Beethoven was a great composers but it isn’t until after he loses his hearing that his music stands out to me. Before his infliction he followed the works of Haydn and Mozart but after coming to terms with his deafness he started experimenting with more dramatic themes. I have always been intrigued by the ideal of Beethoven as a wild man driven mad by his deafness, and in his madness he created his best. The 5th symphony is an exmaple of how his apporaqching deafness gave rise to his inventice creativity. It should be noted that Beethoven represented a time when music concerts was changing from being a primary Aristocratic endeavor to one that could be enjoyed by mass audiences that ranged to the middle class. The creation of the symphony was an example of the simple style that concert music was taking after. The 4 parts incorporated recognizable structure that a listener could easily figure out and the 3rd movement which displayed a piece of popular dance music that would be known by the entire audience. I’m sure that the change in music was also driven by the composers thenselves who saw a need to get away from strictly aristocratic patronage in light of the American and French Revoultion.
I wonder who was the better composer, Mozart or Beethovan. Both today are historical figures in the history of music. I still listen to some of his music, the guy was a genius even with a disability. Great feedback.
I always forget that Beethovan was deaf and everytime I get reminded me it makes me like him so much more! I couldn’t even imagine doing what he did, but I guess that is why he is famous and not me right? Bless his soul. I enjoyed your post and I see how it relates to the middle class but I felt like it could of have been stated a little more clearly. But I am not a classical music guru by any means so I understood it just fine! Great post!
Nice choice of music, Beethoven’s work is always top quality. The information tieing it to the middle class is present, though a few gramatical errors here and there are a little distracting (I’m not one to talk, though!). I would agree in that we really start to see a change in Beethoven once his hearing starts to go. You should check out his third symphony, the Eroica. Many have analyzed it and feel that it is Beethoven’s own internal struggle with his increasing hearing loss in musical form.