Because his music has its own unique charm.

Early years: from when he studied music composition to around the age of 32

He is a talented composer. Like most famous musicians, he created many works that are still popular today. I still think the music is very nice. At the same time, his music creation ability is also very strong. He can write sad and lyrical songs well.

Prime period: about ten years

He was deaf in life, but ideologically influenced by the French Revolution, he wrote a lot of ethical thoughts into his music. The music of this period is typical Beethoven-style music. Including those major symphonies, the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, and several famous piano sonatas. Compared with the early days, the music has become rich in ideas and has its own emotions.

Decline: about ten years

Beethoven was already a social celebrity in Vienna, but his creations entered a low ebb, as if he had returned to the era of an ordinary musician. Personal will is also relatively depressed.

Late period: the last ten years

In the last few years of his life, he suddenly created miracles again. Some of his late works are large-scale and magnificent, such as the Missa Solemnis and the Ninth Symphony; others enter an abstract realm. Works from this period are treasures in the eyes of musicians. But because it is usually very abstract, it is not as good-sounding as the early ones, and may be difficult for ordinary listeners to understand.

The creative characteristics of Beethoven's symphonies

The symphony occupies a core position in Beethoven's creative career, not only throughout every era of his creative career, but also the most concentrated expression of his music Ideal piece.

Inheritance and innovation

Beethoven’s creation absorbed the essence of his predecessors and developed his personal characteristics. Composers who had an important influence on Beethoven include the classical Haydn and Mozart and the Baroque era Bach and Handel.

Beethoven studied under Neefe (Christian Gootlob) in Bonn. Neefe was a counterpoint expert and taught Beethoven to learn Bach's Well-Tempered Piano Collection (possibly part of it) ), in the creation of the symphony, Beethoven used the technique of polyphony, often as a method of developing themes in the development department. There is polyphonic music in the second movements of the Third and Seventh Symphonies; Beethoven admired Handel's creation very much and absorbed Handel's fresh and vigorous spirit; Beethoven's creation followed the norms of classicism and inherited Haydn, Mozart's creative style and form.

The influence of the French Revolution

The influence of the French Revolution music on Beethoven is mainly reflected in square music and marches. The broad atmosphere of square music and the use of large-scale orchestras are characteristics of Beethoven's symphonies, and the influence of marches is reflected in the strong sense of rhythm and the sound of bugles in the music.

Beethoven’s contribution to symphonies

Beethoven’s symphonies greatly expanded the expressive power of musical art.

Rhythm: The rhythm sometimes does not follow the beat of the bar, and there are syncopations, weak starts, and strong contrast between strong and weak. These are Beethoven's innovations in rhythm. He no longer strictly adheres to the strict rhythm, but Relatively free to follow the demands of the music.

Singing orchestral music: Beethoven had excellent melodic talent and skills, and was good at creating cantabile melodies. His rich orchestration also greatly enhanced the orchestra's expressiveness.

Innovation in harmonic techniques: Beethoven’s symphonies use dissonant chords and unconventional chord progressions. The strong dramatic contrast is also unimaginable within the norms of classicism.

Changes in the music form:

The 6th Symphony has 5 movements, which is different from the previous 4-movement structure.

The use of the scherzo replaced the original minuet.

The position of the slow movement changes (No.9) and disappears (No.5,7). The 2nd and 3rd movements of the 9th Symphony are inverted, and the slow movement becomes the 3rd movement; the 5th and 7th symphonies do not have the original slow movement in the strict sense, only the 2nd movement at the Allegro minor speed, and the melody line is extended and similar to the slow movement. movement.

Breaking through the limitations of sonata form.

The contrast between the main part and the deputy parts is sharp; the scale of the development part becomes larger and can account for more than 1/3 of the entire movement, and factors that are not found in the presentation part appear in the development part; the introduction intervenes in the movement and appears in the development part and the recapitulation part , and even participated in the development of the development department; the coda is long.

Changes in orchestration: the use of new instruments and the larger size of the symphony orchestra.

Influence

As mentioned above, Beethoven started romantic music. Since then, through the efforts of composers such as Schubert, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Robert Schumann, Mahler, Richard Strauss, etc., romantic music has blossomed and flourished throughout the 19th century. .

Beethoven’s music can be said to be a model and open source work of Western music. In terms of symphony, he gave the symphony a "spirit", making it both physical and spiritual. The use of a title to describe the contents of the Sixth Symphony and the addition of vocals to the Ninth Symphony were both major innovations. Later generations followed suit.

Composers Brahms, Wagner and Mahler all bluntly stated that they composed under the guidance of Beethoven. Brahms still did not dare to write symphonies until he was 40 years old because he believed that he was not yet capable of surpassing Beethoven. It was after listening to Beethoven's "Seventh Symphony" and "Fidelio" Overture that Wagner decided to become a composer, and the concept of his musical drama was developed from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony . Mahler's Second Symphony and Eighth Symphony are, in the final analysis, an extension of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

To this day, Beethoven's music is still the most frequently performed in concerts and recorded on records, and is very popular among contemporary audiences.

UNESCO designated the original score of the Ninth Symphony as a cultural heritage of mankind.