AH

Beethoven: Life, Works & Listening Guide 7/10/25

Listening Exercise Setup

  • Instructor begins with a “critical listening exercise” using the 3rd movement of Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” Violin Sonata (Sonata No. 9 in A-major, Op. 47).
    • YouTube link recommended: “Yuja Wang – Joshua Bell – Beethoven Kreutzer 3rd movement” (≈ 8.5 min).
    • Students asked to pause/rewind, identify 5 observation categories:
    1. Instruments / Performance
    2. Sound (dynamics, timbre, mood)
    3. Rhythm / Meter / Tempo
    4. Melody
    5. Harmony / Texture / Misc. trivia

Model Student Report (Group 7) – Key Points

Instruments / Performance

  • Genre = Violin Sonata
    • Defined as violin + piano (keyboard instrument, not percussion).
  • Only two instruments present.
  • Performance had “dialogue” quality – melody alternates between piano & violin.
  • No conductor; page-turner assists pianist.
  • Visual performance cues:
    • Yuja Wang’s rapid fingerwork;
    • Joshua Bell’s expressive body motion.

Sound / Dynamics / Tonality

  • Opening: piano strikes loud A-major chord, then softens for violin entry.
  • Frequent crescendo–decrescendo cycles (sudden loud → soft → loud).
  • Perception of mode shifts: mostly major, occasional minor inflections.
  • Emotional mapping:
    • Forte = intensity/hope;
    • Piano/minor = sadness.

Rhythm / Meter / Tempo

  • Meter identified as 6!/8 (compound duple; 6 eighth-notes per bar).
  • Tempo marking: Presto (very fast).
  • Techniques noticed:
    • Short rests creating suspense;
    • Calando (gradual decrease of volume & tempo) then bursts of crescendos.

Melody

  • Conversation motif – both instruments trade melody; violin carries majority.
  • Dramatic architecture:
    • Slow, minor “problem” section → accelerando & major “triumph” section → ending recalls opening A-major chord.
  • Use of syncopation and virtuosic passagework.

Harmony / Texture

  • Alternation of consonance ↔ dissonance for tension.
  • Opening = polyphonic (independent lines); spots of homophonic & brief monophonic texture.
  • “Harmonic crescendos” used to prolong tension.

Trivia

  • Yuja Wang – began piano at 6; won prizes (Sendai 2001, etc.).
  • 3rd movement of Kreutzer reportedly composed before the 1st & 2nd.

Introductory TED-Talk Assignment

  • Students must watch “Beethoven: the Heavy Metal of the Early 19th Century” (≈ 15 min, TED-Ed).
  • Take-away: Beethoven’s music sounded revolutionary – harsher dynamics, stronger dissonance, louder volumes than Classical-era norms.

Beethoven: Biography & Context

Reputation

  • Considered musical equivalent of Shakespeare (literature) & Michelangelo (art).
  • Expanded emotional & structural boundaries of Western art music.

Family & Early Life

  • Born in Bonn, Germany; lineage of court musicians.
  • Admired his grandfather (Kapellmeister Maximilian Friedrich) – claimed to inherit talent from him.
  • Father (Johann): talented singer but abusive, alcoholic; forced young Ludwig to practice, beat him for mistakes.
  • Childhood stunt: father advertised him falsely as a 7-year-old “new Mozart” (he was 10) – performance flopped, string broke; likely followed by beating.
  • By 16 he traveled to Vienna, met Mozart (see below).

Meeting Mozart (≈ 1787)

  • Mozart tested him at party:
    • First piece sounded “studied.”
    • Asked to improvise on a familiar tune – Beethoven dazzled; Mozart allegedly said, “Watch out for him; he will give the world something.”
  • Trip cut short – rushed home, mother dying (consumption/TB).

Guardian Years

  • Mother died; infant sister soon after; father fired for drunkenness.
  • Beethoven (≈ 18) petitioned magistrate, became legal guardian of two younger brothers, received half of father’s salary.

Move to Vienna (1792, age 22)

  • Studied briefly with Joseph Haydn (retired).
  • Relationship tense – Beethoven obstinate, challenged Haydn’s rules; called him “Papa” sarcastically.
  • Haydn nonetheless opened aristocratic salon doors, ensuring Beethoven’s lifelong financial security.

Personality Traits

  • Impatient, impulsive, intolerant; “true rebel.”
  • Hated polite-society rules; business-savvy yet sometimes unscrupulous with publishers.
  • Politically pro-liberty; admired Enlightenment ideals.
  • Romantic life: repeatedly loved unattainable/high-class or married women (“nerd loves cheer-captain” trope).

Apartments & Habits

  • Lived entire adult life in Vienna, but changed lodgings frequently; messy rooms, spoiled food, rapid turnover of housekeepers.

Health Issues & Deafness

Physical Description & Chronic Illness

  • Short, stocky; wild hair; pockmarked from childhood smallpox.
  • Lifelong gastrointestinal trouble, headaches, forgetfulness.
  • Contracted syphilis; jaundiced skin.

Onset of Deafness

  • Symptoms begin mid-20s; by 32 doctors predict total loss.
  • Tried quack remedies: milk/nuts in ears, arm blister ointments, submerging head in Rhine River.
  • Concealed condition out of pride; eventually pressed head to piano to “hear” vibrations.

2000 Forensic Discovery – “Beethoven’s Hair”

  • Book documents authenticated hair lock (cut by 15-yr-old pianist Ferdinand Hiller at death-bed).
  • Modern DNA + spectroscopy results: extremely high lead levels ⇒ Plumbism likely cause.
    • One-time massive ingestion (~age 25) + chronic exposure.
    • Possible source: wine sweetened with lead salts.
  • Lead poisoning symptoms map perfectly: GI distress, irritability, neuro issues, progressive deafness.

Beethoven’s Compositional Sketchbooks

  • Carried notebooks, jotting motives heard in taverns, streets, nature.
  • Some themes incubated >10 years before entering final works.

Three Creative Periods

1. Early Period (to ~1802)

  • Models: Haydn & Mozart.*
  • Output
    • First 21 piano sonatas (inc. “Pathétique” Op. 13 & “Moonlight” Op. 27 No. 2).
    • Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2.
    • 8 violin sonatas (inc. Kreutzer).
    • 6 string quartets Op. 18.
    • Piano concertos Nos. 1-3.
  • Listening suggestions
    • Pathétique Sonata – Mvt 2 (Adagio cantabile) & Mvt 3 (Rondo – Allegro).
    • Moonlight Sonata – Mvt 1 (Adagio sostenuto) & virtuosic Mvt 3 (Presto agitato).
    • String Quartet No. 6 in B!\flat major, Op. 18 No. 6.

2. Middle Period (“Heroic Phase,” 1803-1814)

  • Trigger = confronting deafness (“Heiligenstadt Testament”: “I will seize fate by the throat”).
  • Stylistic hallmarks: expanded forms, bold modulations, dramatic dynamics, “grand gesture.”
  • Major Works
    • Symphonies Nos. 3–8 (esp. No. 5 in C!\,!\,\ minor – iconic “fate motive”).
    • Premiered 1808 on marathon cold concert (Sym 5, Sym 6, Choral Fantasy, Piano Conc 4, etc.).
    • Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” – audience favorite; 2nd movement famed for serenity.
    • Violin Concerto in D major – benchmark concerto repertoire; 3rd movement playful Rondo.
    • Opera “Fidelio” (only one).

3. Late Period (1815-1827 – total deafness)

  • Communication via notebooks & ear trumpets.
  • Music becomes introspective, experimental, technically demanding.
  • Works
    • Piano Sonatas Opp. 101-111 (incl. “Hammerklavier”).
    • String Quartets Nos. 12-16 + Grosse Fuge – considered summit of quartet literature.
    • Missa Solemnis (monumental sacred work).
    • Symphony No. 9 in D minor “Choral” (1824) – first symphony to include vocal chorus.
    • 4th movement sets Schiller’s poem “Ode to Joy” – theme later used for EU anthem & flash-mob videos.

Symphony No. 9 – Highlights

  • Forces: Large orchestra + SATB chorus + 4 vocal soloists.
  • Ideological message: universal brotherhood & joy.
  • Listening guide:
    • Leonard Bernstein lecture/performance (watch 0-3 min intro).
    • “Ode to Joy” Vienna flash-mob (search “CD2 Beethoven Flashmob Ode to Joy”).

Quantitative / Musical Details

  • Time-signature example in Kreutzer: 6!/8 compound duple.
  • Common tempo terms: Presto, Calando, Accelerando, Crescendo / Decrescendo.
  • Harmonic language: shifts between major (hope) & minor (tragedy); alternation of consonance \rightarrow dissonance for tension.

Beethoven’s Catalog at a Glance

  • Symphonies: 9
  • String Quartets: 16 (gold standard of chamber music)
  • Piano Sonatas: 32 (virtuosic, emotionally wide-ranging)
  • Piano Concertos: 5
  • Violin Concerto: 1 (in D)
  • Masses: 2 (Mass in C, Missa Solemnis)
  • Opera: 1 (Fidelio)
  • Numerous overtures, chamber works, songs, incidental music.

Death & Legacy

  • Died 1827, Vienna; autopsy noted cirrhosis (heavy drinking) & swollen abdomen.
  • Funeral: ≈ 20,000 attendees – unprecedented public mourning (contrast: Bach & Mozart nearly ignored).
  • Posthumous influence:
    • Romantic composers (Schumann, Brahms, Wagner) viewed him as model.
    • “Ode to Joy” theme adopted as European Union anthem (1972, Karajan arrangement).
    • Beethoven myth: deaf creator triumphs over fate – cultural archetype of artistic struggle.

Suggested Personal Playlist (Instructor’s “Hit Parade”)

  1. Sonata Op. 13 “Pathétique” – Mvts 2 & 3.
  2. Sonata Op. 27 No. 2 “Moonlight” – Mvts 1 & 3.
  3. String Quartet Op. 18 No. 6 – complete.
  4. Symphony No. 5 (Dudamel / LSO full 33-min performance).
  5. Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” – 2nd movement.
  6. Violin Concerto in D – 3rd movement (Anne-Sophie Mutter).
  7. Symphony No. 9 – Leonard Bernstein or contemporary recording; focus on 4th movement.

Ethical & Philosophical Threads

  • Independence vs. patronage – Beethoven refuses to compose “to order,” asserts creative autonomy.
  • Art as personal salvation – “only my art held me back” from suicide.
  • Universality – Ninth Symphony’s call for global brotherhood transcends 19th-century politics; later symbol for EU solidarity.
  • Health & lifestyle caution – societal use of lead adulterants → tragic consequences; parallel to today’s environmental toxins.

Study Tips

  • When listening, map musical events to biography (e.g., “Heroic Phase” ideals audible in Sym No. 3-5).
  • Compare Classical elegance (Mozart/Haydn) with Beethoven’s disruptive gestures (sforzandi, sudden modulations).
  • For exams: memorize the three periods, signature works in each, and biographical triggers (Mozart meeting, Heiligenstadt Testament, total deafness).
  • Use the 6!/8 Kreutzer finale to practice identifying compound vs. simple meter in real time.