Biography of Beethoven 贝多芬简介
Biography of Beethoven: one of the greatest musician ever born and who
wrote his name on the page of history with golden ink.
Enlarge ImageLudwig Van Beethoven was born in a small town 'Bonn' of
Germany on 16 December 1770 in a family of professional musicians. His
father Johann and grandfather Ludwig were musicians and they had
decided to train him in music right from his childhood, so his father
took on the job to teach him the basic lessons of music. Ludwig
learned violin and some other instruments from his father. His father
wanted Ludwig to be perfect in music, and in that endeavor he thrashed
littel Ludwig whenever he made any mistake during practice (According
to one story, because of the punishments given by his father Ludwig
suffered from hearing problems in future, which ruined his life).
Besides the fact that his father and grandfather had a wish that
little Ludwig should become a great musician, he himself had a great
interest in music. Whatever treatment Ludwig received from his father,
he never let fade his love and interest in music.
Further, Beethoven was sent to learn music from C. G. Neefe. Beethoven
learned every possible and minute detail of music from Neefe and also
became his assistant when was 11 years of age. He learned piano,
violin and organ from Neefe. Beethoven and Mozart share many
situations in their lives which are perfectly similar in many aspects,
both of them were born in a family where music was the most important
and indivisible part of life, both received training in music right
from their childhood, they both had genuine interest in music and like
Mozart, Beethoven also had started performing in public events, shows
etc. when he was just six years of age. When Beethoven was twelve
years old, his first music work was published. Ludwig dropped out of
his school when he was thirteen year old in order to concentrate on
his practice and to perform in musical tours.
Beethoven then continued assisting Neefe till he was seventeen years
old. In 1787, he went to Vienna in search of good opportunities and to
demonstrate his talent in music. But he had to return to his house in
Bonn when he learned about his mother's illness. Finally, near 1792 he
took off for Vienna in search of a good work in the field of music.
In Vienna, Beethoven tried to learn new things and learned composition
and counterpoint from well-known personalities from the world of music
such as Haydn, Albrecht Berger, Salieri and Schenk. He even published
some of his compositions. Beethoven was a wise person and had a good
foresight; he had understood that in his run to achieve a good
position, all that he needed was good relations with people who had
power in their hands. Beethoven established his relations with high
profile people in Vienna, which ensured him continual income for his
lifetime. His relations helped him on such level that even that time
(1809) Prince of Vienna, Prince Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz assured
him a yearly income if he agreed to stay in Vienna for rest of his
life.
During the period 1800 to 1813, Beethoven learned high classical style
and even adopted it in his creations and performances he gave. With
the new style that he had learned, he wrote some new symphonies, some
new concerts, quartets etc. Beethoven gained popularity very fast
during the middle period of his life. It was a time when Beethoven
wanted to concentrate on his work and continue with new compositions,
but at the same time he suffered from hearing problem, which worsened
gradually.
The problem with hearing that he suffered was reflected in the
compositions he created and even his social life was getting affected
because of it. It became very hard for Beethoven to attend any public
event as his hearing problem created lot of tension for him and at
times the situation led in broken relationships with others. The other
problem Beethoven faced in his life was his relations with women. It
was always a tension filled situation for him to face a woman;
probably because he hesitated to express himself or may be because no
woman could ever understand him. This resulted in the fact that he
could never fulfill his dream of getting married to a beautiful woman,
as the woman he loved was either from a high profile family who loved
someone else or he loved a married woman.
At the time when everything had almost finished for Beethoven, he came
up with a determination that helped him mark his re-entry in the world
of music. He wrote many symphonies (Erotica Symphony No. 3 which he
dedicated to Napoleon, symphony no. 5, 6, 7 and 8), piano and violin
concerts, various tones, compositions for orchestras, few operas,
number very famous sonatas, three and six string quartets etc.
Beethoven's musical work during this period is the most ultimate and a
state of art performance he ever gave. Beethoven had proved himself to
be the greatest musician of his time. He was successful in gaining
popularity as a public figure and was respected for his work in the
field of music.
After few years, Beethoven was in situation where he became almost
deaf and could hear nothing. It was a dead end for the musical genius
and it became nearly impossible for him to perform. Beethoven stopped
creating new composition and was very much frustrated (He even wrote
letters to his brothers telling them how he felt like it was an end of
his life and what he wished to do). During this period when Beethoven
had almost stopped working on music creation, his earlier
compositions, and symphonies ensured funds for him. But it could
hardly suffice for longer period and he suffered economical problems.
His health went on deteriorating and he had not enough funds left to
take care of himself. Finally, on 26 March 1827, the great musical
genius left this world forever.
贝多芬（1770—1827）出生于波恩，自幼学习弹琴，1787年曾到维也纳向海顿学习作曲，并结识莫扎特。贝多芬生活在法国大革命、拿破仑战争和维也纳体系的时代，欧洲的民主和民族意识此时正日益兴起。他的作品正反映了这些时代的特征，或歌颂英雄，或反对封建，争取民主自由和美好未来。其主要作品有《悲怆》奏鸣曲、《月光》奏鸣曲、《命运交响曲》（即第五交响曲）、《合唱交响曲》（即第九交响曲）等。贝多芬的晚年十分凄凉，在贫病交加中死去。但是，人民忘不了他，1827年3月29日，贝多芬的葬礼举行时，有二千多人参加护灵。贝多芬对音乐的最重要贡献是交响曲，因此他被誉为"交响乐之王"。
路德维希·凡·贝多芬(1770-1827)是十八世纪后年叶以来世界最著名的德国音乐家。1770年12月26日贝多芬诞生于德国莱茵河畔的波恩城。他的祖父原是荷兰籍，移居德国后，曾任当地宫廷乐长。父亲是个男高音歌手，母亲是宫廷御厨的女儿。贝多芬生长的年代，正是约瑟夫二世实行"开明专制"的时期，波恩的统治者也实行了一些改良的措施。波恩成了当时德国启蒙运动的中心地之一。贝多芬的幼年就是在这样的环境下成长起来的。但是，贝多芬童年很不幸福，嗜酒成癖的父亲败坏了家业，他企图把四岁的贝多芬变成摇钱树，一心想让自己的儿子也成为莫扎特式的神童，因此他不只强迫孩子练琴，而且常常夜半三更酗酒回家后把孩子从熟睡中拖起来拉琴，不满八岁的贝多芬被强迫在寇恩的听众面前表演、卖艺，十一岁的贝多芬就开始在剧院的乐队里工作。这种严酷的童年生活，使贝多芬很早就走上了独立的以音乐谋生的道路，同时也就养成了他坚毅倔强的性格。
从1781年起，贝多芬在剧院工作的同时，跟乐队指挥奈弗学习巴赫的《平均律钢琴曲》和作曲法。奈弗是位很有修养、倾向于启蒙运动的作曲家．指挥家，他对发展德国的民族歌剧、清唱剧都曾有过贡献。贝多芬通过向这位老师学习，认识到学习德国民族音乐传统的重要，并在奈弗的引导下也接受了启蒙运动的影响，对德国当时的进步文学发生了浓厚的兴趣。
1787年以后，贝多芬担起了全家生活的经济重担。但贝多芬并未被艰难困苦的适遇所屈服，他设法在波恩大学旁听哲学课，他醉心于诵读和研究古代神话、希腊文和拉丁文的古典文学，他对莎士比亚、席勒、歌德等人的作品非常喜爱。他虽然没有莫扎特的早熟天赋，也没有莫扎特优越的学习条件，而他那孜孜不倦的自学所取得的成就，是他所有的前辈都不及的。
1789年的法国资产阶级革命和莱茵河流域进步的反封建运动，对贝多芬的思想成长起了巨大的作用，他逐渐把追求"自由、平等．博爱"作为自己的政治理想。1790年他创作的大合唱《约瑟夫二世之死》，把约瑟夫二世当做人民的救世主来赞颂，这一方面表现出他对共和理想的追求，同时也反映出贝多芬早年对改良主义的不合实际的幻想。这部作品也是贝多芬把声乐和交响乐溶为一体的最早尝试。
1792年，贝多芬在海顿的鼓励与支持下，来到维也纳定居。他起先是以一位天才的青年钢琴家出入维也纳的贵族门庭，并受到贵族们的热情接待和保护，他也曾一度产生过对上流社会的幻想。但是，贝多芬所处的时代毕竟与海顿，莫扎特的时代不同，时代赋予贝多芬更成熟的资产阶级自觉性和个人的自信和自尊。因而他一开始就不甘愿做贵族门的奴仆，而是要与贵族们有平等的地位。后来贝多芬渐渐发现自己的资产阶级理想和当时的封建社会有着很大的矛盾，再加上他1796年开始面临耳聋的威胁，使贝多芬很快增长起一种对现实不满，对个人命运反抗的思想感情。
1797年后，贝多芬患了耳聋病，病情逐年恶化。对一个音乐家说来，再没有比这一打击更沉重的了！恶魔限制了作曲家同外界的交往，妨碍了他的钢琴演奏，他不得不放弃演出，而长期隐居在维也纳乡村。
从1800年起，贝多芬在创作上很自然地逐渐脱开海顿和莫扎特的影响，力求创造自己的艺术风格，追求新的理想。他于1803年完成的《第三交响曲》（《英雄交响曲》）标志了他在创作上进入一个新的发展阶段──成熟时期。他这一时期的创作力极为旺盛，表现出巨人般的工作能力，涌现出许多杰出的作品。贝多芬成熟时期作品的基本思想逻辑──"通过斗争，得到胜利"，在这一时期中逐步得到确立，英雄性、群众性的交响乐新风格形成了，革命的内容、戏剧性的交响乐发展手法、形式上的各种重大革新等等，在这一时期都获得了进一步的发展。贝多芬最杰出的作品，几乎都是在他后半生三十年生涯的耳聋状态中创作的。
1815一1819年是贝多芬经历的四年危机时期。当时，欧洲陷入了反动的封建复辟时期，资产阶级的革命力量遭到扼杀，黑暗笼罩着欧洲大陆。这个时期贝多芬的思想较为复杂，他的自信和坚定被失望和动摇所袭扰;创作上的英雄风格向抒情性风格转变；作品很少，大部分时间花在收集、探索和改编欧洲各国的民歌上。这充分说明资产阶级上升时期的共和主义者是有其历史局限的。然而，贝多芬最后终于从沉默中挣扎出来，度过了他的危机时期。从1819年起，贝多芬重又把自己的注意力集中在反封建的斗争中来。此时他创作的五首钢琴奏鸣曲、五首弦乐四重奏，乃至他创作中最伟大的《第九交响曲》（《合唱交响曲》）等作品都具有深刻的意义。但贝多芬最后的晚年是他一生最悲惨、最痛苦的年月，孤寂和贫困的威胁使他穷愁潦倒，孑然一身，1827年3月26日病逝于维也纳。据说在他临终的一刻，暴雨雷电交加，贝多芬举起干枯的手臂向天空作最后的奋击。这种生命不息战斗不止的精神，全部贯注在他那些不朽的巨作中。
贝多芬是人类艺术上最伟大的创造者之一。他一方面有着卓越的音乐天斌、炽热的叛逆气质和巨人般的坚强性格；另一方面他那百折不挠的意志和对社会的责任感而产生的崇高思想，形成他作为一个音乐家的特殊品质。他通过自己的创作，特别在他的九部交响曲中，反映了那个时代伟大的人民运动和最进步的思想。他以时代和个人的命运为题，通过深刻的哲理和感人的艺术形象相结合，写出了一系列交响乐作品，表现了从斗争到胜利、从黑暗到光明、从苦难到快乐的资产阶级上升时期的精神历程，他的九首交响曲象珍珠一样永远闪闪发光。
通过对贝多芬九首交响曲的研究和分析，特别是其中四首(即第三．五、六，九首)标题性交响曲的剖析，我们不仅可以了解贝多芬全部创作的基本面貌和他那伟大而纯真的思想，而且可以了解到交响乐创作上的重大革新，可以看到交响乐是如何从海顿、莫扎特时代过渡到以舒柏特、门德尔逊为代表的新发展时期。早在贝多芬在世时他就已被公认是具有世界意义的音乐家，他既是伟大的古典作曲家，又以浪漫派的先驱而载入史册。
