Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a great German composer and one of the representatives of the Vienna classical music school. Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Bonn, a small town on the Rhine River not far from France. His grandfather was the conductor of the Bonn court orchestra, and his father was a court tenor. Beethoven's musical genius has been revealed since he was a child. His father was eager to train him to become a child prodigy like Mozart. He forced him to learn piano and violin from an early age. When he was eight years old, he began to perform in concerts and try to compose music. , however, the music education he received during this period has been very fragmented and unsystematic.

All information on Beethoven

1. Eroica Symphony

Beethoven’s heart was filled with the ideals of freedom, equality and fraternity. He was a French asset in 1789 An ardent supporter of class revolution. In 1798, General Bernadotte (1763-1844) served as the French ambassador to Vienna. Beethoven often visited his home and had close contacts with the people around him. In 1802, at the suggestion of Bernadotte, Beethoven began to write the "Third Symphony" dedicated to Napoleon. In his mind, Napoleon was a hero who destroyed the autocratic system and realized his ideals and revolution. In 1804, Beethoven completed the "Third Symphony". Just as he was preparing to dedicate it to Napoleon, news of Napoleon's proclaimed emperor reached Vienna.

When Beethoven learned the news from his student Li Si (1784-1838), he angrily shouted: "He is just an ordinary person. Now he also wants to trample on human rights in order to fulfill his personal ambitions." He is so ambitious. He will ride on everyone's head and become a tyrant!" As he said this, he walked to the table, tore up the dedication to Napoleon and threw it on the floor, not allowing anyone else to pick it up. After many days, Beethoven's anger gradually subsided and he allowed this work to be made public. In December 1804, the symphony was first performed at the court of Prince Robkowitz in Vienna. The first public performance at the Vienna Theater in April 1805 was conducted by Beethoven himself. The program notes read: "A new grand symphony in D sharp major, Ludwig van Bedow Composed by Mr. Fen, dedicated to His Royal Highness Prince Lobkovitz. "Strangely, Beethoven did not say it was in E-flat major, but said it was in D-sharp major. When the score was published in October 1806, the title page printed: The Eroica Symphony was written in memory of a great man. Since then, the "Third Symphony" has been called the "Eroic Symphony".

2. Symphony of Destiny

The first four notes of Beethoven's "Symphony in C minor" (Op. 67) are strong and heavy, like the sound of fate knocking on the door. This work is therefore called "Symphony of Destiny". "Symphony of Destiny" was composed from 1805 to 1808. Beethoven already said in a letter to his friend Wegler (1765-1848) in November 1808: "I want to block the throat of fate, and it will never completely overwhelm me!" "Fate knocks "The sound of the door" has already appeared in the third movement of "Piano Sonata in C minor" (Op. 10-1) composed in 1798, and later appeared in the third movement of "String Quartet in D major" (Op. 18-3) , the first movement of "Passionate Sonata" (Op. 57), the third "Leonora" Overture (Op. 72), "String Quartet in E flat major" (Op. 74) and other works. It can be seen that defeating fate through struggle has been Beethoven's consistent creative thought. The raging passion for struggle expressed in "Symphony of Destiny" is highly contagious. When the Spanish alto singer Maribrandt heard "Symphony of Destiny" for the first time, she was so frightened that she had to leave. An old guard of Napoleon couldn't help but jump up and shout after hearing the theme at the beginning of the fourth movement: "This is the Emperor!" Berlioz regarded the thrilling struggle scene in "Symphony of Destiny" as "Othello's obedience" Iago's slander misunderstood Desdemona's terrible rage when she had an affair. "Schumann believed: "Although you hear this symphony often, it always has a constant power on you. ——Just like the phenomena in nature that occur from time to time, they always make people feel frightened.” In May and June of 1830, Mendelssohn stayed in Weimar for two weeks, meeting Goethe for the last time, and wrote a poem on the piano. He performed famous works of ancient and modern times.

Goethe was greatly excited after listening to the first movement of the "Symphony of Destiny". He said: "This is magnificent and thrilling. It will almost shake the house down. If many people play it together, I don't know what will happen. "In March 1841, Engels listened to the performance of "Symphony of Destiny". He praised this work in a letter to his sister and said: "If you don't know this wonderful thing, then you have heard nothing in your life." He said that in the first movement he heard "that complete The sadness of despair, the pain of melancholy"; in the second movement, "the tender melancholy of love" is heard; and in the third and fourth movements, "the powerful, young, and powerful trumpet expression" The joy of freedom” is so inspiring. Engels revealed the essence of "Symphony of Destiny" in just a few sentences.

3. The legend of "Moonlight"

"More than a hundred years ago, there was a musician named Beethoven in Germany. He composed many famous songs. Among them was a famous piano piece The song is called "Moonlight", and the legend goes like this: One autumn, Beethoven was traveling and performing in various places, and he came to a small town by the Rhine River. One night, he was walking on a quiet path and heard intermittent music. The sound of the piano came from a hut, and it was his music. Beethoven approached the hut, and the sound of the piano suddenly stopped, and someone in the room was talking: "How difficult it is to play this piece!" I've only heard others play it a few times, but I can't remember how to play it. It would be great if I could hear how Beethoven played it himself!" One man said, "Yes, but for concerts. The tickets are too expensive and we are too poor. The girl quickly said: "Brother, don't be sad, I was just talking casually." When Beethoven heard this, he opened the door and walked in gently. There was a candle burning in the hut, and under the dim candlelight, a man was making leather shoes. There was an old piano in front of the window, and a girl of sixteen or seventeen years old was sitting in front of her. She had a pretty face, but she was blind. Seeing a stranger coming in, he stood up and asked, "Sir, who are you looking for? Did you go to the wrong door?" Beethoven said, "No, I'm here to play a piece of music for this girl." The girl stood up quickly. Give up your seat. Beethoven sat in front of the piano and played the piece that the blind girl had just played. The blind girl was fascinated by it. After the song was over, she said excitedly: "How skillful it is! How emotional it is!" Are you Mr. Beethoven? Beethoven didn't answer. He asked the blind girl: "Do you like to hear it? Let me play another song for you." A gust of wind blew out the candle, and the moonlight came into the window. Everything inside seemed to be covered with silver gauze. Beethoven looked at the poor brother and sister standing beside him, and listened quietly in the quiet moonlight, as if facing him. Looking at the sea, the moon was rising from the junction of water and sky. The sparkling sea was filled with silver light for a while. The moon rose higher and higher, passing through wisps of light clouds. The wind blew on the sea, and huge waves were rolled up. The waves, illuminated by the moonlight, rushed towards the shore one after another... The shoemaker looked at his sister, the moonlight was shining on her peaceful face, illuminating her face. With her eyes wide open, she seemed to see something she had never seen before, the rough sea under the moonlight. When they woke up, Bedo was intoxicated. Fen had already left the hut. He rushed back to the inn and spent the whole night recording the "Moonlight Song" he had just improvised. This is an article in the seventh volume of the Chinese primary school textbook. The story of Beethoven playing "Moonlight" for a blind girl. This is indeed a beautiful legend. Beethoven's piece (Op. 27 No. 2 - "Piano Sonata in #c minor") describes the moonlight on the sea, which originated from the German music critic Reierstab (1799-1860). Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894) was very opposed to using "Moonlight" to explain this piece. He said: "Moonlight in music description should be thoughtful, contemplative, quiet, in short, a soft and bright mood. The first movement of "#c Minor Sonata" is completely tragic from the first note to the last note. (suggested in a minor key), it is a sky full of clouds and a gloomy mood. The final movement is violent and passionate, and it expresses the exact opposite of the gentle moon. Only the short second movement can. It is said to be a moment of moonlight.” In Germany, some people also call this song the “Garden Pavilion” Sonata. A pavilion is a pavilion built under the shade of a tree. Obviously this title is also inaccurate for this sonata.

It seems that what this piece of music expresses is by no means a clear landscape painting, but an inner gloomy mood. Thee (1817-1897), the author of "The Biography of Beethoven", said that the first movement is "A girl prays for her sick father", which is more appropriate than "Moonlight" and "Garden Pavilion" in any case. Beethoven composed this piece in 1801, when he was in love with Giulifata Guicciardi (1784-1856), and this piece is dedicated to her. On November 16 of this year, Beethoven mentioned her in a letter to Wegler and said: "She loves me and I love her." But by the beginning of 1802, she had fallen in love with Luo Luo. Count Burl Hallenberg, whom he married in 1803. Romain Rolland linked this piece to Beethoven's lovelorn, saying, "The fantasy lasted for a short time, and there was already more pain and grief in the sonata than love." Rolland interpreted the first movement as melancholy, lamentation and crying. Russian musicologist Olibyshev (1794-1858) believed that the first movement is a "deep sorrow" of lost love, like a "dying fire". But in 1801, Beethoven and Guicciardi were passionately in love. To say that this work is about the pain of broken love may not be consistent with the facts. Regarding the explanation of this work, perhaps the views of Russian art critic Stasov (1824-1906) are more reasonable. After recalling listening to Liszt's performance in Petersburg, he believed that this sonata was a complete tragedy. The first movement was full of wistful tenderness and a mental state sometimes full of dark premonitions. He also had a similar impression when listening to Anton Rubinstein's performance: "... from far away, far away, as if from the invisible depths of the soul, a quiet voice suddenly rose. Some of the voices were melancholy, Full of endless melancholy; others are pensive, a flood of memories, dark omens..." "Sonata in #c minor" is particularly famous for its title and legend of "Moonlight". Beethoven once said: "People often talk about the "#C Minor Sonata", but I have written better things than this, such as the "#F Major Sonata" (Op. 78)." It can be seen that Beethoven I am not very satisfied with "Moonlight Song".

4. Passionate Sonata

Schindler once asked Beethoven about "Sonata in D minor" (Op. 31-2) and "Sonata in F minor" (Op. 57) When asked about the content, Beethoven's reply was: "Please read Shakespeare's "The Tempest"." Therefore, the former was called "The Tempest Sonata", while the latter was added "The Tempest" by the Hamburg music publisher Kranz (1789-1870). "Passionate Sonata" title. (Another theory is that the title "Passion" was added by the German pianist, violinist, composer and conductor Reinecke (1824-1910), which seems to be unfounded.) The title "Passion" does not have Beedo Fen's approval, but it is quite appropriate for this heroic and majestic work. Lenin, the mentor of the proletarian revolution, once heard the Russian composer and conductor Doblovin (1894-1953) perform this sonata in Moscow and said: "I don't know anything better than the "Appassionata Sonata". I would like to listen to it every day. This is wonderful and unprecedented music. I always think with perhaps childish boast: What miracles can people create! "On October 30, 1870, Paris was in the midst of the Franco-Prussian War. It had been surrounded by Prussian troops for more than three months. In the headquarters of Prussian King William in Versailles, Iron Prime Minister Bismarck was negotiating the terms of the armistice with Thiers, the head of the French bourgeois government. That evening, Gertel, who had served as the German ambassador to Italy, played the "Passionate Sonata" for Bismarck on a dilapidated piano owned by Verhan. After listening to the last movement, Bismarck said: "This is the howl of the struggle of an entire generation." He understood Beethoven's "enthusiasm" from the standpoint of a bloodthirsty careerist. He once said: "If I can listen to this piece of music often, my courage will not be exhausted" because "Beethoven is the most suitable for my nerves." Beethoven said on June 29, 1801: "My art is used to improve the lot of poor people." If Beethoven was known underground and heard that his music was used by Bismarck, he would definitely die without knowing it.

5. Metronome·Friendship·Canon

Beethoven’s friend Meltzel (1772-1838) is world-famous for inventing and manufacturing mechanical musical instruments.

In the autumn of 1813, Beethoven wrote a war symphony for the universal piano (mechanical orchestra) invented by Meltzer, titled "Wellington's Victory" or "The Battle of Victoria", which described the British war on June 21 of the same year. Scene of Wellington's defeat of Napoleon in the northern Spanish city of Vitoria. Meltzer once created today's universal metronome based on the invention of Winkel (1776-1826). Beethoven was the first to use it and mark the speed of his works according to the number of beats per minute. Beethoven's hearing aid was also made for him by Meltzel around 1810. Once, when Beethoven was sending Meltzel on a trip, he wrote a funny Canon to praise the creator of the metronome. This canon, which symbolizes the friendship between Beethoven and Meltzel, was later selected by Beethoven into his Eighth Symphony (Op. 93) and became the theme of the second movement.

6. The Seventh Symphony on the Ballet Stage

Wagner called Beethoven's "Seventh Symphony" (Opus 92) "the ultimate form of dance" and "the highest form" "Dance", "the most wonderful expression of body movement according to ideal forms". It is said that he once imagined using dance to perform the Seventh Symphony with Liszt's piano accompaniment. Wagner's ideal was later realized by Russian dance drama director Massin. In 1938, he arranged this symphony into a ballet to express an allegorical storyline - the creation and destruction of the world: the first movement: Creation - under the guidance of the creative spirit, the chaotic world became An orderly home for plants and animals. Men and women appeared, as well as dangerous snakes. Second Movement: Earth - Hatred and rape appear on the earth. A group of men and women mourn the murdered teenager. Third Movement: Sky - The gods and goddesses in the sky are indifferent to the turmoil on the earth and still enjoy themselves. The fourth movement: Drinking and destruction - people indulge in drinking and sex. God saw them badly imitating the joys of the upper world, and in anger destroyed the world with fire. In May 1938, this dance drama was performed for the first time in Monte Carlo, Monaco by Basil's Russian Ballet Company.

7. Ode to Joy and Choral Symphony

In January 1793, Fischenich, a friend of the German poet Schiller and a law professor at the University of Bonn, wrote to Schiller’s wife Charlotte Di said: "There was a young man... who had a great and lofty ambition to compose Schiller's "Ode to Joy" into music verse by verse." This young man was Beethoven. At that time, he lived in Bonn and was only 23 years old. age. Beethoven drafted the music for "Ode to Joy" in 1798 and 1812. The theme of "Ode to Joy" written in 1812 was later used in the "Nameday Festive Overture in C major" (Opus 115) completed in October 1814. Beethoven's song "Mutual Love" composed for Bürger's poem around 1795 and the theme of "Ode to Joy" in the last movement of "Choral Symphony" are closely related in tone. It can be said that it is "Ode to Joy". Theme's predecessor. Later, Beethoven borrowed this tune as the theme in his 1808 "Fantasia for Piano Chorus in C minor" (Op. 80), singing Kuffner's poem praising the charm of music. The chorus part of "Piano Chorus Fantasia" is an attempt to write the finale of "Choral Symphony". In March 1824, Beethoven wrote to Probst: "The finale of the Choral Symphony is written in the style of the Piano Choral Fantasy, but the scale is much larger. "It can be seen from this that Beethoven's intention of composing the music for "Ode to Joy" began in 1793 and took 30 years of thinking before finally being completed in the "Choral Symphony". The "Choral Symphony" was completed during the reactionary period after the Carlsbad Resolution when all free thought and democratic movements were brutally suppressed. When it was first performed at Vienna's Clenennator Theater in May 1824, the response from the audience was unprecedentedly enthusiastic. When Beethoven came on stage, he was applauded five times by the audience, so much so that the police had to intervene. But Beethoven, who was standing in the band with his back to the audience, could not hear anything. Fortunately, contralto singer Onger held his hand and turned around, and then he "saw" the audience's cheers. The extraordinary emotions aroused by the first performance can be seen from the profound practical significance of singing joy, that is, singing freedom, at that time.