Ludwig van Beethoven: His Life and Music

Ludwig van Beethoven:

His Life and Music

ByJoy Agre

HisLife His

Music

Q&ATeacher’s Page

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, on December 16th 1770. His father was an amateur musician and realized that his young son would become a tremendous talent. His lazy father thought he could make a great deal of money from the concerts given by Ludwig.

Ludwig van BeethovenHis Life

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By the time he was twelve, young Beethoven was earning money

composing and playing the organ, harpsichord, and viola.


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In 1787, Beethoven met Wolfgang Mozart while in Vienna. Mozart

recognized his talent and told friends,

“Keep an eye on him, he will make a noise in the world some day.”


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Beethoven remained in Vienna and worked as a musician even though his lessons to study composition with Joseph Haydn weren’t successful. He was known as an eccentric, ill-mannered, bad-tempered person who had few true friends.


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In the late 1790’s, Beethoven began to lose his hearing which was the worst possible fate for a musician. He then preferred to be alone and often wrote

music during long walks in the woods. He was an unhappy, lonely man who

relied on his art for strength.


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Beethoven wrote some of his finest music (the Ninth Symphony) after he

was totally deaf and actually conducted its first performance in silence. Ludwig van Beethoven died on March 26, 1827.


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Beethoven’s music is stronger and more romantic than that of his predecessors Haydn and Mozart. His symphonies are longer and more tuneful. They are clearly an expression of his personality. There is evidence from his sketchbooks that he composed with some difficulty, making several revisions. He wrote primarily instrumental compositions which included nine symphonies, a violin concerto, five piano concertos, and thirty piano sonatas.

Ludwig van BeethovenHis Music

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1. Beethoven was born in FRANCE / GERMANY.

2. Beethoven was born in 1770 / 1970.

3. HAYDN / JOPLIN gave Beethoven composition

lessons.

4. Eventually Beethoven became BLIND / DEAF.

5. Beethoven mainly wrote music for

SINGERS/ INSTRUMENTS.

6. During his life, he wrote TWO / NINE symphonies.

7. Beethoven began earning money composing

when he was THIRTY / TWELVE.

8. Sadly, Beethoven had few FRIENDS / PETS.

Ludwig van BeethovenQuestions and Answers

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The biography pages about Beethoven can be read aloud as a class. The question and answer page should be used as an individual

assessment for the students. They can simply write down the correct answer on a separate piece of paper to be turned in and graded.

The page about his music can be enhanced by listening to clips of various types of works by Beethoven.

DOT, DOT, DOT, DASH (a separate listing under MAP attack), can be used on another day. It will be helpful to have the students hear

Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. Then you will need to determine whether students will work individually or in small groups. Clarify instructions and demonstrate several of the suggestions in item 2. Allow students

time to experiment and plan their compositions. Encourage students to perform their compositions for the class.

Ludwig van BeethovenTeacher’s Page

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Ludwig van Beethoven: His Life and Music

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