Ludwig van Beethoven was the oldest surviving child in the family. Their mother, Maria Magdalena, gave birth to eight children, but only three of them lived through infancy. Ludwig, by his late teenage years, in the absence of a living mother and a dependable father, became the guardian of his siblings. This duty he carried on all his life and …
Oppersdorff, who commissioned two of Beethoven’s Symphonies, but ended up with only one dedication. A man, who probably saved Beethoven from jail. Who was this patron? Who was Franz von Oppersdorff? Count Franz von Oppersdorff (1778-1818) was a nobleman from Silesia, a historical region that lies mostly in Poland, partly in Czech Republic and Germany. The family estate was …
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a German musician and composer, who personifies the idea of the creative genius. He is recognized as one of the greatest, and almost certainly the most influential, composers of the Western classical music tradition. He represents the bridge between the classical music era and the subsequent romantic style, something he himself created and initially represented. …
After much organization by Bettina von Arnim, who was a great admirer of both Goethe and Beethoven, the two finally met in Teplitz (or Töplitz), in the summer of 1812. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was the greatest, and probably also the most influential German-language writer. Not only that, but a significant scientist, theatre …
This is the biography of Maria Magdalena van Beethoven, mother of Ludwig van Beethoven. Maria Magdalena Keverich was born on 19 December 1746, and after a short and difficult life, died at the age of only 40, in 17 July 1787. She was born in Ehrenbreitstein, a small village overlooking Koblenz (today part of it). Her birth place is a …
1. Beethoven’s Wellington’s Victory is sometimes called Battle of Vitoria, or Battle Symphony. The piece was named after the Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon’s French army near Vitoria, Spain. 2. The original version was not prepared for orchestra, but for the Panharmonicon of Johann Maelzel. This machine could imitate many musical instruments and sounds of canons, gunshots. 3. Beethoven …