The events of Beethoven's life are the stuff of Romantic legend, evoking images of the solitary creator shaking his fist at Fate and finally overcoming it through a supreme effort of creative will. Born in the small German city of Bonn on or around December 16, 1770, he received his early training from his father and other local musicians. As a teenager, he earned some money as an assistant to his teacher, Christian Gottlob Neefe, then was Read more granted half of his father's salary as court musician from the Electorate of Cologne in order to care for his two younger brothers as his father gave in to alcoholism. Beethoven played viola in various orchestras, becoming friends with other players such as Antoine Reicha, Nikolaus Simrock, and Franz Ries, and began taking on composition commissions. As a member of the court chapel orchestra, he was able to travel some and meet members of the nobility, one of whom, Count Ferdinand Waldstein, would become a great friend and patron to him. Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792 to study with Haydn; despite the prickliness of their relationship, Haydn's concise humor helped form Beethoven's style. His subsequent teachers in composition were Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. In 1794, he began his career in earnest as a pianist and composer, taking advantage whenever he could of the patronage of others. Around 1800, Beethoven began to notice his gradually encroaching deafness. His growing despondency only intensified his antisocial tendencies. However, the Symphony No. 3, "Eroica," of 1803 began a sustained period of groundbreaking creative triumph. In later years, Beethoven was plagued by personal difficulties, including a series of failed romances and a nasty custody battle over a nephew, Karl. Yet after a long period of comparative compositional inactivity lasting from about 1811 to 1817, his creative imagination triumphed once again over his troubles. Beethoven's late works, especially the last five of his 16 string quartets and the last four of his 32 piano sonatas, have an ecstatic quality in which many have found a mystical significance. Beethoven died in Vienna on March 26, 1827.
Beethoven's epochal career is often divided into early, middle, and late periods, represented, respectively, by works based on Classic-period models, by revolutionary pieces that expanded the vocabulary of music, and by compositions written in a unique, highly personal musical language incorporating elements of contrapuntal and variation writing while approaching large-scale forms with complete freedom. Though certainly subject to debate, these divisions point to the immense depth and multifariousness of Beethoven's creative personality. Beethoven profoundly transformed every genre he touched, and the music of the nineteenth century seems to grow from his compositions as if from a chrysalis. A formidable pianist, he moved the piano sonata from the drawing room to the concert hall with such ambitious and virtuosic middle-period works as the "Waldstein" (No. 21) and "Appassionata" (No. 23) sonatas. His song cycle An die ferne Geliebte of 1816 set the pattern for similar cycles by all the Romantic song composers, from Schubert to Wolf. The Romantic tradition of descriptive or "program" music began with Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony No. 6. Even in the second half of the nineteenth century, Beethoven still directly inspired both conservatives (such as Brahms, who, like Beethoven, fundamentally stayed within the confines of Classical form) and radicals (such as Wagner, who viewed the Ninth Symphony as a harbinger of his own vision of a total art work, integrating vocal and instrumental music with the other arts). In many ways revolutionary, Beethoven's music remains universally appealing because of its characteristic humanism and dramatic power. Read less

Featured Ludwig van Beethoven CDs & DVDs:

Beethoven: Complete Symphonies / Blomstedt, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

Release Date: 07/07/2017 Label: Accentus
Catalog: 80322 Number of Discs: 5

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Beethoven, Schumann, Strauss & Vivaldi: Horn Music / Damm

Release Date: 04/28/2017 Label: Berlin Classics
Catalog: 0300930 Number of Discs: 6

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Beethoven: The Piano Trios / TrioVanBeethoven

Release Date: 04/28/2017 Label: Gramola
Catalog: 99134 Number of Discs: 4

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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas / Kissin

Release Date: 09/08/2017 Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 002712902 Number of Discs: 2

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Beethoven: Triple Concerto & Piano Concerto No. 3 / Vogt, Tetzlaff, Royal Northern Sinfonia

Release Date: 10/13/2017 Label: Ondine
Catalog: 1297 Number of Discs: 1

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Work: Sonata Appassionata

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26.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas / Rosel

Label: Berlin Classics Catalog: 0300752 Release Date: 08/26/2016 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Peter Rösel

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27.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas / Rosel [Vinyl]

Label: Berlin Classics Catalog: 0300751BC Release Date: 08/26/2016 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Peter Rösel

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28.

Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas / Schnabel

Label: Warner Classics Catalog: 556698 Release Date: 08/26/2016 Number of Discs: 8
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Artur Schnabel
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29.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas No. 3, 23, 30 / Brownridge

Label: Challenge Catalog: 72707 Release Date: 08/24/2016 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Angela Brownridge

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30.

Yojo, 19

Label: Tyxart Catalog: 16074 Release Date: 07/29/2016 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Yojo Christen, Frédéric Chopin
Performer: Yojo Christen

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31.

Lazar Berman: The Complete Sony Recordings

Label: Sony Catalog: 88875168362 Release Date: 05/27/2016 Number of Discs: 6
Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Alexander Scriabin ...
Performer: Lazar Berman
Conductor: Claudio Abbado, Erich Leinsdorf
Orchestra/Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

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32.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 3 / Buchbinder

Label: C Major Catalog: 73508 Release Date: 04/29/2016 Number of Discs: 2
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Rudolf Buchbinder

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33.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 3 / Buchbinder [Blu-ray]

Label: C Major Catalog: 734604 Release Date: 04/29/2016 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Rudolf Buchbinder

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34.

Great Moments at Carnegie Hall

Label: Sony Catalog: 503227 Release Date: 04/29/2016 Number of Discs: 43
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Roy Harris, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Christoph W. Gluck ...
Performer: Vladimir Horowitz, Jussi Björling, Frederick Schauwecker, Van Cliburn ...
Conductor: Arturo Toscanini, Serge Koussevitzky, Bruno Walter, Leonard Bernstein ...

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35.

Sergio Fiorentino: Early Recordings (1953-1966)

Label: Piano Classics Catalog: 104 Release Date: 04/29/2016 Number of Discs: 10
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frédéric Chopin, Johann Sebastian Bach ...
Performer: Sergio Fiorentino

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36.

The Originals: 8 Legendary Albums

Label: Dg Deutsche Grammophon Catalog: 002469802 Release Date: 04/08/2016 Number of Discs: 8
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Antonín Dvorák ...
Performer: Wilhelm Kempff, Martha Argerich, Mstislav Rostropovich, Anne-Sophie Mutter ...
Conductor: Carlos Kleiber, Claudio Abbado, Rafael Kubelik, Herbert von Karajan ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra ...

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37.

Apassionato: Beethoven / Donka Angatschewa

Label: Ars Produktion Catalog: 38200 Release Date: 03/25/2016 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Donka Angatschewa

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38.

Deutsche Grammophon: The Mono Era (1948-1957)

Label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalog: 002457272 Release Date: 03/18/2016 Number of Discs: 51
Composer: Franz Schubert, Dmitri Shostakovich, Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms ...
Performer: Stefan Askenase, Shura Cherkassky, Halina Czerny-Stefanska, Basile Bolotine ...
Conductor: Karel Ancerl, Karl Böhm, Serge Jaroff, Leopold Ludwig ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Amadeus Quartet, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra ...

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39.

Alfred Brendel: Complete Philips Recordings

Label: Decca Catalog: 002434302 Release Date: 01/29/2016 Number of Discs: 114
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven ...
Performer: Alfred Brendel, Imogen Cooper, Sylvia McNair, Eduard Brunner ...
Conductor: Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Charles Mackerras, Bernard Haitink, Simon Rattle ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra ...

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40.

Emil Gilels - The Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon

Label: Dg Deutsche Grammophon Catalog: 002436502 Release Date: 01/08/2016 Number of Discs: 24
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Edvard Grieg, Frédéric Chopin ...
Performer: Emil Gilels, Norbert Brainin, Peter Schidlof, Martin Lovett ...
Conductor: Eugen Jochum, Karl Böhm, Dmitri Kabalevsky
Orchestra/Ensemble: Amadeus String Quartet members, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra ...

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41.

111: The Collector's Editions [111 CDs]

Label: Dg Deutsche Grammophon Catalog: 002422702 Release Date: 12/11/2015 Number of Discs: 111
Composer: Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurice Ravel, Felix Mendelssohn ...
Performer: David Oistrakh, Igor Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, Martha Argerich ...
Conductor: Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Lorin Maazel, Franz Konwitschny ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Amadeus Quartet, Paris Orchestra ...

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42.

The Florilegium Series - Classical & Early Romantic

Label: L'oiseau Lyre Catalog: 002386502 Release Date: 10/15/2015 Number of Discs: 50
Composer: Johann Wenzel Stamitz, Luigi Boccherini, Franz Joseph Haydn, Domenico Cimarosa ...
Performer: Alan Hacker, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Emma Kirkby, Michael George ...
Conductor: Christopher Hogwood, Simon Preston, Alan Hacker, Arnold Östman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Academy of Ancient Music, The Music Party, Oxford New College Choir ...

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43.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas "Apassionata", "Moonlight", "Waldstein" / Horowitz

Label: Sony Catalog: 88697704492 Release Date: 10/09/2015 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Vladimir Horowitz

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44.

Beethoven: Diabelli Variations; Sonata "appassionata" / Nick Van Bloss

Label: Nimbus Catalog: 6276 Release Date: 06/09/2015 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Nick Van Bloss

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45.

Beethoven: Eroica / Konstantin Scherbako

Label: Twopianists (Label) Catalog: 1039190 Release Date: 06/09/2015 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Konstantin Scherbakov

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46.

Claudio Arrau Plays Beethoven: Sonata No. 23, Schumann: Fantasia, Liszt: Gnomenreigen

Label: Idi Catalog: 6695 Release Date: 05/12/2015 Number of Discs: 1
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt
Performer: Claudio Arrau

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47.

111 - The Piano - Legendary Recordings

Label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalog: 002281002 Release Date: 04/21/2015 Number of Discs: 40
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach, Robert Schumann, Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms ...
Performer: Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Géza Anda, Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim ...

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48.

Sviatoslav Richter: The Complete Album Collection

Label: Sony Catalog: 301470 Release Date: 04/14/2015 Number of Discs: 18
Composer: Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann ...
Performer: Sviatoslav Richter, Robert La Marchina
Conductor: Erich Leinsdorf, Christoph Eschenbach

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49.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Opp. 10, 53 'Waldstein', 54 & 57 'Appassionata'

Label: Ondine Catalog: 1268 Release Date: 03/10/2015 Number of Discs: 2
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Paavali Jumppanen
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50.

Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas / Maurizio Pollini

Label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalog: 002235002 Release Date: 02/24/2015 Number of Discs: 8
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Maurizio Pollini
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