Ludwig van Beethoven | Music Keys Pro
27 videos • 574 views • by Foriero - We bring LIGHT! Product : http://www.foriero.com/pages/music-ke... Company : http://www.foriero.com/ Piano Sound : www.truepianos.com Music License: cc-by-sa Germany License Performer: Bernd Krueger Source: http://www.piano-midi.de ----------------------- Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized 17 December 1770 -- 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. He was born in Bonn. Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and Christian Gottlob Neefe. During his first 22 years in Bonn, Beethoven intended to study with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and befriended Joseph Haydn. Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792 and began studying with Haydn, quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. He lived in Vienna until his death. In about 1800 his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf. He gave up conducting and performing in public but continued to compose; many of his most admired works come from this period. There is dispute about the cause of Beethoven's death: alcoholic cirrhosis, syphilis, and Whipple's disease have all been proposed. Some of the analyses have led to controversial assertions that Beethoven was accidentally poisoned to death by excessive doses of lead-based treatments. His best known compositions include nine symphonies (the Ninth Symphony includes a chorus), and about a dozen pieces of "occasional" music, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string quartets. He also composed other chamber music, choral works (including the celebrated Missa Solemnis), and songs. His only opera is Fidelio. ------------------------ The text above is taken from Wikipedia, under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.