This is probably the most famous piece of music in the world

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This is probably the most famous piece of music
in the world
Do you recognize it?
It is the opening of Beethovens Fifth Symphony.
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Ludwig van Beethoven

• Baptized December 17, 1770in Bonn, Germany
• Died March 26, 1827in Vienna, Austria
• How old was he when he died?

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• Beethovens Birth House

Do you think he was rich or poor?
Middle class!
Bonn, Germany
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• Beethovens father was a singer and musician.
• He taught Beethoven music beginning when he was
  four.
• What kind of person do you think he was from his
  picture?

Beethovens father
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• His father was alcoholic and abusive.
• Example He would return home late at night,
  often drunk and drag young Ludwig from his bed in
  order to beat music lessons into the boy's sleepy
  head.

• The Early Years

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• The Early Years

But young Ludwig would prove his father wrong, as
we will see... He became a very good musician,
and gave his first public concert at 7 years
old. At age 10, he quit school to spend all of
his time on music
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• The Early Years

As a teenager, Beethoven was already supporting
his family, because his father was so unreliable.
And when he was 16, he went to Vienna (Austria)
to audition for Mozart (whom his father had said
would laugh at him!)
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Bonn

• In Beethovens time, Vienna was the musical
  capital of Europe.
• What do you think the musical capital of the
  United States is?

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• The Early Years

Vienna was where the court of the Emperor was
located. It was a rich and important city.
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• The Early Years

Instead of laughing at him, as Beethovens father
predicted, Mozart said of 16-year old Beethoven,
Watch out for him! He will give the world
something to talk about.
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• The Early Years

But unfortunately, Mozart had more students than
he could manage, so Beethoven returned to Bonn,
hoping to return when Mozart had room in his
schedule.
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Unfortunately, by the time Beethoven finally
moved to Vienna to study with him, Mozart had
died. But ....
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So Beethoven studied with Franz Josef Haydn.
They didnt always get along, though, because
Beethoven had many new ideas about music, and
didnt always want to listen to his older
teacher.
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The music of Mozart and Haydn is called
classical, which means it is very orderly,
balanced and clear. Listen to Haydns Surprise
Symphony See if you can hear why its called
that!
(Haydn did have a sense of humor, even if
Beethoven thought he was old-fashioned!)
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Beethoven changed music he didnt want music to
be orderly and clear, and he didnt want it to be
just nice entertainment for rich people. He
wanted his music to make people FEEL things, to
be emotionally powerful.
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Beethoven changed music he didnt want music to
be orderly and clear, and he didnt want it to be
just nice entertainment for rich people. He
wanted his music to make people FEEL things, to
be emotionally powerful.
WHY? Lets watch...
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Beethovens times

• What are some of the things Beethoven said were
  happening in his time that made him want to
  change music?

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American Revolution Declaration of Independence
from England, 1776

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The French Revolution, 1789
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Napoleon Bonaparte, the French general, unleashed
bloody wars across Europe
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Beethovens times

• Beethoven wanted his music to reflect the
  excitement and violence of his time.

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Beethovens times

• But people didnt always appreciate his new
  ideas....

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• Beethovens Health

When Beethoven was around 30, he began to have
trouble with his hearing. 1 What would it be
like for someone whose whole life was music to
lose their hearing? Beethoven said that he felt
as though someone had put him in a room, locked
the door and thrown away the key.
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Personality

• Beethoven cared about little else but music. He
  spent all his time practicing the piano and
  writing music.
• He didnt like many people and had few friends.
• He had no patience for people who werent serious
  about music.
• He never bothered with good manners and was often
  rude.

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• Why do you think he was so often rude to people?

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• Beethovens Music

Throughout his life, he wrote a total of 336
pieces of music He wrote a total of 9
symphonies (1800) Symphony No. 1 in C
major(1803) Symphony No. 2 in D major(1805)
Symphony No. 3 in E flat major "Eroica"(1807)
Symphony No. 4 in B flat major(1808) Symphony
No. 5 in C minor(1808) Symphony No. 6 in F major
"Pastoral"(1813) Symphony No. 7 in A
major(1814) Symphony No. 8 in F major(1824)
Symphony No. 9 in D minor "Choral"
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• Beethovens Music

(1808) Symphony No. 5 in C minor
We call that da-da-da-DAAA rhythm a motif a
pattern in the music that returns over over
again. Beethoven used this motif throughout the
Fifth Symphony.
Listen to this excerpt from the 2nd movement.
Raise your hand when you hear the motif.
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• But Beethovens music wasnt always well-received!

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• Beethovens Music

(1808) Symphony No. 6 in F major
"Pastoral" Beethoven was inspired by the
beauty of nature and the countryside.
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• Beethovens Music

(1808) Symphony No. 6 in F major
"Pastoral" Second movement The Brook. Can
you hear the birds?
Most symphonies have 4 movements. The Pastoral
symphony has 5 movements
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• Beethovens Music

(1808) Symphony No. 6 in F major
"Pastoral" 4th movement A Thunderstorm!
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• Beethovens Music

(1808) Symphony No. 6 in F major
"Pastoral" 5th movement Sun comes back out
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• But as he got older, his health and hearing
  deteriorated, and he began acting more and more
  strangely.
• What followed was tragic and unexpected.

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• But despite his troubles, Beethovens greatest
  and most joyful symphony was still to come, even
  though he was completely deaf at the time!

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• Beethovens Music

(1824) The 9th symphony was also called the
Choral Symphony, because it was the first to
use the human voice! Based on poem by Schiller
-- the Ode to Joy
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• Beethovens Music

• Symphony No. 5
• the most recognized piece of music ever written
• Symphony No. 6 Pastoral
• Inspired by his love of nature.
• Symphony No. 9 Choral
• Written when he was completely deaf
• Based on a poem Ode to Joy
• First Symphony to have a chorus.

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• Beethovens Music

How was he able to do this? He had Perfect
Pitch The ability to name the letter of a pitch
simply by hearing it, or the ability to produce
any pitch referred to by name.
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• Beethovens Music

Beethoven was never satisfied with his writing.
He would write and re-write his music many times,
sometimes taking many years to finish a single
piece Look at how many corrections, and changes
there are in one of his scores.
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• Beethovens Music

Original manuscript of Beethoven music
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• Beethoven Personal Facts

Beethoven was a slob who didnt bathe.He didnt
change or wash his clothes. He smelled so bad
that friends would sneak away with his clothes
and wash them for him
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• Beethoven Personal Facts

He was a short man with a huge head and hairy
hands.
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• Beethoven Quote

Beethoven was not modest he knew how great he
was. Once he was invited to a dinner by a
prince. When Beethoven refused, the Prince was
outraged. Beethovens response was this
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• Beethoven Quote

What you are, you are by accident of birth what
I am, I am by myself. There are, and always will
be, thousands of princes, but there is only one
Beethoven
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• Beethovens Health

Beethoven hearing devices
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• Beethovens Death

Beethoven died in Vienna, Austriain 1827. Over
10,000 people attended his funeral. His final
words were "Friends applaud, the Comedy is over."
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• Beethoven Lives On

A manuscript in Ludwig van Beethoven's own hand,
was discovered in a Philadelphia seminary in the
summer of 2005 The 80-page draft score for the
Grosse Fugue for Piano-Four Hands, is considered
a milestone in Beethoven's career
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• Beethoven Lives On

It dates from the final months of his life when
he was completely deaf. It shows the extent of
Beethoven's re-workings and includes deletions,
corrections and deep erasures - occasionally the
paper is rubbed right through leaving small holes
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• Beethoven Lives On

The score had disappeared for 115 years, had
never been examined by scholars, and was hidden
from the public It was auctioned off in the fall
of 2005 for approximately
1,750,000.