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Beethoven Biography Essay

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Many questions go around about what day Ludwig Van Beethoven was born. Most do not know and most likely will not ever know. They say that he was born a day or two before he was baptized on December 17th, 1770. That was the beginning of one of the greatest musicians alive. Ludwig had two younger brothers that had survived into adulthood. One was named Casper and the other was named after their father Johann. His mother was a woman who stuck to her morals and his father was a man who was a court singer, but he was more known for being an alcoholic than a musician. This is one of the reasons Beethoven was closer with his mother rather than his father. Also, Beethoven’s grandfather was a well-known musician which was “a source of endless pride” …show more content…

His father, Johann, taught him how to play instruments day in and day out. When March 28th 1778 rolled around, Beethoven performed for the first time in front of a crowd in Cologne. At that time Beethoven was seven and a half years old, but his father said he was six years old. This always made Beethoven think he was younger than he actually was. Beethoven’s father could only teach him so much, though, so he went to go be taught by a professional musician named Gottlob Neefe. Neefe noticed how talented Beethoven was, so he decided to not only teach him about music but about the works of philosophers as well. As Beethoven grew, he created pieces of music that became very popular. His first piece, published before the age of twelve, was Nine Variations of C Minor. After that piece came out, his teacher wrote in a magazine article about him saying he’s to be, “The next Mozart if he keeps his work up.” Prince Maximillian Franz, who was the prince of Austria at the time, knew about Beethoven’s music and decided to send him to Vienna to go meet Mozart in 1787 so he could further his music education. When Beethoven and Mozart met, Mozart was said to have spoken,”Do not forget his name! It will be spoken often!”. Sadly, whilst Beethoven was in Vienna, he received a letter saying that his mother was dying. She was the only person Beethoven had a strong relationship with. She passed away on July 17th,

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