Ludwig Van Beethoven

I know we’ve all had that one friend who showed up to a party, looked at your cheap piano collecting dust in the corner of your room, and said, “Can I try? I haven’t played in a while”. Little did you know, their fingers would glide along the keys and play the most mesmerising melodies - starting with 2 repetitive keys. “Fur Elise”, a piece everyone knows. And then, while your ears were being blessed, you asked yourself, how does one even come up with such a beautiful piece? If this was you (or if you’re just wondering) this article is a good place to start.

His name is Ludwig Van Beethoven (fancy, yeah?) and he’s a German composer. You must have heard or read his name somewhere already, since he is one of the most revered figures in the history of music – his pieces are played on every piano, everywhere, as the most performed classical piano repertoires. The best part is, some of his greatest works were composed while he was going deaf.

Ludwig has shown this talent since a very young age, although I wouldn’t exactly call it natural. His father, Johann Van Beethoven, had caused severe childhood trauma for young Ludwig – he began to ‘teach’ him music. Neighbours have complained about the boy’s weeps and cries while he was playing the clavier, as his father would constantly beat him after every hesitation and mistake. Although it hadn’t been the best method ever, it had made Ludwig a very skilled pianist for his young age, publishing his first piece at 6 years old (although he was really 8, his father lied about his age to enhance the “prodigy” part of this story…)

Ludwig stopped school at 10 years old (really 10) to study music further and became the breadwinner of the family at 18 due to his father’s tragic death. He travelled to a lot of places, from Bonn (his hometown) to Vienna, to learn music through recognised teachers. It has been theorised that he had actually met Mozart, who in his turn said, “Keep your eyes on him; someday he will give the world something to talk about.”

At the early age of 26, Ludwig started to lose his hearing. This led him to high levels of social anxiety, causing him to isolate himself because he “couldn’t get to tell people that he was deaf”. As his deafness progressed, his pieces became higher in pitch, and when he became deaf deaf, his knowledge in music really started to show off. He composed music saying he could “hear” the music just by writing it or reading it. Most of all, he used vibrations – by sticking a piece of wood between his teeth and touching the piano keys with it, he felt the vibrations and heard the music. Incredible, right?

He sadly died at the age of 56 due to health issues and relative isolation. Thousands attended his funeral, as he successfully impressed everyone with his masterpieces, having performed at important events and marking the world. Today, his work is still played. Hundreds of years later.

Next time your piano-obsessed friend decides to boast their skill again, ask them if they can play Beethoven. Trust me, they’ll look at you with a sparkle in their eyes and their mouth will start babbling. Then, you’ll smile and nod boastfully – mhm, this was worth reading.