Ludwig van Beethoven was not only a composer, but a pianist-composer. His piano play was legendary! A topic we covered before, both his piano duels and his supreme feel and technique compared to the very best of his time. What other instruments did Beethoven play? Read on to find out!
Harpsichord and clavichord
When Beethoven was a child the pianoforte was still a young Italian invention (by Bartolomeo Cristofori, 1655–1731). It was undeveloped and expensive. Young Ludwig learned his notes on the harpsichord and clavichord. The clavichord, being softer and more delicate than the harpsichord, was used as a practice instrument and aid for composing. The harpsichord was more capable, used for even larger audiences.
Beethoven and his generation were the first pure pianists, a radically different era over the harpsichord. In a way, this invention helped him to differentiate himself from Haydn and Mozart, composers building their repertoire on the old instrument.
His first teacher was his own father, Johann. The boy was later trained by van den Eeden (at the time court organist for fifty-five years and long-time family friend), Pfeifer and Neefe.
Organ
Young Beethoven began his organ studies with Franciscan Friar Willibald Koch and completed his training with Neefe. Very soon he was regularly playing organ at the 6 o’clock morning mass in the Minorite Church. At age of eleven he was capable to fill in and from age thirteen he was officially Neefe’s second at the court organ.
Violin and viola
Once he had mastered the clavier his father began to teach him violin and viola. His motivation was monetization, to make Ludwig ready for the court orchestra and later aiming for the Kapellmeister position (something Beethoven’s grandfather held at the same court and his own father failed to achieve).
Court violinist Franz Georg Rovantini (a family friend and distant relative to his mother, Maria) also helped the boy to learn strings, both violin and viola. Another violin teacher, Franz Anton Ries, was the court concertmaster at the time. His son, Ferdinand Ries later became a pupil, friend and secretary to Beethoven, in Vienna.
At age of 18 he got a viola player position at the Bonn court orchestra. His instrument, something he had left behind when later moved to Vienna, today is in the Beethoven-Haus, in Bonn.
Based on Schindler’s recollection Beethoven was not impressed at all by his own violin play, saying “it was more to be expected that everything would have fled from my scraping, even flies and spiders.”
In summary: apart from piano, Beethoven played harpsichord, clavichord, organ, violin and viola.
