Beethoven inherited the tradition of classical music and inspired the style and spirit of romantic music. Therefore, he occupies a very important position in the history of music. He is the most influential and popular piano player in history. One of the composers. Starting in 1814, his hearing declined sharply, so he gave up piano playing and conducting, but continued to create.

Beethoven composed 9 numbered symphonies, 36 piano sonatas (32 of them numbered, 1 unfinished), 10 violin sonatas, 16 string quartets, 1 opera and 2 masses, etc. These works had a profound impact on the development of music, and Beethoven was therefore revered as the "Saint of Music" in the Chinese-speaking world.

Musical achievements and characteristics

Beethoven’s works include 32 piano sonatas, 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, violin concertos, trio concertos and string quartets. There are 138 works with Op numbers.

As for the works with the WoO. label, there are 205, indicating that the work is "Werke ohne Opus-Nummer" (works without Op number). Although many of these works were published during his lifetime published, but he did not think these works deserved an Op title.

What is relatively rare are the works with the "Hess" number, ***14 volumes. These works are supplements to the complete works of Beethoven by Swiss composer Willy Hess. .

Beethoven's most famous works include "Third Symphony "Eroica"", "Fifth Symphony "Destiny"", "Sixth Symphony "Pastoral"", "Ninth Symphony" "Chorus", "Pathétique Sonata" and "Moonlight Sonata" and so on. Its 32 numbered piano sonatas, including "Pathétique" and "Moonlight", were honored as the "New Testament" of piano by Hans von Bülow (the "Old Testament" is Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier") .

His early music was greatly influenced by the classical style of Haydn and Mozart, such as the First Symphony. In early piano sonatas, such as "Pathétique", its harmonic characteristics, frequency of octaves and rich and thick texture reflect the influence of Muzio Clementi and Jan Dusek on Beethoven. In the middle and later stages, his works increasingly showed his strong personal style, and Beethoven even expressed his own ideals and demands through music.

Beethoven can be said to have inherited the musical essence of German and Austrian composers Bach, Haydn and Mozart, and pushed classical music to the extreme in form. At that time Bach's music had yet to be discovered. But Beethoven's teacher Neff had already made Beethoven feel the excellence of this "Father of European Music" during his teaching. Beethoven once said: "He is not a brook (Bach, which means "Bach" in German). "Homophone), but the sea."

In 1855, W. Delands proposed the famous third rule of Beethoven's creative period. Although this division has been criticized for being too absolute and inaccurate, it is very helpful for people to understand the development of Beethoven's creative style:

1. Early period: around 1802 -04 years ago. During this period Beethoven clearly showed his dependence on the classical tradition.

2. Peak period: approximately 1802-04 to 1812-14. Most of Beethoven's famous works were produced during this period. This period is sometimes called the "heroic" period, depending on the temperament of the work. It is generally believed that it began during the creation of "Heroes", or earlier during Heiligan's convalescence.

3. Transition period: From his final stage performance in 1814/15 until his ear disease seriously worsened in 1819, Beethoven fell into several years of low productivity and his musical thoughts began to change. The important works here are almost only Piano Sonatas No. 28 and No. 29 (the latter is the famous "Hammer").

4. Late period: After experiencing a trough, since Beethoven wrote "Missa Solemnis" in 1819, his works show the creative characteristics of the late period, which are introspective and philosophical, and the scale has been further expanded. However, because the creation of the former took a long time, it was not until after 1822 that Beethoven produced more works in other genres.

Extended information:

Creative characteristics

Beethoven’s life experienced drastic changes in European society before and after the French Revolution. His works are a combination of the times and personality. product.

He greatly expanded the ideological content of symphonic music, making it a genre that directly reflected social changes, and the range of expression of the piano was also greatly enhanced.

The expansion of content leads to innovation in expression techniques: it breaks through the traditional formal structure, uses motivational themes and develops dynamic musical ideas, giving the music extraordinary momentum and power; it is based on function The systematic voice change system has become a characteristic of his harmonic style;

The flexible off-key modulation and the large contrast of rhythm and intensity play an important role in portraying conflicts and dramatic development. In addition, the use of counterpoint, the combination of band sounds, and the writing of piano music all have distinctive characteristics.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Ludwig van Beethoven