and pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven, was born in December 1770 and spent much of his life in Vienna, Austria. His first teacher was his alcoholic father, who worked as a musician at the Bonn court. Teaching him day and night, Ludwig suffered from his father's harsh and erratic behavior. For a time he and his father played in church. As his father's alcoholism increased, Ludwig became the leading musician. Beethoven's talents were discovered at an early age and he was sent to Vienna to study with several teachers including Mozart and Hayden. There Beethoven quickly adopted a reputation as a great pianist, a child prodigy. At eight he gave his first public performance and at twelve he published his first works: nine variations, in C minor, for piano. Christian Goftlob Neefe was sure that Beethoven's talent would make him the new Mozart of the time. At the age of fourteen Beethoven was appointed organist at the court of Maximillian Franz, Elector of Cologne. His promising career, however, will have to be put on hold in order to raise his two younger brothers. This turn of events took place because his mother had died of tuberculosis and his father had further deteriorated into alcoholism. Finally, in 1792 Beethoven studied with Joseph Hayden in Vienna together with Johan George Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. By 1795 he was an accomplished piano virtuoso who worked not for the church or noble court but for members of the aristocracy, who paid for his compositions and signed up for his concerts. He also earned money from public concerts, music lessons and from the sale of his works. In 1800 Beethoven presented his first symphony although it was considered risky and... a medium of paper... hid too much at once. Overall, I would go back to this biography just to reference facts about Beethoven and the history that was happening and influencing the composer at the time. I found the content of the biography very useful to learn about the life and conflicts of Ludwig van Beethoven. The famous composer led an interesting and semi-tragic life. Otherwise I wouldn't sit down and read Beethoven: The Universal Composer for personal pleasure. Works Cited Lane, William. "Deafness." L'Immortale 2005. 13 November 2006."Ludwig van Beethoven." Master of Classical Music 13 November 2006."Ludwig van Beethoven." Wikipedia November 11, 2006. November 13, 2006.Morris, Edmund. Beethoven: the universal composer. Harper Collins: New York, 2005. Prévot, Dominique. "Biography of Ludwig van Beethoven." Beethoven websiteDecember 2005. November 13 2006.

Topic > and pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven, was born in December 1770 and spent much of his life in Vienna, Austria. His first teacher was his alcoholic father, who worked as a musician at the Bonn court. Teaching him day and night, Ludwig suffered from his father's harsh and erratic behavior. For a time he and his father played in church. As his father's alcoholism increased, Ludwig became the leading musician. Beethoven's talents were discovered at an early age and he was sent to Vienna to study with several teachers including Mozart and Hayden. There Beethoven quickly adopted a reputation as a great pianist, a child prodigy. At eight he gave his first public performance and at twelve he published his first works: nine variations, in C minor, for piano. Christian Goftlob Neefe was sure that Beethoven's talent would make him the new Mozart of the time. At the age of fourteen Beethoven was appointed organist at the court of Maximillian Franz, Elector of Cologne. His promising career, however, will have to be put on hold in order to raise his two younger brothers. This turn of events took place because his mother had died of tuberculosis and his father had further deteriorated into alcoholism. Finally, in 1792 Beethoven studied with Joseph Hayden in Vienna together with Johan George Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. By 1795 he was an accomplished piano virtuoso who worked not for the church or noble court but for members of the aristocracy, who paid for his compositions and signed up for his concerts. He also earned money from public concerts, music lessons and from the sale of his works. In 1800 Beethoven presented his first symphony although it was considered risky and... a medium of paper... hid too much at once. Overall, I would go back to this biography just to reference facts about Beethoven and the history that was happening and influencing the composer at the time. I found the content of the biography very useful to learn about the life and conflicts of Ludwig van Beethoven. The famous composer led an interesting and semi-tragic life. Otherwise I wouldn't sit down and read Beethoven: The Universal Composer for personal pleasure. Works Cited Lane, William. "Deafness." L'Immortale 2005. 13 November 2006."Ludwig van Beethoven." Master of Classical Music 13 November 2006."Ludwig van Beethoven." Wikipedia November 11, 2006. November 13, 2006.Morris, Edmund. Beethoven: the universal composer. Harper Collins: New York, 2005. Prévot, Dominique. "Biography of Ludwig van Beethoven." Beethoven websiteDecember 2005. November 13 2006.