Transcript Biography of Beethoven

Biography of
Beethoven
By Nicholas Bytendorp
Early Years
 Born in Bonn, Germany on December 17, 1770
 Considered the Romantic and Classical Era
 He claimed to be born in 1772 even after receiving official
documentation
Maria Magdalena Keverich
 Born 1744 –1787
 She was a deeply moralistic woman
 Beethoven referred to her as his best friend
 Died of tuberculosis—caused by poor nutrition. She was 41
years old.
Johann van Beethoven
 Lived from 1740-1792 in Bonn, Germany
 He drank and was abusive to Beethoven
 He was a performer
 Died perhaps of alcoholism. He was approximately 54 years
old.
Growing Up
 Beethoven’s father would wake him up in the middle of the night to play
the clavier.
 His father would hit him every time he got a note wrong or hesitated to
play the clavier or a note.
 He was locked in a cellar and sleep deprived to play the violin
 He learned to play the organ from a neighbor.
Music Background
 Introduced to the clavier, violin, viola, and organ.
 First recital was at the age of 7.
 Age 10, dropped out of school to study music.
 Age 12 created his first composition
 Age 17: Went to Vienna in hopes to study with Mozart but only
speculation on whether he did or not.
Tragedy and Death
 At the age of 30, He suffered from
a severe form of tinnitus, a
"ringing" in his ears that made it
hard for him to hear music.
 On March 26, 1827 in Vienna,
Austria, at the age of 56 and
completely deaf, Beethoven died.
Some of Beethoven’s works
 Beethoven wrote 9 symphonies while he was alive
 From 1803-1812, he wrote an opera, six symphonies, four
solo concerti, five string quartets, six string sonatas,
seven piano sonatas, five sets of piano variations, four
overtures, four trios, two sextets and 72 songs.
Composition History
 Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2,
 Another name for it is “Moonlight Sonata”
 Completed in 1801
 Published in 1802
 Beethoven was loosing his hearing while he was creating it.
 Was dedicated to Countess Giulietta Guicciardi who was
about 18 at the time.
Composition History cont...
 The name Moonlight Sonata came from Ludwig Rellstab, a
German music critic and poet in 1832.
 Ludwig Rellstab stated that the sonata reminded him of a
boat floating on Lake Lucerne in the moonlight.
 It is considered to be the most famous classical piece ever
written
 It has three movement to it. 1st is called Adagio Sostenuto,
2nd is called Allegretto, and the 3rd is called Presto Agiato.
Timed Listening Guide Movement # 1
PIANO SONATA IN C# MINOR, OPUS 27, NO. 2. (MOONLIGHT) MOVEMENT 1: ADAGIO SOSTENUTO

0:00= the dynamic of the introduction started of soft at the beginning of the movement and
slowly got a little louder. The form was started by hitting the same three notes in a row and
then ten seconds later jumping to a new piano key which was A. The melody or the theme of the
song was a soft relaxing piece, so it felt like you were floating on water. It has some flats and
sharps in it.

0:30= The harmony was amazing the way he uses his left and right hand to create a different
pitch and the length of the pitch. The rhythm of was constant hitting the same notes but at a
different place made it a smooth transaction.

1:00= At this point, you can hear both the melody and harmony being played. The dynamics is
getting a little louder but it’s not soft or loud it is kind of in the middle. The timbre of the
time is fantastic the way it smooth transaction into a different pitch and had a distinctive
quality that was still the same but sounded a little like Beethoven was mad at this point.

1:30= About half way you do not hear the harmony as much as you did at the beginning of the
song. The rhythm is still very smooth as the movement transitions from bass clef to treble clef

2:00=The harmony of the left hand as he hold those notes down while his right hand is hitting
some flats and sharps. The dynamics is the same a nice slow and soft beat like you are relaxing
in bed on your day off from work. The rhythm of this part is constant and flows smoothly like a
water part while he holds those notes with his left hand.

2:30= The dynamics went a little louder due to the notes being a higher pitch. It is hard to
distinguish the timbre due to the different notes being played but you can hear the different
sounds.
Timed Listening Guide Movement # 1
cont...

3:00=The texture becomes very rich and deep as the music transitions from the treble and
bass clef to the bass clef only which allows the harmony of the bass pitches to transition
together.

3:30=The rhythm and melody repeat back to what we heard at the beginning of the song
which allows the theme to enrich one’s mind in being relaxed.

4:00= This part is very similar to the beginning of the piece except we can now hear the
form of the song being played with the higher notes.

4:30=The rhythm is starting to slow down and the dynamics is reverting back to what it was
at the beginning of the song. You can begin to hear that the song is nearing the end.

5:00= During this part of the song, you can hear the melody changing from the treble clef
to the bas clef which again gives the song a very rich and deep tone as if a war was coming
to and end.

5:30=The piece is coming to an end. You can hear more pause as and the dynamics are very
quiet and the rhythm of this great masterpiece is being held as the piece ends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orFiIg5SuMw
Timed Listening Guide Movement # 3
MOVEMENT 3: PRESTO AGITATO

0:00= The beginning of the song the dynamic is very loud. The rhythm is upbeat and very fast as you try and hit so much not
it. It feels as if something is chasing you when you close your eyes,

0:30= The dynamics seems to settle down a little bit and the form of the song is fast and exciting in my book, even though I
have heard it a lot of time. It makes me think what will happen next. The melody of this piece is a sequence of upbeat and
allow the theme to be present which is to me the world is fast pace and we sometimes just need to keep up

1:00= The harmony of how the left hand is constant but the right hand is going into tremble and bass for a bit. The rhythm is
all over because the right hand slows down for about 20 seconds.

1:30= The dynamics shifts again for a brief second, it goes soft but then hit the loud as the notes are scaling up the piano
which allow the form to be repeated because the bottom hand just repeats itself for about two whole line then switches but
goes back.

2:00= The timbre seems to allowing you to hear two different notes being played that are just octave higher from each
other. The melody seems to have switched from being strong to a little less scary back to being strong

2:30= The rhythm seems to be allowing the duration of the notes to be hit making it emphasize the strong passion that
Beethoven had while writing this song

3:00= The form repeated itself of allow the right hand to slow down just a tad bit which caused the dynamic to slow or be
soft and then exploding into the dynamic pick up and so did the right hand.
Timed Listening Guide Movement #
3 cont...

3:00= The form repeated itself of allow the right hand to slow down just a tad bit which caused the
dynamic to slow or be soft and then exploding into the dynamic pick up and so did the right hand.

3:30= The texture of the notes are being separated as it is slowing down but not in a way that it is used to.
It like you were able to catch your breath while running and then all of a sudden doing a full sprint

4:00=The form of the song is not the same, it has gone away from it which is causing the harmony of
playing the same notes to go away and that in return is slowing the volume or the dynamics

4:30=The melody is at a sequence of hitting the same not, that the harmony isn’t there anymore like it
used to be and the texture is all gone because it went from being slow paced to face pace.

5:00= To be honest it is the same as it was at 4:00 but it is slowing down

5:30= The dynamics stops for a little bit and then slowly and gradually build it ways up which cause the
melody to become strong and the main idea to flourish

6:00= It is the same at 4:30

6:33= It is finally slowing down as it comes to the end just like you feel when your playing sports and you
are almost done with the meet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zucBfXpCA6s
Reference and Bibliography

2-register Clavier. N.d. Berlin Musikinstrumenten-Museum. Web. 8 May 2015.
<http://www.indianabeer.com/ostrander/Germany-N/39-BerlinMusikinstrumenten.html>.

"Beethoven." BEETHOVEN : Parents. Jobs Design, 2007. Web. 08 May 2015. <http://www.beethoven.ws/parents.html
beethovans mother>.

Beethoven. N.d. File:Beethoven.jpg. Web. 8 May 2015. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABeethoven.jpg>.

File:Thirteen-year-old Beethoven.jpg. N.d. File:Thirteen-year-old Beethoven.jpg. Web. 8 May 2015.
<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AThirteen-year-old_Beethoven.jpg>.

"Films with Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in It." ICheckMovies. IMDB, 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 08 May 2015.
<https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/films+with+beethovens+moonlight+sonata+in+it/marco_n65/>.

Image: Maria Keverig.jpg. N.d. Rodovid. Web. 8 May 2015. <http://en.rodovid.org/wk/Person:170568>.

Johann Van Beethoven. N.d. Johann Van Beethoven. Web. 8 May 2015. <http://www.fanphobia.net/profiles/johannvon-beethoven/>.

"Ludwig Van Beethoven Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 2015. Web. 08 May 2015.
<http://www.biography.com/people/ludwig-van-beethoven-9204862.>.

"Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight Sonata"" The Beethoven Sonatas. N/A, 06 Nov. 2011. Web. 08 May 2015.
<http://worldofbeethoven.com/op-27-no-2-moonlight-sonata-with-video/>.

Violin. N.d. N/A. Web. 8 May 2015.
<http://www.alangoldblatt.com/gallery/mccumberviolin/Big/McCumberFront1.jpg>.