250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven 2020

250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven 2020---------------- They are perhaps the most famous four notes in the history of music. We are talking about the beginning of the 1st movement (Allegro con brio) of the 5th Symphony in C minor, Opus 67 by Ludwig van Beethoven - "Thus fate throbs at the gate," its creator is said to have said about this opening sequence. Melodies from Beethoven's pen are encountered in many places, not only in the concert hall. Whether as a ringtone, in advertising, or in various remixes by hip DJs - Beethoven is in the mix. This and much more is reason enough to extensively celebrate the 250th birthday of the composer in 2020. -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------Years in Bonn------------------------------- Beethoven as a Bonn citizen------------ Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn on December 17, 1770, and was probably born the day before. Already his grandfather Ludwig as well as his father Johann were respected musicians and singers. As such, his father recognized the musical talent of the young Ludwig and pushed for a comprehensive musical education of his son. Beethoven made his first public appearances on the piano at the age of seven. During this time, the young pupil already composed his first piano pieces (without indication of works, WoO). He found early employment as an organist as well as violist and harpsichordist in the court chapel at the then Electoral Cologne court in Bonn, where - similar to Weimar - a liberal and art-loving climate prevailed. At the age of 16, Beethoven went on his first study trip to Vienna to study composition with none other than Mozart. His plan failed, however, and he initially returned to Bonn. ----------------------------------------- ---------------- Years in Vienna------------- During another stay in Vienna almost five years later - Mozart had died in the meantime - he was to receive "Mozart's spirit from Hayden's hands." So he took lessons from the 60-year-old Joseph Haydn, a luminary of Viennese and European musical life. The approximately one-year study period turned out to be extremely conflictual. Political events made a return to Bonn impossible, so that the Rhinelander finally remained permanently in Vienna. Beethoven excelled above all in the art of improvisation, so he first made a name for himself as a piano virtuoso; only later did he gain recognition as a composer. In 1796 Beethoven undertook an extended concert tour to Berlin, Prague and Dresden, among other places, exactly the same trip that Mozart had made a few years earlier. At the age of 28, the first symptoms of his hearing problem appeared, which eventually led to deafness. Regardless of this, Beethoven was extremely productive. The events surrounding the French Revolution and Napoleon's activities had a lasting influence on him and his music. Throughout his life, the composer was plagued by an already unstable state of health. In addition, there were regular private, family and financial problems. Beethoven died on March 26, 1827, his funeral was attended by 20,000 people, and his grave is located in Vienna's Central Cemetery. ------------------------------------------- --------------------Beethoven today---------------------------- Today Beethoven is considered, along with Mozart and Haydn, to be the main representative of Viennese Classicism as well as a pioneer of Romanticism. Beethoven's complete works are extensive and belong to the repertoire of worldwide performances. In the foreground are his orchestral works, first and foremost the nine symphonies. Especially the 9th symphony with the final chorus "To Joy" by Friedrich Schiller is considered a prime example of symphonic music. But his piano and chamber music works - his 32 piano sonatas are among the most important in the piano literature - are also highly regarded by musicians and audiences alike. As extensive and complex as Beethoven's complete works are, he only completed one opera, "Fidelio". You can follow in Beethoven's footsteps in numerous places. In Bonn, the city of his birth, the Beethoven House (Beethoven's birthplace) documents his life and work in detail. Sculptures and monuments can be found everywhere in Germany's only federal city, and the local concert hall and orchestra bear the name of the greatest son of the city on the Rhine, which hosts the annual Beethovenfest in September. In Leipzig's Museum of Fine Arts, you can see what is probably the most famous sculpture of Beethoven created by Max Klinger in 1902, and in front of the museum a contemporary Beethoven variant by Markus Lüpertz.