Beethoven Notes

Beethoven has been considered the greatest of all composers. His perfection of the symphony, quartet, and sonata forms has been uncontested for 170 years. Considered a classic yet revolutionary classical composer he significantly influenced the subsequent Romantic movement in music.

Compared to Mozart, for whom Beetthoven played in 1787 and favorably impressed, Beethoven was not as precocious. Nevertheless, by adolescence his musical gifts were obvious.

Beethoven's family life was chaotic and probably dysfunctional in the modern sense. His father a musician, and an alcoholic who abused his wife and children, was Beethoven's first teacher. Beethoven's mother, who has been described as stoic, gentle and humourless, died of tuberculosis when he was 17.

In 1792 Beethoven left his home in Bonn, perhaps escaping from the stressful family environment, and went to Vienna to study music with several teachers, the first being the composer Josef Haydn.

Eventually the small, thin, homely boy with the poor complexion, unkempt hair, dishevelled clothes and morose-looking expression became one of the most popular musicians, appealing to both Vienna's upper-class and its restless middle-classes.

What made Beethoven such an innovative musical composer? Born to an age when the individual was emerging from authoritarian political rule with new liberties and freedoms, he stood at the beginning of the Romantic period that endeavored to utilize human emotion as the source of creative inspiration. Instead of traditional and "classic" forms, Beethoven exploded conventions with powerful and expressive feelings. Beethoven's themes laud the hero and the individual.

Beethoven's musical output included:

• 9 symphonies

• 5 piano concertos

• 32 piano sonatas

• 10 violin sonatas

• 5 cello sonatas

• 1 violin concerto

• 16 string quartets

• 11 trios for piano, violin and cello

• Miscellaneous other piano works overtures and songs (Fur Elise, etc.).

Ludwig Van Beethoven	YEAR	TEAM	POS	BA	AB	H	HR	RBI
Official Cosmic Record	1983	Dragons	of	.290	639	185	15	70
	1984	Dragons	of	.224	272	61	6	30
	1985	Dragons	cf	.244	610	149	14	67
	1986	Dragons	cf	.260	100	26	4	9
	1987	Dragons	cf	.244	657	160	15	72
	1996	Songbirds	c	.268	542	145	32	113
	1997	Songbirds	c	.230	413	95	13	45
Total Seasons	7			.254	3233	821	99	406