By the late 1790s Beethoven had been in Vienna about six years, and was enjoying a growing reputation both as a virtuoso pianist and as a composer. While he had written some piano concertos for his own use, he had confined his compositional activities to more modest works. A dozen piano sonatas and chamber music constituted the bulk, including the famous Pathétique sonata. He also was hard at...