Before Ludwig van Beethoven became one of the greatest composers in history, he was a child prodigy pianist from Bonn, Germany. Born into a musical family, his father helped train him as a musician…but also subjected him to horrific abuse.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s impact on classical music is impossible to overstate. Born in 1770, Beethoven redefined what music could be. He managed that redefinition by rewriting formal boundaries, finding new ways to express emotion, and making a living in a

Beethoven may be the most famous composer in history…which means that many people have many questions about him. For instance, was Beethoven German? Did he really study with Mozart? Who was his “Immortal Beloved”? And most importantly of all, how

Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the greatest composers who ever lived, but he was also a human being, and one who was famously prickly. Friends, rivals, patrons, and even family members often found themselves embroiled in sundry fights and

Ludwig van Beethoven is often remembered as a solitary genius: a composer who wrestled with fate, revolutionised music, and struggled through tinnitus, deafness, and depression to create some of the most influential works in the Western canon. But Beethoven didn’t

In a previous article, we looked at how Debussy, Satie and Ravel changed the direction of music, one would say, forever. If they were all contemporaries of each other, and interacting with each other would have directly influenced the development

Ludwig van Beethoven is famous for composing deeply emotional music. After all, the nickname of one of his most famous melodies is “Ode to Joy.” But which of his works are sad? And which of those are the saddest? Today,

When most people think of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), their minds jump to the grand, earth-shaking moments of his music. The first four notes of the Fifth Symphony, the tender glow of the Moonlight Sonata, or the heroic sweep of