Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) was the last and greatest representative of the Vienna School. Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Bonn, a small city on the Rhine River not far from the French border. His father was a tenor singer in a court orchestra, and his mother was a cook. His grandfather was the conductor of the Bonn Court Orchestra.
Beethoven has revealed his musical genius since he was a child. His father had already noticed his son's musical talent very early. In order to cultivate him into a child prodigy like Mozart, he began to force him to perform music at the age of four. He studied piano and violin, and by the age of eight he had begun performing in concerts and trying to compose. However, the music education he received during this period had been very fragmented and unsystematic. Beethoven dropped out of school at the age of eleven and concentrated on studying music at home. At the age of twelve, he was already able to play freely and served as the assistant of the organist Nie Fei (1748-1798). At the age of thirteen, Beethoven was already employed as a harpsichord player at the Bonn Theater and officially became a professional musician. It was at this time that he began to formally study music with Nie Fei. Nie Fei was a musician with many talents. He expanded Beethoven's artistic vision, made Beethoven familiar with some excellent examples of German classical art, and consolidated Beethoven's understanding of lofty purposes. Beethoven's formal learning and systematic upbringing actually began with Nie Fei's careful teaching and training: Nie Fei also guided him to Vienna to teach Mozart in 1787. After hearing his performance, Mozart predicted that Beethoven would one day shock the world.
Beethoven received news of his mother's death soon after arriving in Vienna, and he had to rush back to Bonn immediately. Due to family burdens, he did not come to Vienna often until the death of his father in the autumn of 1792, but by this time Mozart was no longer alive. After Beethoven came to Vienna for the second time, he quickly won the status of Vienna's most outstanding performer (especially improvisation). Later, he first studied with Haydn, and later with Schenck, Albrecht Berg and Salieri. Beethoven had been growing up in the music of Mozart and Haydn, and when he started composing, his style was very similar to those of his two predecessors.
As a freelance musician in Vienna, his situation was smoother than that of Mozart, but he suffered greatly due to his personality. Through his contacts with the intellectual Breining in Bonn, he came into contact with many famous professors, writers and musicians at that time, and from them he was influenced by the ideological trend of the "Turbulence Movement". His democratic ideas had reached maturity in the years before the French Revolution, but they grew particularly rapidly during the revolutionary years. The progressive ideology of the French bourgeois revolution in 1789 inspired him a lot, thus laying the foundation for his humanistic worldview - a deep belief in human equality, the pursuit of justice and individual freedom, and a hatred of the oppression of feudal autocracy. He once said: "One year of freedom is much more useful to mankind than a hundred years of despotism." The slogan of the French Revolution "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" deeply moved him, which made him initially determine the most advanced ideas at the time. Bourgeois outlook on life. He once wrote in his diary: "Freedom!!! Is there anything more that people need than it?" "I love freedom more than anything else - I will not betray the truth even in front of the throne!" "In the world of art, moving forward freely as in all great creations is the goal." This is Beethoven's creative oath.
His creations fulfilled these oaths and created many immortal chapters. , realizing his ideal of revolutionary heroism of "through suffering - towards joy; through struggle - towards victory". This is concentrated in his "Violin Concerto", "Fourth Piano Concerto", "Fifth Piano Concerto" and other works, especially the "Ninth Symphony" which declares Beethoven's ideal purpose - unity and friendship for all mankind. .
Music Beethoven is one of the most original composers. His main and most important works are symphonic music, among which nine symphonies dominate.
Beethoven’s creative ideas were broad, grand in image, profound in emotion, and sharp in contrast, which made him focus on adopting and expanding the sonata form; at the same time, due to the rich and diverse images in creation, the sonata form used in various works Each has its own characteristics. Beethoven's other orchestral works include the "Violin Concerto", five piano concertos, two overtures, piano orchestra, choral fantasy, two dandies for violin and orchestra, etc. Although the three famous composers of the Viennese classical music school lived in a very close era, Beethoven's thoughts obviously did not belong to the same era as Haydn and Mozart. Haydn was humiliated throughout his life, although he was occasionally angered. , but he always resigned himself to it. The progressive literary trends and revolutionary sentiments at that time rarely excited him, and his music was always insulated from the struggle. Mozart suffered no less spiritual suffering than Haydn. He was brave enough to resist and would rather. He was poor and could not bear the insult of the archbishop, but in his music, behind the joy full of sunshine and youthful vitality, you can often feel a kind of pain, melancholy and sad emotions. Only Beethoven was not only angry. He opposed the tyranny of the feudal system and used his music to call on people to fight for freedom and happiness.
Beethoven's compositions during his Bonn period (1782-1792) were mostly small piano pieces and ensembles. and songs, etc. During this period, it can be said that he was only in the preparatory stage of creation. Among his creations in the first ten years (1792-1802) in Vienna, the only famous works are "Sorrow", "Moonlight" and "Kreutzer". "Sonata" and "Piano Concerto No. 3", etc. However, during this period, he had a further understanding of social and political issues and was able to realize the goals he was striving to explore. From 1802 to 1812, his creation entered maturity. This period became his "heroic age".
The choral works include two masses (in C major and D major), the oratorio "Christ on the Mount of Olives", and the "Ninth Symphony". /p>
Theatrical works include the opera "Fidelio", the drama scores "Egmont", "King Stephan", "The Ruins of Athens", the ballet "The Lives of Prometheus", etc.
Chamber music includes septet, piano and wind quintet, string quintet, sixteen string quartets and "Grand Fugue", four string trios, flute, violin, middle Serenade for piano, six piano trios, ten sonatas for clarinet, cello, piano trio, violin sonatas, five cello sonatas and horn sonatas, as well as thirty-two important piano sonatas.
The songs include vocal music. The suite "To My Loved One", the soprano and orchestra scene "Ah! The Unfaithful" and other vocal and piano music, etc.
In terms of musical affiliation, Beethoven is basically classical. , but its later period obviously has romantic elements, so it seems to be classified as a romantic school. Its representative works: Symphonies No. 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9 (Op. 55, 67, 68, 92, 125), and the overture "Eige". Monte" (Op. 84), Overture "Linlioran" (Op. 62), Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" (Op. 73), Violin Concerto in D major (Op. 61), C major No. 9 String Quartet No. 3 (Op. 59-3), Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor "Pathétique" (Op. 13), Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor "Moonlight" (Op. 27-2), F major Piano Sonata No. 5 "Spring" (Op. 24), Romance No. 2 in F major (Op. 50).
The maturation process of Beethoven's creative activities seems to be quite slow on the surface, but in fact it is very stable. He only began to write his first symphony when he was thirty years old. At this age, Mozart had already written about forty symphonies.
Beethoven had felt his hearing weakening since 1796, but it was not until 1801, when he was convinced that his ear disease was incurable, that he told his friends about it. However, his love for art and life overcame his personal pain and despair - suffering became the source of his creative power. At the height of such a spiritual crisis, he began to compose his optimistic "Eroic Symphony."
The "Eroica Symphony" marks a spiritual turning point for Beethoven and also marks the beginning of the "Heroic Age" of his creation.
In the latter period of Beethoven's stay in Vienna, because Europe was experiencing a period of severe political reaction, that is, a period when Metternich's reactionary rule was particularly rampant, his creations also temporarily declined (1813- 1817). From 1818 onwards, during the last ten years of Beethoven's life (1818-1827), he was completely deaf, his health deteriorated significantly, he suffered from pain in life and suffered mental torture. He composed the "Ninth (Choral) Symphony", which summarizes his glorious and epic life and shows the good wishes of mankind.
Beethoven died in Vienna on March 26, 1827. He died without any relatives beside him, but when he was buried on the 29th of the same month, there was a mass wave. All schools were closed to express condolences. Twenty thousand people escorted his coffin, and his tombstone was It is engraved with the inscription of the Austrian poet Greer Bacze (1791-1872): "When you stand in front of his coffin, what envelopes you is not dejection, but a noble feeling; we only have For a person like him, it can be said: He has accomplished a great cause..."
Beethoven is one of the great artists in the history of world art, and his creations embody his giant spirit. The character reflects the progressive thinking of that era, and its image of revolutionary heroism can be summarized as "through suffering - to joy; through struggle - to victory." His works are both majestic and magnificent, yet extremely simple and distinctive. His music is both rich in content and easy for the audience to understand and accept.
Beethoven's music embodies the pain and joy of the broad masses of the people of his time. Struggle and victory, so it always inspired people and inspired people's fighting spirit in the past, and even now it makes people feel kind and inspiring.
His nine symphonies occupy an extremely unique position among all his creations. These symphonies can be compared to a complete large-scale symphonic narrative poem - a long epic describing the life of a hero. Although there is no storyline to connect it, what it reveals is all aspects of the hero's life, activities and thoughts, that is, some of the most important life issues faced by the hero, such as: the hero and his struggle, the hero and the big picture Nature, the hero and his inner world, the hero and the people, etc. His nine symphonies are the most important part of the world's cultural heritage.
I have always wanted to know what kind of person Beethoven was, and now I finally have the opportunity to read "The Biography of Beethoven" in "Three Lives of Giants" by the French literary master Romain Rolland. From it, I not only saw the ups and downs of Beethoven His life and arduous creative process, while seeing the great soul of this art master. First of all, I really want to thank Master Roland for creating this famous masterpiece in the literary world. He used vivid and popular language and rich materials to tell people: The genius of any great man must go through a society that is opposed to him. Only through the process of fierce struggle can they fully demonstrate their genius and complete their creation. When appreciating "The Biography of Beethoven", rather than treating it as a biography, it is better to appreciate it as a literary work, because it has a large number of detailed historical materials, popular and vivid literary language, and has the characteristics of a biography. Authenticity, and the aesthetics of literary works. Roland's "The Biography of Beethoven" reveals that Beethoven faced various difficulties - the destruction of love, the intrusion of poverty, fatal deafness - but remained spiritually unyielding, and finally completed his world-famous performance in a joyful and triumphant song. The movement of the Ninth Symphony projects Roland's strong admiration for the great man. One of the features of this work is the lyricism that runs throughout. Beethoven is a great man of music, so Roland interprets his life as if he were interpreting his symphony. This may be why when I appreciate this biography, I feel that it is as exciting as Beethoven's symphony.
At the age of thirteen, Beethoven was already employed as a harpsichord player at the Bonn Theater and officially became a professional musician. It was at this time that he began to formally study music with Nie Fei. Nie Fei was a musician with many talents. He expanded Beethoven's artistic vision, made Beethoven familiar with some excellent examples of German classical art, and consolidated Beethoven's understanding of lofty purposes.
Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in December 1770. His mother was a hardworking and gentle maid, while his father was a greedy and alcoholic singer, so his family was poor. . His father's strict discipline made his childhood very miserable, and he could only get a little love from his mother and grandfather.
Beethoven showed his talent and talent in music from an early age. He started learning music at the age of four, piano and violin at the age of five, gave his first public performance at the age of eight, and had the talent to play improvisations on the piano at the age of eleven. , budding talent, joining the band of his hometown theater. When he was seventeen, his mother died and his father was unemployed. He took on the important responsibility of taking care of the family and educating his two younger brothers. When his father passed away at the age of 22, he took Dove to Vienna and started his career as a piano player and composer. Became a famous piano player at the age of twenty-five. Soon, his reputation as a composer gradually improved, but at the age of twenty-seven, his hearing began to decline. At the age of thirty, he gradually became deaf in both ears, and by the age of forty-five, he was completely deaf in both ears. During this period, he published his great "Ninth Symphony" (chorus), etc.
Although Beethoven fell in love many times in his life, he never got married. In his later years, he was implicated by his nephew, his temper became abnormal, and he suffered from gastrointestinal diseases and jaundice. Finally, in 1827, He died of illness in Vienna during a storm on March 26. After his death, more than 25,000 admirers came to pay their respects to his remains. All schools in Vienna were closed on the day of his funeral to express their respect for him.
Beethoven was a bridge from the classical music school to the romantic school. He came from a humble background. Although he suffered many misfortunes and pains, he had an indomitable spirit and a positive enterprising spirit. Enrich yourself so that you can grow and thrive. He was forced to study music since he was a child. In his early years, he learned theoretical composition from Haydn and Albrecht, which laid a solid foundation for composition skills and eventually became a great master.
Beethoven struggled with suffering and fate throughout his life and never bowed his head. He felt deeply about life and understood the meaning of life. Therefore, he incorporated many deep emotions that his predecessors had never imagined in his works, and they are full of full of emotions. confidence. These works are like brilliant and brilliant rays of light, illuminating the whole field of life, showing lofty aspirations and unrestrained enthusiasm, which are very admirable. We should learn from Beethoven's sentiment of not being afraid of hardships and working hard.