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Beginning in 1798, Beethoven experienced a continual humming and whistling in his ears that gradually grew stronger, eventually prompting the agonizing realization that he was going deaf. In 1802, in a state of desperation in which he contemplated suicide, Beethoven retired to the secluded village of Heiligenstadt and addressed to his brothers a statement expressing his anguish. The Heiligenstadt Testament, as it is known, marks the start of a new period in Beethoven's output; the next ten years saw one of the most prodigious outpourings of masterpieces in the history of music. By 1812 he had completed Symphony 2, 3 Eroica, 4, 5, 6 Pastoral, 7 and 8, Piano Concerto No. 4 and No. 5 Emperor, the Violin Concerto, his opera Fidelio, the three Rasumovsky String Quartets and a wealth of piano sonatas and other works. Haydn and Mozart had demonstrated that melody alone, no matter how beautiful, could not hold an audience's attention for more than a minute or two and had mastered the principle of using harmonic tension to sustain large-scale structures. But Beethoven went further; with the first movement of the Eroica Symphony (1803) he created a single span of uninterrupted music of unprecedented length. He also widened the scope of the piano sonata to symphonic proportions with his Waldstein Sonata (1803) - dedicated to his old friend Count Waldstein - and even more with the Appassionata (1804-4). In this he introduced new dynamic extremes, shattering the thoughtful calm of the opening with sudden fortissimo chords.
Most of 1818 was taken up with his colossal Hammerklavier Sonata, and the years until 1824 were divided between the last three Piano Sonatas, the Diabelli Variations, the Missa Solemnis and the Ninth Symphony. This work, whose final movement is a triumphant setting of Schiller's Ode to Joy, again broke new ground in terms of scale and introduced choral forces into the symphony for the first time. After the performance Beethoven stood stone deaf on the stage, oblivious of everything, until one of the soloists turned him around to see the thunderous applause. In his final years Beethoven turned once again to the string quartet. In 1825 and 1826 he produced five works, at once profoundly complex and serene, for this intimate medium. He had become preoccupied with fugal techniques, just as in later life Bach had done, and the Grosse Fuge - originally the finale to his Quartet in B flat - is one of the most extended and elaborate examples of the form. These last works were far ahead of their time and still challenge scholars and listeners. Several musical selections from Beethoven's works can be found in the Victorian Station Gramophone. |
During his first visit to
Vienna in
1787 Beethoven impressed Mozart with his improvisations at the keyboard.
Before any formal tuition could take place, however, news that Beethoven's
mother was dying took him back to Bonn. By the time he returned to Vienna
in 1792, Mozart too was dead. He went instead to Johann Albrechtsberger
for composition lessons. Meanwhile, Beethoven's career as a pianist made a
promising start. He made his first appearances in Vienna in 1795 playing
his Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat, and was soon established as the city's
leading pianist. Other compositions from the 1790's include piano sonatas,
cello sonatas and violin sonatas. He completed his first symphony in 1800
and his first set of string quartets in 1801. Beethoven was Vienna's first
successful freelance musician. He had wealthy aristocratic friends,
patrons and perhaps loves, to whom he dedicated his early compositions in
return for payment. His success in such circles, despite notoriously
awkward manners, an unpredictable temper and a refusal to defer to
superior social rank, can be attributed to his genius and personal
magnetism.