A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle. Many symphonies are tonal works in four movements with the first in sonata form, which is often described by music theorists as the structure of a "classical" symphony, although many symphonies by the acknowledged classical masters of the form, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven do not conform to this model.

Origins[link]

The word symphony is derived from Greek συμφωνία, meaning "agreement or concord of sound", "concert of vocal or instrumental music", from σύμφωνος, "harmonious" (Oxford English Dictionary). This Greek word was used to describe an instrument mentioned in the Book of Daniel, once identified by scholars as a bagpipe—the word was identified, for example, as the root of the name of the Italian zampogna (Stainer and Galpin 1914, 145–46). However, more recent scholarly opinion points out that the word in the Book of Daniel is siphonia (from Greek siphon, reed), and concludes that the bagpipe did not exist at so early a time, though the name of the "zampogna" could still have been derived from this word (Marcuse 1975, 501 & 597). In late Greek and medieval theory, the word was used for consonance, as opposed to diaphonia, which was the word for dissonance (Brown 2001). In the Middle Ages and later, the Latin form symphonia was used to describe various instruments, especially those capable of producing more than one sound simultaneously (Brown 2001). Isidore of Seville was the first to use the word symphonia as the name of a two-headed drum, and from ca. 1155 to 1377 the French form symphonie was the name of the organistrum or hurdy-gurdy. In late medieval England, symphony was used in both of these senses, whereas by the 16th century it was equated with the dulcimer. In German, Symphonie was a generic term for spinets and virginals from the late 16th century to the 18th century (Marcuse 1975, 501). In the sense of "sounding together," the word begins to appear in the titles of some works by 16th- and 17th-century composers including Giovanni Gabrieli's Sacrae symphoniae, and Symphoniae sacrae, liber secundus, published in 1597 and 1615, respectively; Adriano Banchieri's Eclesiastiche sinfonie, dette canzoni in aria francese, per sonare, et cantare, op. 16, published in 1607; Lodovico Grossi da Viadana's Sinfonie musicali, op. 18, published in 1610; and Heinrich Schütz's Symphoniae sacrae, op. 6, and Symphoniarum sacrarum secunda pars, op. 10 , published in 1629 and 1647, respectively. Except for Viadana's collection, which contained purely instrumental and secular music, these were all collections of sacred vocal works, some with instrumental accompaniment.

In the 17th century, for most of the Baroque period, the terms symphony and sinfonia were used for a range of different compositions, including instrumental pieces used in operas, sonatas and concertos—usually part of a larger work. The opera sinfonia, or Italian overture had, by the 18th century, a standard structure of three contrasting movements: fast, slow, fast and dance-like. It is this form that is often considered as the direct forerunner of the orchestral symphony. The terms "overture", "symphony" and "sinfonia" were widely regarded as interchangeable for much of the 18th century (Larue,
 Bonds,
 Walsh, and
 Wilson 2001).

Another important progenitor of the symphony was the ripieno concerto—a form resembling a concerto for strings and continuo, but with no solo instruments. The earliest-known ripieno concerti are Giuseppe Torelli's set of six, op. 5, published in 1698. Perhaps the best-known ripieno concerto is Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.

18th century[link]

Early symphonies, in common with both overtures and ripieno concertos, have three movements, in the tempi quick-slow-quick. However, unlike the ripieno concerto, which uses the usual ritornello form of the concerto, at least the first movement of these symphonies is in binary form. They are distinguishable from Italian overtures in that they were written to stand on their own in concert performances, rather than to introduce a stage work, although a piece originally written as an overture was sometimes later used as a symphony, and vice versa.

Symphonies at this time, whether for concert, opera, or church use, were not considered the major works on a program: often, as with concerti, they were divided up between other works, or drawn from suites or overtures. Vocal music was dominant, and symphonies provided preludes, interludes, and postludes.

The "Italian" style of symphony, often used as overture and entr'acte in opera houses, became a standard three-movement form: a fast movement, a slow movement, and another fast movement. Haydn and Mozart, whose early symphonies were in this form, eventually replaced it with a four-movement form through the addition of an additional middle movement (Prout 1895, 249). The four-movement symphony became dominant in the latter part of the 18th century and most of the 19th century. This symphonic form was influenced by Germanic practice, and would come to be associated with the classical style of Haydn and Mozart. "Normative macro-symphonic form may be defined as the four-movement form, in general, employed in the later symphonies of Haydn and Mozart, and in those of Beethoven" (Jackson 1999, 26).

The normal four-movement form became (Jackson 1999, 26; Stein 1979, 106):

1. an opening sonata or allegro
2. a slow movement, such as adagio
3. a minuet with trio or "Beethoven four-movement solo sonata": scherzo
4. an allegro, rondo, or sonata

Variations on this layout were common, for instance the order of the middle two movements, or the addition of a slow introduction to the first movement. Older composers such as Haydn and Mozart restricted their use of the four-movement form to orchestral or multi-instrument chamber music such as quartets, though since Beethoven solo sonatas are as often written in four as in three movements (Prout 1895, 249). Tchaikovsky's Third Symphony has a five-movement form through the addition of an "Alla tedesca" 'movement' between the first and the second (Jackson 1999, 26).

The composition of early symphonies was centred on Vienna and Mannheim. Early exponents of the form in Vienna included Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Wenzel Raimund Birck and Georg Monn, while the Mannheim school included Johann Stamitz.

Later significant Viennese composers of symphonies include Johann Baptist Vanhal, Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf and Leopold Hoffmann. The most important symphonists of the latter part of the 18th century are Joseph Haydn, who wrote at least 108 symphonies over the course of 36 years (Webster and Feder 2001), and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who wrote at least 56 symphonies in 24 years (Eisen and Sadie 2001).

19th century[link]

With the rise of established professional orchestras, the symphony assumed a more prominent place in concert life between approximately 1790 and 1820.

Beethoven dramatically expanded the symphony. His Symphony No. 3 (the Eroica), has a scale and emotional range that sets it apart from earlier works. His Symphony No. 5 is arguably the most famous symphony ever written. His Symphony No. 6 was a programmatic work, featuring instrumental imitations of bird calls and a storm, and a convention-defying fifth movement. His Symphony No. 9 takes the unprecedented step (for a symphony) of including parts for vocal soloists and choir in the last movement, making it a choral symphony (however, a minor composer, Daniel Steibelt had written a piano concerto with a choral finale four years earlier, in 1820). Hector Berlioz, who coined the term "choral symphony", built on this concept in his "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette while explaining his intent in the five-paragraph introduction in that work's score (Berlioz 1857, 1). Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, a work famous for its innovative orchestration (Berlioz 2002, xv) is also a programme work and has both a march and a waltz and five movements instead of the customary four.

Notable early-romantic symphonists include Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Schumann. Late-romantic symphonists include Bruckner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, Franck, and Dvořák.

By the end of the 19th century, some French organists (e.g., Charles-Marie Widor and his students Charles Tournemire and Louis Vierne) named some of their organ compositions symphony: Their instruments (many built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll) allowed an orchestral approach (Kaye 2001; Smith 2001; Thomson 2001).

20th century[link]

At the beginning of the 20th century, Gustav Mahler wrote long, large-scale symphonies. His Eighth Symphony, for example, was composed in 1906 and is nicknamed the "Symphony of a Thousand" because of the forces required to perform it. The 20th century also saw further diversification in the style and content of works that composers labeled symphonies (Anon. 2008). Some composers, including Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Carl Nielsen, continued to write in the traditional four-movement form, while other composers took different approaches: Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 7, his last, is in one movement, whereas Alan Hovhaness's Symphony No. 9, Saint Vartan—originally op. 80, changed to op. 180—composed in 1949–50, is in twenty-four.

There remained, however, certain tendencies: symphonies were still almost always orchestral works. Designating a work a "symphony" still implied a degree of sophistication and seriousness of purpose. The word sinfonietta came into use to designate a work that is shorter, of more modest aims, or "lighter" than a symphony, such as Sergei Prokofiev's Sinfonietta (Kennedy 2006; Temperley 2001).

There has also been diversification in the size of orchestra required. While Mahler's symphonies call for extravagant resources, Arnold Schoenberg's two Chamber Symphonies, opp. 9 and 38a, and the Chamber Symphonies by Franz Schreker, George Enescu, and John Adams, composed in 1906, 1906–39, 1916, 1954, and 1992, respectively, are scored for chamber groups.

The American composer Roger Sessions wrote nine symphonies. The first was composed in 1927, the ninth in 1978.

The Argentine composer Alberto Williams wrote nine symphonies. The first was composed in 1907, the ninth in 1939.

The Austrian-British composer Egon Wellesz wrote nine symphonies. The first was composed in 1945, the ninth in 1970–71, the fourth, op. 70 (1951–53), is subtitled "Austriaca".

The Austrian composer Franz Schmidt (referred to in Fischer 2003,^{[page needed]}, as "second only to Mahler in importance"), wrote four symphonies between 1896 and 1933, of which the Second and Fourth were not in the traditional four-movement form (although both of these symphonies made explicit reference to it).

The Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos wrote twelve symphonies. The first was composed in 1916, the twelfth in 1957.

The Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů wrote six symphonies. The first was composed in 1942, the sixth (subtitled "Fantasies symphoniques") in 1953.

The English composer Peter Maxwell Davies has written eight symphonies, and is completing a ninth in 2012. The first was composed in 1974–76, the eighth (subtitled "Antarctic") in 2000.

The English composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji wrote, alongside orchestral and orchestral-choral symphonies (none of which had been performed by the end of the century), symphonies for organ in the French tradition, as well as seven symphonies for solo piano: six numbered ones and a Symphonie nocturne (Rapoport 2001).

The French composer Henri Dutilleux wrote two symphonies. The first was composed in 1951, the second (subtitled "Le Double") in 1959.

The German composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann wrote eight symphonies. The first was written in 1950, the eighth in 1960–62.

The German composer Hans Werner Henze has written ten symphonies. The first was written in 1947 (revised in 1963, 1991, and finally, renamed Kammerkonzert in 2005) the tenth in 1997–2000. Between the fourth (1955) and fifth (1962) he also composed a Vokalsimfonie (1955) derived from his opera König Hirsch.

The Mexican composer Carlos Chávez wrote six symphonies. The first (Sinfonía de Antígona) was written in 1933, the sixth in 1961.

The Polish composer Witold Lutosławski wrote four symphonies. The first was written in 1941–47, the fourth in 1988–92.

The Spanish composer Tomás Marco has composed six symphonies. The first was written in 1976, the sixth in 1992.

The Swiss composer Arthur Honnegger wrote five symphonies. The first was composed in 1930, the fifth (subtitled "Di tre re") in 1950.

In the 20th and early 21st century symphonies have been written for wind ensemble and band. Notable examples are Paul Hindemith's Symphony in B-flat for Band from 1951 (Hansen 2005, 95), and Alan Hovhaness's Symphonies No. 4, op. 165, No. 7, "Nanga Parvat", op. 175, No. 14, "Ararat", op. 194, and No. 23, "Ani", op. 249—composed in 1958, 1959, 1961, and 1972 respectively—which are symphonic works for school and college wind bands. Hovhaness is also notable for having written 67 numbered symphonies, whilst Englishman Havergal Brian wrote 32.

Media[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Symphonies

	Symphony 5, movement 1 Ludwig van Beethoven's 5th Symphony, 1st movement Symphony 5, movement 2 Ludwig van Beethoven's 5th Symphony, 2nd movement Symphony 5, movement 3 Ludwig van Beethoven's 5th Symphony, 3rd movement Symphony 5, movement 4 Ludwig van Beethoven's 5th Symphony, 4th movement
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See also[link]

• Choral symphony
• Organ symphony

Sources[link]

• Anon. 2008. "Symphony." The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. rev., edited by Michael Kennedy, associate editor Joyce Bourne. Oxford Music Online (Accessed 24 July 2008) (Subscription access)
• Berlioz, Hector. 1857. Roméo et Juliette: Sinfonie dramatique: avec choeurs, solos de chant et prologue en récitatif choral, op. 17. Partition de piano par Th. Ritter. Winterthur: J. Rieter-Biedermann.
• Berlioz, Hector. 2002. Berlioz's Orchestration Treatise: A Translation and Commentary, translated by Hugh Macdonald. Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-521-23953-2.
• Brown, Howard Mayer. 2001. "Symphonia". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Bukofzer, Manfred F. 1947. Music in the Baroque Era: From Monteverdi to Bach. New York: W. W. Norton.
• Eisen, Cliff, and Stanley Sadie. 2001. "Mozart (3): (Johann Chrysostum) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.
• Fischer, Jens Malte. 2003. Gustav Mahler: der fremde Vertraute: Biographie. Vienna: Zsolnay. ISBN 3-552-05273-9.
• Hansen, Richard K. 2005. The American Wind Band: A Cultural History. Chicago, Ill: GIA Publications. ISBN 1-57999-467-9.
• Jackson, Timothy L. 1999. Tchaikovsky, Symphony no. 6 (Pathétique). Cambridge Music Handbooks. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64111-X (cloth); ISBN 0-521-64676-6 (pbk).
• Kaye, Nicholas. 2001. "Tournemire, Charles (Arnould)". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Kennedy, Michael. 2006. "Sinfonietta". The Oxford Dictionary of Music, second edition, revised, Joyce Bourne, associate editor. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
• Larue, Jan,
 Mark Evan Bonds,
 Stephen Walsh, and
 Charles Wilson. 2001. "Symphony". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Marcuse, Sybil. 1975. Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary. Revised edition. The Norton Library. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-00758-8.
• Newman, William S. 1972. The Sonata in the Baroque Era. New York: W. W. Norton.
• Prout, Ebenezer. 1895. Applied Forms: A Sequel to 'Musical Form', third edition. Augener's Edition, no. 9183. London: Augener. Facsimile reprint, New York: AMS Press, 1971. ISBN 0-404-05138-3
• Rapoport, Paul. 2001. "Sorabji, Kaikhosru Shapurji [Leon Dudley]". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Schubert, Giselher. 2001. "Hindemith, Paul." The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.
• Smith, Rollin. 2001. "Vierne, Louis(-Victor-Jules)". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.
• Stainer, John, and Francis W Galpin. 1914. "Wind Instruments - Sumponyah; Sampunia; Sumphonia; Symphonia". In The Music of the Bible, with Some Account of the Development of Modern Musical Instruments from Ancient Types, new edition. London: Novello and Co.; New York: H.W. Gray Co.
• Stein, Leon. 1979. Structure & Style: The Study and Analysis of Musical Forms, expanded edition. Princeton, N.J.: Summy-Birchard Music. ISBN 0-87487-164-6.
• Temperley, Nicholas. 2001. "Sinfonietta." The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Thomson, Andrew. 2001. "Widor, Charles-Marie(-Jean-Albert)", 2. Works. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.
• Webster, James, and Georg Feder. 2001. "Haydn, (Franz) Joseph". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.

External links[link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Symphony.

• A Chronology of the Symphony 1730-2005 A list of selected major symphonies composed 1800-2005, with composers of 18th century symphonies
• The Symphony - Interactive Guide
• A fairly detailed list of symphonists, mostly active after 1800 - Part 1
• A fairly detailed list of symphonists, mostly active after 1800 - Part 2
• A fairly detailed list of symphonists, mostly active after 1800 - Part 3
• A fairly detailed list of symphonists, mostly active after 1800 - Part 4

The Verve
The Verve performing at Madison Square Garden in 2008.
Background information
Origin	Wigan, Greater Manchester, England
Genres	Alternative rock, neo-psychedelia, Britpop, shoegazing, dream pop, space rock
Years active	1990–1995, 1997–1999, 2007–2009
Labels	EMI, Hut, Virgin, Parlophone, Vernon Yard
Associated acts	RPA & The United Nations of Sound, Richard Ashcroft, The Black Ships, The Shining
Website	www.theverve.co.uk
Past members
Richard Ashcroft Nick McCabe Simon Jones Peter Salisbury Simon Tong

The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. The guitarist and keyboard player Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space rock, by the mid-1990s the band had released several EPs and three albums. It also endured name and line-up changes, breakups, health problems, drug abuse and various lawsuits. Filter referred to them as "one of the tightest knit, yet ultimately volatile bands in history".^[1] The band's commercial breakthrough was the 1997 album Urban Hymns, one of the best-selling albums in UK Chart history, and the single "Bitter Sweet Symphony", which became a worldwide hit.^[2] In 1998, the band won two Brit Awards—winning Best British Group, appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in March, and in February 1999, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.^[3][4][5]

Soon after this commercial peak, The Verve broke up in April 1999, citing internal conflicts.^[6] During an eight year split, Ashcroft dismissed talk of a reunion, saying: "You're more likely to get all four Beatles on stage."^[6] The band's original line-up reunited in June 2007, embarking on a tour later that year and releasing the album Forth in August 2008. In 2009, the band broke up for the third time.^[7]

History[link]

[edit] Formation and Verve (1989–1992)

The founding members of Verve met at Winstanley Sixth Form College, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester. The band's first gig was at a friend's birthday party at the Honeysuckle Pub, in Wigan, on 15 August 1990.^[8] Most of the band's early material was created through extensive jam sessions.^[9] Fronted by singer Richard Ashcroft, the band caused a buzz in early 1991 for its ability to captivate audiences with its musical textures and avant-garde sensibilities.

The group were signed by Hut Records in 1991^[10] and their first studio releases in 1992, "All In The Mind", "She's a Superstar", and "Gravity Grave" (along with the December 1992 Verve) saw the band become a critical success, making an impression with freeform guitar work by McCabe and unpredictable vocals by Ashcroft. Those first 3 singles reached the first spot in the UK Indie charts, and "She's a Superstar" did enter the UK Top 75 Singles Chart. The band saw some support from these early days in the United States in some music scenes in big cities like New York connected with psychedelic spacey music.

[edit] A Storm in Heaven (1993–1994)

1993's A Storm in Heaven was the band's full-length debut, produced by esteemed record producer John Leckie (of Radiohead, The Stone Roses, XTC and The Fall fame). "Blue" was released as the lead single and again managed to enter in the UK Top 75 at #69 and reached #2 in the Indie charts. The album was a critical smash, but was only a moderate commercial success, reaching #27 in the UK album chart that summer.^[10] The second single from the album, "Slide Away", topped the UK indie rock charts. During this period the band played a number of gigs with Oasis who, at the time, were relatively unknown.^[11]

In 1994, the band released the album No Come Down, a compilation of b-sides plus a live version of "Gravity Grave" performed at Glastonbury Festival in 1993. It was the band's first release under the name The Verve, following legal difficulties with the jazz label Verve Records.^[12]

The band then played on the travelling U.S. alternative rock festival, Lollapalooza, in the summer of 1994. A new mix of "Blue" was released in the U.S. to promote the band. The tour became notorious for the events of 11 July - Ashcroft was hospitalised for dehydration after a massive session of drinking,^[13] and Salisbury was arrested for destroying a hotel room in Kansas in a drug-fuelled delirium.^[14] However, the band were performing again the very next day.^[15] Ashcroft later recalled: "At the start, it was an adventure, but America nearly killed us."^[16]

[edit] A Northern Soul and first breakup (1995–1996)

The band's physical and mental turmoil continued into the chaotic recording sessions of the band's second album, 1995's A Northern Soul, produced by Owen Morris. The band departed from the neo-psychedelic sounds of A Storm in Heaven and focused more on conventional alternative rock, with Ashcroft's vocals taking a more prominent role in the songs, although reminiscent of some of the early work. Around this period, Oasis guitarist and friend of Ashcroft, Noel Gallagher, dedicated the song "Cast No Shadow" on the album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? to Ashcroft, and Ashcroft returned the gesture by dedicating the song "A Northern Soul" to Noel.

The band released the album's first single "This Is Music" in May, and it reached #35, their first single to reach the Top 40. It was followed by "On Your Own" in June which performed even better, reaching #28. This single was particularly new for The Verve as it was a soulful ballad. The album reached the UK Top 20 upon its release in July, but Ashcroft broke up the band three months later, just before the release of the third single "History", which reached #24 in September. Ashcroft later stated: "I knew that I had to do it earlier on, but I just wouldn't face it. Once you're not happy in anything, there's no point living in it, is there? But my addiction to playing and writing and being in this band was so great that I wouldn't do anything about it. It felt awful because it could have been the greatest time of our lives, with "History" doing well, but I still think I can look myself in the mirror in 30 years time and say, 'Yeah man, you did the right thing.' The others had been through the same thing. It was a mixture of sadness and regret, and relief that we would have some time away."^[17]

Ashcroft reunited with Jones and Salisbury just a few weeks after the breakup, but McCabe did not rejoin them. The new band hired former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, but he spent only a couple of days with the band. The band then chose Simon Tong, a school friend credited with originally teaching Ashcroft and Jones to play guitar. The band made no live appearances for all of 1996, apart from a solo performance from Ashcroft supporting Oasis in New York.^[18] The rest of the year was spent playing and recording songs for a new album.

Commercial success and second breakup (1997–1999)[link]

However, in early 1997, Ashcroft decided to ask McCabe to return, claiming "I got to the point where nothing other than The Verve would do for me".^[19] McCabe obliged and with the original lineup back together (Tong remained on guitar alongside McCabe), the group went through a "spiritual" recording process to finish their third album Urban Hymns which was completed by early summer.

	"Bitter Sweet Symphony" noicon The lead track on their album, Urban Hymns, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is renowned for its signature swirling orchestral melody.
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For the first time in their career, The Verve experienced widespread commercial success with their new material. The album's first single "Bitter Sweet Symphony" entered the UK charts at number 2 in June 1997, but the song's success was marred by legal problems regarding ownership of the song. Even though the group had secured permission to use a sample of 4 bars of an orchestral rendition of "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones, it was successfully argued that the group had relied too heavily on the song's original vocal melody as well, and they were forced to surrender copyright and royalties to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.^[20][21] The music video for "Bitter Sweet Symphony", which received heavy rotation on MTV, focuses on Ashcroft lip-synching the song while walking down a busy London pavement, oblivious to what is going on around and refusing to change his stride or direction throughout.^[22][23] In August, the band began playing their first gigs in two years, beginning the Urban Hymns Tour. The next single, "The Drugs Don't Work" gave the band their first UK number 1 single in September.^[24] The album immediately reached number 1 on the charts later that month, knocking off Oasis' highly anticipated album Be Here Now in the process.^[24] The band saw an overwhelming increase in popularity overseas, and "Bitter Sweet Symphony" reached number 12 on the U.S. charts, the band's highest ever American position.^[25] The album reached the US Top 30, going platinum in the process.^[10]

Critic Mike Gee of iZINE said of this time, "The Verve, as he (Richard Ashcroft) promised, had become the greatest band in the world. ...The Verve were no longer the question mark or the cliché. They were the statement and the definition."^[26] By November the band released "Lucky Man" in the UK and reached number 7.^[24] At the 1998 Brit Awards in February, The Verve won the awards for Best British Group and Best British Album (Urban Hymns).^[27] The band's singles were given extensive airplay on US rock stations and Ashcroft, and band mates, appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in March 1998.^[4] Then, as the band was on a successful tour to promote the album, Jones collapsed on stage. This was the first of many problems to come for the band in the next months. In 1998, McCabe, Tong, Jones and drummer Leon Parr formerly with Mr. So & So and Mosque were commissioned for a soundtrack for a Jonny Lee Miller film which was recorded in Kilburn. These never made it to the final film due to delays on their part. At the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, and Best Alternative Video.^[28]

On 24 May of that year, the band played a homecoming concert in front of 33,000 fans in the grounds of Haigh Hall & Country Park, Aspull, supported by Beck and John Martyn. The band then played gigs in mainland Europe. However, on 7 June a post-show bust-up at Düsseldorf-Philipshalle left McCabe with a broken hand and Ashcroft with a sore jaw. After this, McCabe decided he could not tolerate the pressures of life on the road any longer and pulled out of the tour, leaving the band's future in jeopardy, with rumours of disbandment circulating in the press.

Despite this, the band continued with established session guitarist B. J. Cole replacing McCabe. McCabe's guitar work was heavily sampled and triggered on stage. The band played another American tour, which was riddled with problems as venues were downsized^[29] and the support act Massive Attack dropped out.^[30] The band then returned to England for two headline performances at the V Festivals, which received poor reviews, with NME stating "where songs used to spiral upwards and outwards, they now simply fizzle tamely."^[31] In February 1999, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.^[32] The Verve played their last gig at Slane Castle in Ireland on 29 August. A long period of inactivity followed. Finally, in April 1999, it was announced that The Verve had split up.^[33]

Post-breakup activities (2000–2006)[link]

By the time the band had split, Ashcroft had already been working on solo material accompanied by, among others, Salisbury and Cole. In 2000, he released his first solo album, Alone with Everybody, which reached number 1 in the UK album charts.^[24] Ashcroft's next album Human Conditions was released to less positive reviews and poorer sales in 2002, and Ashcroft was subsequently absent from the music business for several years. During this time Salisbury was the drummer for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's UK tour in 2004, after their original drummer briefly left due to alcohol and drug abuse. Salisbury also owns a drum shop in Stockport. Ashcroft appeared with Coldplay at Live 8 in 2005, followed by the release of Keys to the World in 2006 and a particularly successful tour that included gigs as the support act for Coldplay's Twisted Logic Tour.

Tong and Jones formed a new group called The Shining, which initially included former Stone Roses guitarist John Squire; however Squire left the band before recording and touring had begun. The band released one album, True Skies, before disbanding in 2003. Jones went on to join the band of Irish artist Cathy Davey. Tong appeared as a live replacement for ex-guitarist Graham Coxon in Blur, and as additional guitarist for Gorillaz (both Jones and Tong played guitar for Demon Days Live). Tong is also a member of an unnamed supergroup formed by Damon Albarn of Blur which released its first album The Good, the Bad & the Queen in January 2007. McCabe worked in different projects like the London-based Neotropic project and played with some established artists, including John Martyn, Leeds-based band The Music, The Beta Band and Faultline.

The Verve's members sometimes expressed bitter sentiments about the band's later years. In his only interview after the split, McCabe said of Urban Hymns: "By the time I got my parts in there it's not really a music fan's record. It just sits nicely next to the Oasis record",^[34] though conceding, "I'm not going to say it was bad. I mean, we were good as far as pop goes".^[34] During his solo career, Ashcroft expressed regret at having asked McCabe to return for the album instead of releasing it under his own name, saying: "Imagine being the guy that's written an album on his own, bottles it near the end, feels like there's unfinished business, rings Nick McCabe up who adds some guitars, puts it out as The Verve and the same problems arise again. Imagine being that mug. I've now got to rewrite history. Everyone thinks those songs are somehow associated with another bunch of people that I'm not with now".^[35] Jones claimed that "The Verve were going off in a direction of strings and ballads, and that's not where I was coming from at all. Loud guitars is it for me",^[36] though noting that this was not why the band split up.^[37]

[edit] Reunion and Forth (2007–2008)

The Verve performing in Greenwich, London on 13 December 2007.

Ashcroft had been adamant that The Verve would not reform, once remarking: "You're more likely to get all four Beatles on stage".^[38] However, after Ashcroft learned that Salisbury was in contact with McCabe over a possible side project, Ashcroft contacted McCabe and Jones, making peace with them, and the band reformed. Tong was not asked to rejoin, so as to keep the internal issues that split the band up a decade ago to an absolute minimum. Jones explained this decision by stating: "It would have been too hard, it's hard enough for the four of us. If you bring more people to it, it's harder to communicate and communication has always been our difficulty".^[39] On 26 June 2007, the band's reunion was announced by Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1. The band, reuniting in their original line-up, announced they would tour in November 2007, and release an album in 2008. The band stated: "We are getting back together for the joy of music",^[40] though they turned down a multi-album deal offer "because the "treadmill" of releasing albums and touring marked the beginning of the end for the band a decade ago".^[41]

Tickets for their six-gig tour in early November 2007 sold out in less than 20 minutes. The tour began in Glasgow on 2 November, and included 6 performances at the Carling Academy Glasgow, The Empress Ballroom and the London Roundhouse.^[42] Since the 6-gig tour went extremely well in sales, the band booked a second, and bigger tour for December. They played at O2 arena, the SECC in Glasgow, the Odyssey in Belfast, the Nottingham Arena and Manchester Central. Each show from the first and second part of the tour were sold out immediately. The band continued touring in 2008. They played at most of the biggest summer festivals and a few headline shows all over North America, Europe, Japan and the UK between April and August. Including shows at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, also at the Madison Square Garden Theater, and the Pinkpop festival, T in the Park, the V Festival, Oxegen Festival, Rock Werchter, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park and The Eden Project Sessions.^{[43][44][45][46][47]}

The Verve at Pinkpop, Netherlands in 2008.

The band's new single, "Love Is Noise", was premiered by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on 23 June.^[48] They performed at the coveted Sunday night slot on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury on 29 June, closing the show with the new song. The Verve released a free download of a non-album track, "Mover", on 30 June. The song had been performed by the band in 1994, but had never seen a proper recording until the reunion. The track was available for download from their official website for one week only.

The band announced the new album's title: Forth, which was released in the UK on 25 August and the following day in North America. The album reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart on 31 August. The lead single "Love Is Noise" was released in the UK on 3 August digitally and one week later (11 August) on its physical form, peaking at #4 in the UK.^[49] The song was a moderate success in Europe, charting at #16 in the European chart (with 6 weeks in the Top 20). "Rather Be", the second single from the album, was released in November 2008 but did not become as successful as "Love Is Noise" was, peaking at number 56 on the UK Singles Chart.

The Verve on holiday (2009–present)[link]

In August 2009 The Guardian speculated that The Verve have broken up for a third time,^[50] with Jones and McCabe no longer speaking to Ashcroft as they felt he was using the reunion as a vehicle to get his solo career on track.^[50] Being asked about the supposed split, Ashcroft told The Daily Telegraph, "I can confirm we did what we set out to do [...] Right now there are no plans to be doing anything in the near future."^[7]

McCabe and Jones have since started their own project, The Black Ships, along with electric violinist and arranger Davide Rossi and drummer Mig Schillace.^[50][51] Nick McCabe says "The Verve seems to be on holiday" on his MySpace page.

On July 7, 2010 Ashcroft confirmed that the band "is over for good",^[52] though some weeks later did not rule out another Verve reunion.^[53]

Band members[link]

Official members[link]

• Richard Ashcroft – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, bass, percussion (1990–1995, 1996–1999, 2007–2009)
• Nick McCabe – lead guitar, piano, keyboards, accordion (1990–1995, 1997–1998, 2007–2009)
• Simon Jones – bass, keyboards, backing vocals (1990–1995, 1996–1999, 2007–2009)
• Peter Salisbury – drums, percussion (1990–1995, 1996–1999, 2007–2009)
• Simon Tong – guitar, keyboards (1996–1999)

Live or session members[link]

• Bernard Butler – lead guitar (1996) (Session member, considered for becoming a full time member before McCabe returned to the band to record Urban Hymns)
• B. J. Cole – lead guitar (1998) (Live member in the final months of 1998 after McCabe's second quit)

Discography[link]

• A Storm in Heaven (1993)
• A Northern Soul (1995)
• Urban Hymns (1997)
• Forth (2008)

Legacy[link]

After The Verve split in 1999, many of their songs have been covered or reinterpreted in recent years, such as in these examples:

• Limp Bizkit created a mashup of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" on their Greatest Hitz album.
• Singer/songwriter Ben Harper covered the song "The Drugs Don't Work" in a live show, which is found on the live album Live From Mars.
• The string section of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" has been sampled by artists such as Madonna and Kanye West in live concerts.
• Moby has created a remix of the song "Bitter Sweet Symphony".^[54]
• In the movie Cruel Intentions, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is played at the final scene.
• The music video for "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was parodied by Fat Les for the 1998 World Cup song "Vindaloo".
• Also notably Vernon Kay is a big fan of The Verve, and conducted his last interview on T4 with Richard Ashcroft.
• Noel Gallagher of Oasis has covered "Bitter Sweet Symphony" on a few occasions, most recently on the 2006 Acoustic Stop The Clocks Tour. Also, the song "Cast No Shadow" was written as a homage to Richard Ashcroft, who in turn wrote "A Northern Soul" from the band's second album for Noel Gallagher.
• Both "Lucky Man" and "Rather Be" are featured in the film Marley & Me.
• "Lucky Man" is featured in the 2004 film The Girl Next Door.
• "Slide Away" is featured in the film The New Age, during the jacuzzi/party scene, and has also been featured in the House M.D. episode "Ugly".
• "Star Sail", the opening track of A Storm In Heaven, is featured in the 1993 film Sliver and is featured on the Virgin Records US release of the soundtrack.
• "Appalachian Springs" is featured in season 4, episode 19 of the show The Unit.
• "Lucky Man" is featured in the 6th season premiere of HBO's Entourage.
• In 2009, Bitter Sweet Symphony was voted number # 14 in Triple Js Hottest 100 of all time.^[55]
• "One Day" and "The Drugs Don't Work" are played on BBC Two comedy-drama Home Time.
• Three Days Grace's Adam Gontier did an Acoustic Cover of The Verve's "The Drugs Don't Work"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• The Verve on Myspace
• The Verve at the Internet Movie Database

The Juice Crew was a hip hop collective of largely Queensbridge-based artists in the mid- to late-1980s. Founded by producer Marley Marl and radio DJ Mr. Magic and housed by Tyrone William's Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Crew would introduce New School artists Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shanté and Kool G Rap. The crew produced many answer records and "beefs" - primarily with rival radio jock Kool DJ Red Alert and the South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions - as well as the "posse cut", "The Symphony".

History[link]

Marley Marl started his career as Mr. Magic's sidekick and DJ on the influential radio show Rapp Attack, the first exclusively-hip hop music program to be aired on a major radio station, New York's WBLS-FM; the show would be instrumental in spring-boarding the careers of the group's various artists. The crew derived its name from Mr. Magic's alias, "Sir Juice".^[1] Magic actually had a previous ("original") Juice Crew consisting of himself, record executive Sal Abbatiello, and artists Sweet Gee, DJ June Bug, and Kurtis Blow^[2][3]

As a record producer, Marley Marl began the Juice Crew's long tradition of answer records with their first release - 1983's "Sucker DJs (I Will Survive)" by Marley's then-girlfriend Dimples D., a response to Run-D.M.C.'s "Sucker M.C.'s" - but this initial effort failed to provoke much of a reaction, and was a whimper compared to what was to come.

A chance encounter in 1984 between Mr. Magic, Marley Marl and manager Tyrone Williams and 15-year old rapper Roxanne Shanté resulted in their breakout hit "Roxanne's Revenge". A scathing attack on UTFO's "Roxanne, Roxanne", the song became so popular it not only garnered a response from the original group (with the help of a young female rapper claiming to be The Real Roxanne) but inspired dozens of imitators in a series of records known as the Roxanne Wars.

Keeping his attentions to his Queensbridge public housing project, Marley's next artist was his cousin MC Shan. Shan's second single, 1986's "Beat Biter", went after local Queens superstar LL Cool J for allegedly stealing Marley's music. What was significant about the 12-inch release was not its intended single however but its B-side "The Bridge", which proved much more popular, finding not only considerable radio play but the ire of Boogie Down Productions. BDP, an upstart rap group from the South Bronx led by rapper KRS-One, took offense to a contested interpretation^[4] of MC Shan's lyrics: they understood Shan to be claiming Queens as the birthplace of hip hop, when it in fact originated largely in the Bronx. Adding to the beef was an ongoing feud between Mr. Magic and his arch-rival Kool DJ Red Alert, who played a similar role in supporting Boogie Down Productions' nascent career - Mr. Magic on the other hand derided their early efforts. BDP launched the first attack with "South Bronx", which was premiered live in concert after an MC Shan performance of "The Bridge". Shan and Marley responded with "Kill That Noise", released on MC Shan's 1987 debut Down By Law (the first full-length release from Tyrone Williams newly-formed Cold Chillin' Records), calling out KRS-One's attention-grabbing methods. The battle was widely regarded as having been won however by KRS-One and the BDP Crew, with the diss track "The Bridge Is Over". Nonetheless, the so-called "Bridge Wars" would be drawn-out over a number of proxies.

The Juice Crew began to expand around this time, most notably with the inclusion of two high school friends from Brooklyn, rapper Big Daddy Kane and "human beatbox" Biz Markie. Biz had already collaborated with Shanté for 1986's "Def Fresh Crew" and found success with his Marley-produced debut "Make The Music With Your Mouth, Biz", which also introduced Juice Crew singer TJ Swan. In February 1988, Biz's album Goin' Off was released by Cold Chillin', which had just signed a five-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records. By the following year, Biz would become a national celebrity with a hit single ("Just A Friend") in the US Top Ten. Big Daddy Kane went on to become not only one of the biggest selling but most respected and influential rappers of his time. Kool G Rap, together with musical partner DJ Polo, was met with similar critical acclaim, albeit less commercial success. The other artists added to the Juice Crew/Cold Chillin' roster were Masta Ace and Queensbridge up-and-comers Tragedy the Intelligent Hoodlum, Craig G and we can't forget Glamorous Jo Ann Berry, The First Female Rapper from Long Island to ever hit Vinyl, not just from this recording. She was featured on Pop Art records before joining the Juice Crew as a member of the "Glamour Girls". On the only single from them "Oh Veronica, Veronica" in 1985. Craig G did the beat box version. The Juice Crew was a Crew that each artist was a valuable asset and showed that their talent was Prime Time.

To showcase both his expanding crew and evolving musical productions, Marley Marl released in 1988 the label-showcase In Control Volume 1. "The Symphony", with its sparse drum sample, simple piano melody and back-to-back line-up of lyrical heavyweights (Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane), made an indelible impression on hip hop, and is widely regarded as the quintessential "posse cut". The Juice Crew rode out the decade firmly at the top of hip-hop.

Marley Marl spent the early 1990s as a producer, including work with LL Cool J in 1990 on Mama Said Knock You Out. It would be the last year he would contribute to a Juice Crew member's album. 1991's In Control Volume II (For Your Steering Pleasure) featured appearances from LL Cool J and Chuck D but also featured little of the original crew and many unknowns who would never be heard from again. Cold Chillin' Records struggled in the early 1990s, and less successful acts like Masta Ace were dropped. Soon in 2009 Cold Chillin would lose the creator and pioneer of the Juice Crew "Super Rocking Mr Magic ". This would quickly inspire the newest and youngest member of the Crew {Tay-Young} to start a new way of marketing legendary artist that join the world most legendary hip-hop movement. The legacy would next become a task for Tay-Young to hold as the new leader of the next generation of Juice Crew artist since 20012. Tay's company joined venture with the Juice Crew in order to promote a legendary body of work . He currently is on tour and working on an album. Big Daddy Kane as well as other Juice Crew members from different generations are also working on new music and is happy that Young carries the torch proudly. "Even names like Jay-z , Nas & LL Cool J tried to join the crew but were denied as members."- Mr. Magic

In 2009 they recorded a tribute to Mr. Magic, "Mr. Magic Tribute".

Legacy[link]

The Intelligent Hoodlum, later known as Tragedy Khadafi in the 1990s, played a personal role in shaping the lyrics and imagery of Capone-N-Noreaga and his younger cousin Havoc of Mobb Deep.^{[citation needed]}

As Nas said in an interview in 1998:

Growing up in Queensbridge it was Marley Marl and The Juice Crew that gave rap niggas like myself hope that there was another life beyond our hood... He made us believe that although we came from those wild streets, we still had a chance to change our lives.^[5]

2000s QB's Finest sought to honour this heritage with "Da Bridge 2001", an all-star update of MC Shan and Marley Marl's classic, this time joined by Tragedy, Mobb Deep, Capone, and Nas.

In 2007, the feud between the Juice Crew and Boogie Down Productions was officially laid to rest when Marley Marl and KRS-One released the collaborative album, Hip Hop Lives - a quasi-sequel record to Nas' Hip Hop Is Dead.

The Vapors, a biopic about the Juice Crew directed by Furqaan Clover and starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as Marley Marl and Keke Palmer as Roxanne Shanté, began production in February 2008. Although right now the movie is on hold due to cast issues.^[6]

References[link]

See also[link]

• Cold Chillin' Records
• The Roxanne Wars
• The Bridge Wars
• The Hip Hop History of The Symphony (Juice Crew)

Portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820

Ludwig van Beethoven (ⁱ/ˈlʊdvɪɡ væn ˈbeɪt.hoʊvən/; German pronunciation: [ˈluːtvɪç fan ˈbeːt.hoːfən] ( listen); baptized 17 December 1770^[1] – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers.

Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven moved to Vienna in his early 20s, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. His hearing began to deteriorate in his late twenties, yet he continued to compose, conduct, and perform, even after becoming completely deaf.

Biography[link]

Background and early life[link]

House of birth, Bonn, Bonngasse 20, now the Beethoven-Haus museum

Beethoven was the grandson of a musician of Flemish origin named Lodewijk van Beethoven (1712–73) who moved at the age of twenty to Bonn.^[2][3] Lodewijk (Ludwig is the German cognate of Dutch Lodewijk) was employed as a bass singer at the court of the Elector of Cologne, eventually rising to become Kapellmeister (music director). Lodewijk had one son, Johann (1740–1792), who worked as a tenor in the same musical establishment, and gave lessons on piano and violin to supplement his income.^[2] Johann married Maria Magdalena Keverich in 1767; she was the daughter of Johann Heinrich Keverich, who had been the head chef at the court of the Archbishopric of Trier.^[4]

Prince-Elector's Palace (Kurfürstliches Schloss) in Bonn, where the Beethoven family had been active since the 1730s

Beethoven was born of this marriage in Bonn. There is no authentic record of the date of his birth; however, the registry of his baptism, in a Roman Catholic service at the Parish of St. Regius on 17 December 1770, survives.^[5] As children of that era were traditionally baptised the day after birth in the Catholic Rhine country, and it is known that Beethoven's family and his teacher Johann Albrechtsberger celebrated his birthday on 16 December, most scholars accept 16 December 1770 as Beethoven's date of birth.^[6][7] Of the seven children born to Johann van Beethoven, only Ludwig, the second-born, and two younger brothers survived infancy. Caspar Anton Carl was born on 8 April 1774, and Nikolaus Johann, the youngest, was born on 2 October 1776.^[8]

Beethoven's first music teacher was his father. Although tradition has it that Johann van Beethoven was a harsh instructor, and that the child Beethoven, "made to stand at the keyboard, was often in tears,"^[2] the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians claimed that no solid documentation supported this, and asserted that "speculation and myth-making have both been productive."^[2] Beethoven had other local teachers: the court organist Gilles van den Eeden (d. 1782), Tobias Friedrich Pfeiffer (a family friend, who taught Beethoven the piano), and Franz Rovantini (a relative, who instructed him in playing the violin and viola).^[2] Beethoven's musical talent was obvious at a young age. Johann, aware of Leopold Mozart's successes in this area (with son Wolfgang and daughter Nannerl), attempted to exploit his son as a child prodigy, claiming that Beethoven was six (he was seven) on the posters for Beethoven's first public performance in March 1778.^[9]

Some time after 1779, Beethoven began his studies with his most important teacher in Bonn, Christian Gottlob Neefe, who was appointed the Court's Organist in that year.^[10] Neefe taught Beethoven composition, and by March 1783 had helped him write his first published composition: a set of keyboard variations (WoO 63).^[8] Beethoven soon began working with Neefe as assistant organist, at first unpaid (1781), and then as a paid employee (1784) of the court chapel conducted by the Kapellmeister Andrea Luchesi. His first three piano sonatas, named "Kurfürst" ("Elector") for their dedication to the Elector Maximilian Frederick (1708–1784), were published in 1783. Maximilian Frederick noticed Beethoven's talent early, and subsidised and encouraged the young man's musical studies.^[11]

A portrait of the 13-year-old Beethoven by an unknown Bonn master (c. 1783)

Maximilian Frederick's successor as the Elector of Bonn was Maximilian Franz, the youngest son of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, and he brought notable changes to Bonn. Echoing changes made in Vienna by his brother Joseph, he introduced reforms based on Enlightenment philosophy, with increased support for education and the arts. The teenage Beethoven was almost certainly influenced by these changes. He may also have been influenced at this time by ideas prominent in freemasonry, as Neefe and others around Beethoven were members of the local chapter of the Order of the Illuminati.^[12]

In March 1787 Beethoven traveled to Vienna (possibly at another's expense) for the first time, apparently in the hope of studying with Mozart. The details of their relationship are uncertain, including whether or not they actually met.^[13] After just two weeks Beethoven learned that his mother was severely ill, and returned home. His mother died shortly thereafter, and the father lapsed deeper into alcoholism. As a result, Beethoven became responsible for the care of his two younger brothers, and he spent the next five years in Bonn.^[14]

Beethoven was introduced to several people who became important in his life in these years. Franz Wegeler, a young medical student, introduced him to the von Breuning family (one of whose daughters Wegeler eventually married). Beethoven often visited the von Breuning household, where he taught piano to some of the children. Here he encountered German and classical literature. The von Breuning family environment was less stressful than his own, which was increasingly dominated by his father's decline.^[15] Beethoven also came to the attention of Count Ferdinand von Waldstein, who became a lifelong friend and financial supporter.^[16]

In 1789 Beethoven obtained a legal order by which half of his father's salary was paid directly to him for support of the family.^[17] He also contributed further to the family's income by playing viola in the court orchestra. This familiarised Beethoven with a variety of operas, including three by Mozart that were performed at court in this period. He also befriended Anton Reicha, a flautist and violinist of about his own age who was a nephew of the court orchestra's conductor, Josef Reicha.^[18]

Establishing his career in Vienna[link]

Beethoven was probably first introduced to Joseph Haydn in late 1790, when the latter was traveling to London and stopped in Bonn around Christmas time.^[19] They met in Bonn on Haydn's return trip from London to Vienna in July 1792, and it is likely that arrangements were made at that time for Beethoven to study with the old master.^[20] With the Elector's help, Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792.^[21] From 1790 to 1792, Beethoven composed a significant number of works (none were published at the time, and most are now listed as works without opus) that demonstrated his growing range and maturity. Musicologists identified a theme similar to those of his third symphony in a set of variations written in 1791.^[22] Beethoven left Bonn for Vienna in November 1792, amid rumors of war spilling out of France, and learned shortly after his arrival that his father had died.^[23][24] Count Waldstein in his farewell note to Beethoven wrote: "Through uninterrupted diligence you will receive Mozart's spirit through Haydn's hands."^[24] Over the next few years, Beethoven responded to the widespread feeling that he was a successor to the recently deceased Mozart by studying that master's work and writing works with a distinctly Mozartean flavor.^[25]

Portrait of Beethoven as a young man by Carl Traugott Riedel (1769–1832)

Beethoven did not immediately set out to establish himself as a composer, but rather devoted himself to study and performance. Working under Haydn's direction,^[26] he sought to master counterpoint. He also studied violin under Ignaz Schuppanzigh.^[27] Early in this period, he also began receiving occasional instruction from Antonio Salieri, primarily in Italian vocal composition style; this relationship persisted until at least 1802, and possibly 1809.^[28] With Haydn's departure for England in 1794, Beethoven was expected by the Elector to return home. He chose instead to remain in Vienna, continuing his instruction in counterpoint with Johann Albrechtsberger and other teachers. Although his stipend from the Elector expired, a number of Viennese noblemen had already recognised his ability and offered him financial support, among them Prince Joseph Franz Lobkowitz, Prince Karl Lichnowsky, and Baron Gottfried van Swieten.^[29]

By 1793, Beethoven established a reputation as an improviser in the salons of the nobility, often playing the preludes and fugues of J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.^[30] His friend Nikolaus Simrock had begun publishing his compositions; the first are believed to be a set of variations (WoO 66).^[31] By 1793, he had established a reputation in Vienna as a piano virtuoso, but he apparently withheld works from publication so that their publication in 1795 would have greater impact.^[29] Beethoven's first public performance in Vienna was in March 1795, a concert in which he first performed one of his piano concertos. It is uncertain whether this was the First or Second. Documentary evidence is unclear, and both concertos were in a similar state of near-completion (neither was completed or published for several years).^[32][33] Shortly after this performance, he arranged for the publication of the first of his compositions to which he assigned an opus number, the three piano trios, Opus 1. These works were dedicated to his patron Prince Lichnowsky,^[32] and were a financial success; Beethoven's profits were nearly sufficient to cover his living expenses for a year.^[34]

Musical maturity[link]

Beethoven composed his first six string quartets (Op. 18) between 1798 and 1800 (commissioned by, and dedicated to, Prince Lobkowitz). They were published in 1801. With premieres of his First and Second Symphonies in 1800 and 1803, Beethoven became regarded as one of the most important of a generation of young composers following Haydn and Mozart. He also continued to write in other forms, turning out widely known piano sonatas like the "Pathétique" sonata (Op. 13), which Cooper describes as "surpass[ing] any of his previous compositions, in strength of character, depth of emotion, level of originality, and ingenuity of motivic and tonal manipulation."^[35] He also completed his Septet (Op. 20) in 1799, which was one of his most popular works during his lifetime.

Beethoven in 1803, painted by Christian Horneman

For the premiere of his First Symphony, Beethoven hired the Burgtheater on 2 April 1800, and staged an extensive program of music, including works by Haydn and Mozart, as well as his Septet, the First Symphony, and one of his piano concertos (the latter three works all then unpublished). The concert, which the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung described as "the most interesting concert in a long time," was not without difficulties; among the criticisms was that "the players did not bother to pay any attention to the soloist."^[36]

Mozart and Haydn were undeniable influences. For example, Beethoven's quintet for piano and winds is said to bear a strong resemblance to Mozart's work for the same configuration, albeit with his own distinctive touches.^[37] But Beethoven's melodies, musical development, use of modulation and texture, and characterization of emotion all set him apart from his influences, and heightened the impact some of his early works made when they were first published.^[38] By the end of 1800 Beethoven and his music were already much in demand from patrons and publishers.^[39]

Ludwig van Beethoven: detail of an 1804 portrait by Joseph Willibrord Mähler. The complete painting depicts Beethoven with a lyre-guitar

In May 1799, Beethoven taught piano to the daughters of Hungarian Countess Anna Brunsvik. During this time, Beethoven fell in love with the younger daughter Josephine^[40] who has therefore been identified as one of the more likely candidates for the addressee of his letter to the "Immortal Beloved" (in 1812). Shortly after these lessons, Josephine was married to Count Josef Deym. Beethoven was a regular visitor at their house, continuing to teach Josephine, and playing at parties and concerts. Her marriage was by all accounts happy (despite initial financial problems),^[41] and the couple had four children. Her relationship with Beethoven intensified after Deym died suddenly in 1804.^[42]

Beethoven had few other students. From 1801 to 1805, he tutored Ferdinand Ries, who went on to become a composer and later wrote Beethoven remembered, a book about their encounters. The young Carl Czerny studied with Beethoven from 1801 to 1803. Czerny went on to become a renowned music teacher himself, instructing Franz Liszt, and gave the Vienna premiere of Beethoven's fifth piano concerto (the "Emperor") in 1812.^{[citation needed]}

Beethoven's compositions between 1800 and 1802 were dominated by two large-scale orchestral works, although he continued to produce other important works such as the piano sonata Sonata quasi una fantasia known as the "Moonlight Sonata". In the spring of 1801 he completed The Creatures of Prometheus, a ballet. The work received numerous performances in 1801 and 1802, and Beethoven rushed to publish a piano arrangement to capitalise on its early popularity.^[43] In the spring of 1802 he completed the Second Symphony, intended for performance at a concert that was canceled. The symphony received its premiere instead at a subscription concert in April 1803 at the Theater an der Wien, where Beethoven had been appointed composer in residence. In addition to the Second Symphony, the concert also featured the First Symphony, the Third Piano Concerto, and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives. Reviews were mixed, but the concert was a financial success; Beethoven was able to charge three times the cost of a typical concert ticket.^[44]

Beethoven's business dealings with publishers also began to improve in 1802 when his brother Carl, who had previously assisted him casually, began to assume a larger role in the management of his affairs. In addition to negotiating higher prices for recently composed works, Carl also began selling some of Beethoven's earlier unpublished works, and encouraged Beethoven (against the latter's preference) to also make arrangements and transcriptions of his more popular works for other instrument combinations. Beethoven acceded to these requests, as he could not prevent publishers from hiring others to do similar arrangements of his works.^[45]

Loss of hearing[link]

Around 1796, by the age of 26, Beethoven began to lose his hearing.^[46] He suffered from a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to hear music; he also avoided conversation. The cause of Beethoven's deafness is unknown, but it has variously been attributed to typhus, auto-immune disorders (such as systemic lupus erythematosus), and even his habit of immersing his head in cold water to stay awake. The explanation from Beethoven's autopsy was that he had a "distended inner ear," which developed lesions over time.

Beethoven in 1815 portrait by Joseph Willibrord Mähler

As early as 1801, Beethoven wrote to friends describing his symptoms and the difficulties they caused in both professional and social settings (although it is likely some of his close friends were already aware of the problems).^[47] Beethoven, on the advice of his doctor, lived in the small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt, just outside Vienna, from April to October 1802 in an attempt to come to terms with his condition. There he wrote his Heiligenstadt Testament, a letter to his brothers which records his thoughts of suicide due to his growing deafness and records his resolution to continue living for and through his art.^[48] Over time, his hearing loss became profound: there is a well-attested story that, at the end of the premiere of his Ninth Symphony, he had to be turned around to see the tumultuous applause of the audience; hearing nothing, he wept.^[49] Beethoven's hearing loss did not prevent his composing music, but it made playing at concerts—a lucrative source of income—increasingly difficult. After a failed attempt in 1811 to perform his own Piano Concerto No. 5 (the "Emperor"), which was premiered by his student Carl Czerny, he never performed in public again.

A large collection of Beethoven's hearing aids, such as a special ear horn, can be viewed at the Beethoven House Museum in Bonn, Germany. Despite his obvious distress, Czerny remarked that Beethoven could still hear speech and music normally until 1812.^[50] By 1814 however, Beethoven was almost totally deaf, and when a group of visitors saw him play a loud arpeggio of thundering bass notes at his piano remarking, "Ist es nicht schön?" (Is it not beautiful?), they felt deep sympathy considering his courage and sense of humor (he lost the ability to hear higher frequencies first).^[51]

As a result of Beethoven's hearing loss, his conversation books are an unusually rich written resource. Used primarily in the last ten or so years of his life, his friends wrote in these books so that he could know what they were saying, and he then responded either orally or in the book. The books contain discussions about music and other matters, and give insights into Beethoven's thinking; they are a source for investigations into how he intended his music should be performed, and also his perception of his relationship to art. Out of a total of 400 conversation books, it has been suggested that 264 were destroyed (and others were altered) after Beethoven's death by Anton Schindler, who wished only an idealised biography of the composer to survive.^[52]

Patronage[link]

Beethoven's patron, Archduke Rudolph

While Beethoven earned income from publication of his works and from public performances, he also depended on the generosity of patrons for income, for whom he gave private performances and copies of works they commissioned for an exclusive period prior to their publication. Some of his early patrons, including Prince Lobkowitz and Prince Lichnowsky, gave him annual stipends in addition to commissioning works and purchasing published works.^[53]

Perhaps Beethoven's most important aristocratic patron was Archduke Rudolph, the youngest son of Emperor Leopold II, who in 1803 or 1804 began to study piano and composition with Beethoven. The cleric (Cardinal-Priest) and the composer became friends, and their meetings continued until 1824.^[54] Beethoven dedicated 14 compositions to Rudolph, including the Archduke Trio (1811) and his great Missa Solemnis (1823). Rudolph, in turn, dedicated one of his own compositions to Beethoven. The letters Beethoven wrote to Rudolph are today kept at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna.^{[citation needed]}

In the Autumn of 1808, after having been rejected for a position at the royal theatre, Beethoven received an offer from Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte, then king of Westphalia, for a well-paid position as Kapellmeister at the court in Cassel. To persuade him to stay in Vienna, the Archduke Rudolph, Prince Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz, after receiving representations from the composer's friends, pledged to pay Beethoven a pension of 4000 florins a year. Only Archduke Rudolph paid his share of the pension on the agreed date.^[55] Kinsky, immediately called to military duty, did not contribute and soon died after falling from his horse. Lobkowitz stopped paying in September 1811. No successors came forward to continue the patronage, and Beethoven relied mostly on selling composition rights and a small pension after 1815. The effects of these financial arrangements were undermined to some extent by war with France, which caused significant inflation when the government printed money to fund its war efforts.^{[citation needed]}

The middle period[link]

Beethoven Monument in Bonn, Muensterplatz

Beethoven's return to Vienna from Heiligenstadt was marked by a change in musical style, and is now designated as the start of his "Middle" or "Heroic" period. According to Carl Czerny, Beethoven said, "I am not satisfied with the work I have done so far. From now on I intend to take a new way."^[56] This "Heroic" phase was characterised by a large number of original works composed on a grand scale.^[57] The first major work employing this new style was the Third Symphony in E flat, known as the "Eroica". This work was longer and larger in scope than any previous symphony. When it premiered in early 1805 it received a mixed reception. Some listeners objected to its length or misunderstood its structure, while others viewed it as a masterpiece.^[58]

	Symphony No. 5, Op. 67 (1st movement) composed during Beethoven's middle period
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The "middle period" is sometimes associated with a "heroic" manner of composing,^[59] but the use of the term "heroic" has become increasingly controversial in Beethoven scholarship. The term is more frequently used as an alternative name for the middle period.^[60] The appropriateness of the term "heroic" to describe the whole middle period has been questioned as well: while some works, like the Third and Fifth Symphonies, are easy to describe as "heroic", many others, like the "Pastoral" Sixth Symphony, are not.^[61]

Some of the middle period works extend the musical language Beethoven had inherited from Haydn and Mozart. The middle period work includes the Third through Eighth Symphonies, the Rasumovsky, Harp and Serioso string quartets, the "Waldstein" and "Appassionata" piano sonatas, Christ on the Mount of Olives, the opera Fidelio, the Violin Concerto and many other compositions. During this time Beethoven's income came from publishing his works, from performances of them, and from his patrons. His position at the Theater an der Wien was terminated when the theater changed management in early 1804, and he was forced to move temporarily to the suburbs of Vienna with his friend Stephan von Breuning. This slowed work on Fidelio, his largest work to date, for a time. It was delayed again by the Austrian censor, and finally premiered in November 1805 to houses that were nearly empty because of the French occupation of the city. In addition to being a financial failure, this version of Fidelio was also a critical failure, and Beethoven began revising it.^[62]

During May 1809, when the attacking forces of Napoleon bombarded Vienna, according to Ferdinand Ries, Beethoven, very worried that the noise would destroy what remained of his hearing, hid in the basement of his brother's house, covering his ears with pillows.^[63]

The work of the middle period established Beethoven as a master. In a review from 1810, he was enshrined by E. T. A. Hoffmann as one of the three great "Romantic" composers; Hoffman called Beethoven's Fifth Symphony "one of the most important works of the age."

Personal and family difficulties[link]

Beethoven's love life was hampered by class issues. In late 1801 he met a young countess, Julie ("Giulietta") Guicciardi through the Brunsvik family, at a time when he was giving regular piano lessons to Josephine Brunsvik. Beethoven mentions his love for Julie in a November 1801 letter to his boyhood friend, Franz Wegeler, but he could not consider marrying her, due to the class difference. Beethoven later dedicated to her his Sonata No. 14, now commonly known as the "Moonlight" Sonata.^[64]

His relationship with Josephine Brunsvik deepened after the death in 1804 of her aristocratic first husband, the Count Joseph Deym. Beethoven wrote Josephine 15 passionate love letters between late 1804 to around 1809/10. Although his feelings were obviously reciprocated, Josephine was forced by her family to withdraw from him in 1807. She cited her "duty" and the fact that she would have lost the custodianship of her aristocratic children had she remarried to a commoner.^[65] After Josephine married Baron von Stackelberg in 1810, Beethoven may have proposed unsuccessfully to Therese Malfatti, the supposed dedicatee of "Für Elise";^[66] his status as a commoner may again have interfered with those plans.

Life mask made in 1812

In the spring of 1811 Beethoven became seriously ill, suffering headaches and high fever. On the advice of his doctor, he spent six weeks in the Bohemian spa town of Teplitz. The following winter, which was dominated by work on the Seventh symphony, he was again ill, and his doctor ordered him to spend the summer of 1812 at the spa Teplitz. It is certain that he was at Teplitz when he wrote a love letter to his "Immortal Beloved."^[67] The identity of the intended recipient has long been a subject of debate; candidates include Julie Guicciardi, Therese Malfatti, Josephine Brunsvik, and Antonie Brentano.

Beethoven visited his brother Johann at the end of October 1812. He wished to end Johann's cohabitation with Therese Obermayer, a woman who already had an illegitimate child. He was unable to convince Johann to end the relationship, and appealed to the local civic and religious authorities. Johann and Therese married on 9 November.^[68]

Beethoven in 1814. Portrait by Louis-René Létronne.

In early 1813 Beethoven apparently went through a difficult emotional period, and his compositional output dropped. His personal appearance degraded—it had generally been neat—as did his manners in public, especially when dining. Beethoven took care of his brother (who was suffering from tuberculosis) and his family, an expense that he claimed left him penniless.

Beethoven was finally motivated to begin significant composition again in June 1813, when news arrived of the defeat of one of Napoleon's armies at Vitoria, Spain, by a coalition of forces under the Duke of Wellington. This news stimulated him to write the battle symphony known as Wellington's Victory. It was first performed on 8 December, along with his Seventh Symphony, at a charity concert for victims of the war. The work was a popular hit, probably because of its programmatic style that was entertaining and easy to understand. It received repeat performances at concerts Beethoven staged in January and February 1814. Beethoven's renewed popularity led to demands for a revival of Fidelio, which, in its third revised version, was also well-received at its July opening. That summer he composed a piano sonata for the first time in five years (No. 27, Opus 90). This work was in a markedly more Romantic style than his earlier sonatas. He was also one of many composers who produced music in a patriotic vein to entertain the many heads of state and diplomats that came to the Congress of Vienna that began in November 1814. His output of songs included his only song cycle, "An die ferne Geliebte," and the extraordinarily expressive second setting of the poem "An die Hoffnung" (Op. 94) in 1815. Compared to its first setting in 1805 (a gift for Josephine Brunsvik) it was "far more dramatic... The entire spirit is that of an operatic scena."^[69]

Custody struggle and illness[link]

Between 1815 and 1817 Beethoven's output dropped again. Beethoven attributed part of this to a lengthy illness (he called it an "inflammatory fever") that afflicted him for more than a year, starting in October 1816.^[70] Biographers have speculated on a variety of other reasons that also contributed to the decline, including the difficulties in the personal lives of his would-be paramours and the harsh censorship policies of the Austrian government. The illness and death of his brother Carl from consumption may also have played a role.

Beethoven in 1818 by August Klöber

Carl had been ill for some time, and Beethoven spent a small fortune in 1815 on his care. After Carl died on 15 November 1815, Beethoven immediately became embroiled in a protracted legal dispute with Carl's wife Johanna over custody of their son Karl, then nine years old. Beethoven, who considered Johanna an unfit parent because of her morals (she had an illegitimate child by a different father before marrying Carl, and had been convicted of theft) and financial management, had successfully applied to Carl to have himself named sole guardian of the boy. A late codicil to Carl's will gave him and Johanna joint guardianship. While Beethoven was successful at having his nephew removed from her custody in February 1816, the case was not fully resolved until 1820, and he was frequently preoccupied by the demands of the litigation and seeing to Karl's welfare, whom he first placed in a private school.

The Austrian court system had one court for the nobility and members of the Landtafel, the R&I Landrechte, and many other courts for commoners, among them the Civil Court of the Vienna Magistrate. Beethoven disguised the fact that the Dutch "van" in his name did not denote nobility as does the German "von"^[71] and his case was tried in the Landrechte. Owing to his influence with the court, Beethoven felt assured of the favorable outcome of being awarded sole guardianship. While giving evidence to the Landrechte, however, Beethoven inadvertently^[71] admitted that he was not nobly born. The case was transferred to the Magistracy on 18 December 1818, where he lost sole guardianship.

Beethoven appealed, and regained custody. Johanna's appeal to the Emperor was not successful: the Emperor "washed his hands of the matter." During the years of custody that followed, Beethoven attempted to ensure that Karl lived to the highest moral standards. Beethoven had an overbearing manner and frequently interfered in his nephew's life. Karl attempted suicide on 31 July 1826 by shooting himself in the head. He survived, and was brought to his mother's house, where he recuperated. He and Beethoven were reconciled, but Karl insisted on joining the army, and last saw Beethoven in early 1827.^{[citation needed]}

The only major works Beethoven produced during this time were two cello sonatas, a piano sonata, and collections of folk song settings.

Late works[link]

Beethoven began a renewed study of older music, including works by J. S. Bach and Handel, that were then being published in the first attempts at complete editions. He composed the Consecration of the House Overture, which was the first work to attempt to incorporate these influences. A new style emerged, now called his "Late period". He returned to the keyboard to compose his first piano sonatas in almost a decade: the works of the Late period are commonly held to include the last five piano sonatas and the Diabelli Variations, the last two sonatas for cello and piano, the late string quartets (see below), and two works for very large forces: the Missa Solemnis and the Ninth Symphony.^{[citation needed]}

A medallion made with the face of Beethoven

By early 1818 Beethoven's health had improved, and his nephew moved in with him in January. On the downside, his hearing had deteriorated to the point that conversation became difficult, necessitating the use of conversation books. His household management had also improved somewhat; Nanette Streicher, who had assisted in his care during his illness, continued to provide some support, and he finally found a skilled cook.^[72] His musical output in 1818 was still somewhat reduced, but included song collections and the Hammerklavier Sonata, as well as sketches for two symphonies that eventually coalesced into the epic Ninth. In 1819 he was again preoccupied by the legal processes around Karl, and began work on the Diabelli Variations and the Missa Solemnis.^{[citation needed]}

For the next few years he continued to work on the Missa, composing piano sonatas and bagatelles to satisfy the demands of publishers and the need for income, and completing the Diabelli Variations. He was ill again for an extended time in 1821, and completed the Missa in 1823, three years after its original due date. He also opened discussions with his publishers over the possibility of producing a complete edition of his work, an idea that was arguably not fully realised until 1971.^{[citation needed]} Beethoven's brother Johann began to take a hand in his business affairs, much in the way Carl had earlier, locating older unpublished works to offer for publication and offering the Missa to multiple publishers with the goal of getting a higher price for it.^{[citation needed]}

Two commissions in 1822 improved Beethoven's financial prospects. The Philharmonic Society of London offered a commission for a symphony, and Prince Nikolay Golitsin of St. Petersburg offered to pay Beethoven's price for three string quartets. The first of these commissions spurred Beethoven to finish the Ninth Symphony, which was first performed, along with the Missa Solemnis, on 7 May 1824, to great acclaim at the Kärntnertortheater. The Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung gushed, "inexhaustible genius had shown us a new world," and Carl Czerny wrote that his symphony "breathes such a fresh, lively, indeed youthful spirit [...] so much power, innovation, and beauty as ever [came] from the head of this original man, although he certainly sometimes led the old wigs to shake their heads."^[73] Unlike his more lucrative earlier concerts, this did not make Beethoven much money, as the expenses of mounting it were significantly higher.^[73] A second concert on 24 May, in which the producer guaranteed Beethoven a minimum fee, was poorly attended; nephew Karl noted that "many people have already gone into the country."^[74] It was Beethoven's last public concert.^[74]

	Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111 (1st movement) written between 1821 and 1822, during Beethoven's Late period
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Beethoven then turned to writing the string quartets for Golitsin. This series of quartets, known as the "Late Quartets," went far beyond what musicians or audiences were ready for at that time. One musician^[who?] commented that "we know there is something there, but we do not know what it is." Composer Louis Spohr called them "indecipherable, uncorrected horrors." Opinion has changed considerably from the time of their first bewildered reception: their forms and ideas inspired musicians and composers including Richard Wagner and Béla Bartók, and continue to do so. Of the late quartets, Beethoven's favorite was the Fourteenth Quartet, op. 131 in C# minor, which he rated as his most perfect single work.^[75] The last musical wish of Schubert was to hear the Op. 131 quartet, which he did on 14 November 1828, five days before his death.^[76]

Beethoven wrote the last quartets amidst failing health. In April 1825 he was bedridden, and remained ill for about a month. The illness—or more precisely, his recovery from it—is remembered for having given rise to the deeply felt slow movement of the Fifteenth Quartet, which Beethoven called "Holy song of thanks ('Heiliger dankgesang') to the divinity, from one made well." He went on to complete the quartets now numbered Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Sixteenth. The last work completed by Beethoven was the substitute final movement of the Thirteenth Quartet, which replaced the difficult Große Fuge. Shortly thereafter, in December 1826, illness struck again, with episodes of vomiting and diarrhea that nearly ended his life.^{[citation needed]}

Illness and death[link]

Beethoven's grave site, Vienna Zentralfriedhof

Beethoven was bedridden for most of his remaining months, and many friends came to visit. Beethoven died on 26 March 1827 at the age of 56 during a thunderstorm. His friend Anselm Hüttenbrenner, who was present at the time, claimed that there was a peal of thunder at the moment of death. An autopsy revealed significant liver damage, which may have been due to heavy alcohol consumption.^[77] It also revealed considerable dilation of the auditory and other related nerves.^[78]

Death mask by Josef Danhauser

Beethoven's funeral procession on 29 March 1827 was attended by an estimated 20,000 Viennese citizens. Franz Schubert, who died the following year and was buried next to Beethoven, was one of the torchbearers. Unlike Mozart, who was buried anonymously in a communal grave (the custom at the time), Beethoven was buried in a dedicated grave in the Währing cemetery, north-west of Vienna, after a requiem mass at the church of the Holy Trinity (Dreifaltigkeitskirche). His remains were exhumed for study in 1862, and moved in 1888 to Vienna's Zentralfriedhof.^[77]

There is dispute about the cause of Beethoven's death: alcoholic cirrhosis, syphilis, infectious hepatitis, lead poisoning, sarcoidosis and Whipple's disease have all been proposed.^[79] Friends and visitors before and after his death clipped locks of his hair, some of which have been preserved and subjected to additional analysis, as have skull fragments removed during the 1862 exhumation.^[80] Some of these analyses have led to controversial assertions that Beethoven was accidentally poisoned to death by excessive doses of lead-based treatments administered under instruction from his doctor.^[81][82][83]

Character[link]

Beethoven's personal life was troubled by his encroaching deafness and irritability brought on by chronic abdominal pain (beginning in his twenties) which led him to contemplate suicide (documented in his Heiligenstadt Testament). Beethoven was often irascible. It has been suggested he suffered from bipolar disorder.^[84] Nevertheless, he had a close and devoted circle of friends all his life, thought to have been attracted by his strength of personality. Toward the end of his life, Beethoven's friends competed in their efforts to help him cope with his incapacities.^[85]

Sources show Beethoven's disdain for authority, and for social rank. He stopped performing at the piano if the audience chatted amongst themselves, or afforded him less than their full attention. At soirées, he refused to perform if suddenly called upon to do so. Eventually, after many confrontations, the Archduke Rudolph decreed that the usual rules of court etiquette did not apply to Beethoven.^[85]

Beethoven was attracted to the ideals of the Enlightenment. In 1804, when Napoleon's imperial ambitions became clear, Beethoven took hold of the title page of his Third Symphony and scratched the name Bonaparte out so violently that he made a hole in the paper. He later changed the work's title to "Sinfonia Eroica, composta per festeggiare il sovvenire d'un grand'uom" ("Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man"), and he rededicated it to his patron, Prince Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz, at whose palace it was first performed.^{[citation needed]}

The fourth movement of his Ninth Symphony features an elaborate choral setting of Schiller's Ode An die Freude ("Ode to Joy"), an optimistic hymn championing the brotherhood of humanity.

Music[link]

A bust based upon Beethoven's life mask

Beethoven is acknowledged as one of the giants of classical music; occasionally he is referred to as one of the "three Bs" (along with Bach and Brahms) who epitomise that tradition. He was also a pivotal figure in the transition from the 18th century musical classicism to 19th century romanticism, and his influence on subsequent generations of composers was profound.^[85]

Overview[link]

Beethoven composed in several musical genres and for a variety of instrument combinations. His works for symphony orchestra include nine symphonies (the Ninth Symphony includes a chorus), and about a dozen pieces of "occasional" music. He wrote seven concerti for one or more soloists and orchestra, as well as four shorter works that include soloists accompanied by orchestra. His only opera is Fidelio; other vocal works with orchestral accompaniment include two masses and a number of shorter works.^{[citation needed]}

His large body of compositions for piano includes 32 piano sonatas and numerous shorter pieces, including arrangements of some of his other works. Works with piano accompaniment include 10 violin sonatas, 5 cello sonatas, and a sonata for French horn, as well as numerous lieder.^{[citation needed]}

Beethoven also wrote a significant quantity of chamber music. In addition to 16 string quartets, he wrote five works for string quintet, seven for piano trio, five for string trio, and more than a dozen works for various combinations of wind instruments.^{[citation needed]}

The three periods[link]

	Für Elise
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Beethoven's compositional career is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods.^[85] In this scheme, his early period is taken to last until about 1802, the middle period from about 1803 to about 1814, and the late period from about 1815.^{[citation needed]}

In his Early period, Beethoven's work was strongly influenced by his predecessors Haydn and Mozart. He also explored new directions and gradually expanded the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the Early period are the first and second symphonies, the set of six string quartets Opus 18, the first two piano concertos, and the first dozen or so piano sonatas, including the famous Pathétique sonata, Op. 13.^{[citation needed]}

His Middle (Heroic) period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis brought on by his recognition of encroaching deafness. It includes large-scale works that express heroism and struggle. Middle-period works include six symphonies (Nos. 3–8), the last three piano concertos, the Triple Concerto and violin concerto, five string quartets (Nos. 7–11), several piano sonatas (including the Moonlight, Waldstein and Appassionata sonatas), the Kreutzer violin sonata and Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio.^{[citation needed]}

Beethoven's Late period began around 1815. Works from this period are characterised by their intellectual depth, their formal innovations, and their intense, highly personal expression. The String Quartet, Op. 131 has seven linked movements, and the Ninth Symphony adds choral forces to the orchestra in the last movement.^[85] Other compositions from this period include the Missa Solemnis, the last five string quartets (including the massive Große Fuge) and the last five piano sonatas.^{[citation needed]}

Beethoven on screen[link]

Eroica is a 1949 Austrian film depicting life and works of Beethoven (Ewald Balser). It was entered into the 1949 Cannes Film Festival.^[86] The film is directed by Walter Kolm-Veltée, produced by Guido Bagier with Walter Kolm-Veltée and written by Walter Kolm-Veltée with Franz Tassié.^[87]

In 1962, Walt Disney produced a made-for-television, largely fictionalised, life of Beethoven titled The Magnificent Rebel, starring Karlheinz Böhm as Beethoven. The film was given a two-part premiere on the Walt Disney anthology television series, and was released to theatres in Europe.^[88]

In 1994 a film about Beethoven (played by Gary Oldman) entitled Immortal Beloved was written and directed by Bernard Rose. The story follows Beethoven's secretary and first biographer, Anton Schindler (portrayed by Jeroen Krabbé), as he attempts to ascertain the true identity of the Unsterbliche Geliebte (Immortal Beloved) addressed in three letters found in the late composer's private papers. Schindler journeys throughout the Austrian Empire to interview potential candidates. Filming took place in the Czech cities of Prague and Kromeriz, and the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna, Austria, between 23 May and 29 July 1994.^[89]

In 2003 a made-for-television BBC/Opus Arte film Eroica dramatised the 1804 first performance of the Eroica Symphony at the palace of Prince Lobkowitz. Ian Hart was cast as Beethoven, while Jack Davenport played Prince Lobkowitz; the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner perform the Symphony in its entirety during the film.^[90]

In a 2005 three-part BBC miniseries, Beethoven was played by Paul Rhys.^[91]

A movie entitled Copying Beethoven was released in 2006, starring Ed Harris as Beethoven. This film is a fictionalised account of Beethoven's production of his Ninth Symphony.^[92]

Memorials[link]

The Beethoven Monument, Bonn was unveiled in August 1845, in honour of his 75th anniversary. It was the first statue of a composer created in Germany, and the music festival that accompanied the unveiling was the impetus for the very hasty construction of the original Beethovenhalle in Bonn (it was designed and built within less than a month, on the urging of Franz Liszt). A statue to Mozart had been unveiled in Salzburg, Austria in 1842. Vienna did not honour Beethoven with a statue until 1880.^[93] His name appears in gilded lettering above the stage of Symphony Hall, Boston, as it was the only one on which all the board members could agree when commemorating composers in the architecture.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

Notes[link]

Cited sources[link]

• Brandenburg, Sieghard (ed.): Ludwig van Beethoven: Briefwechsel. Gesamtausgabe. 8 vols. Munich: Henle 1996.
• Clive, Peter (2001). Beethoven and His World: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816672-9. 
• Cooper, Barry (2008). Beethoven. Oxford University Press US. ISBN 978-0-19-531331-4. 
• Cross, Milton; Ewen, David (1953). The Milton Cross New Encyclopedia of the Great Composers and Their Music. Garden City, NJ: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-03635-3. OCLC 17791083. 
• Kerman, Joseph; Tyson, Alan; Burnham, Scott G. "Ludvig van Beethoven", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 29 November 2006), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
• Landon, H C Robbins; Göllerich; August (1970). Beethoven: a documentary study. Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-567830-2. OCLC 87180. 
• Lockwood, Lewis (2003). Beethoven: The Music And The Life. W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-32638-3. 
• Lorenz, Michael: “Die ‘Enttarnte Elise’. Elisabeth Röckels kurze Karriere als Beethovens ‘Elise’”. Bonner Beethoven-Studien 9, 2011, pp. 169–190 [1].
• Sachs, Harvey, The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824, London, Faber, 2010. ISBN 978-0-571-22145-5.
• Solomon, Maynard (2001). Beethoven (2nd revised ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-8256-7268-6. 
• Stanley, Glenn (ed) (2000). The Cambridge Companion to Beethoven. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-58074-9. 
• Steblin, Rita: "'A dear, enchanting girl who loves me and whom I love': New Facts about Beethoven's Beloved Piano Pupil Julie Guicciardi". Bonner Beethoven-Studien 8 (2009), pp. 89–152.
• Thayer, A. W.; Krehbiel, Henry Edward (ed, trans); Deiters, Hermann; Riemann, Hugo (1921). The Life of Ludwig Van Beethoven, Vol 1. The Beethoven Association. OCLC 422583. http://books.google.com/?id=VQw5AAAAIAAJ. 

Other sources[link]

External links[link]

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• Ludwig van Beethoven at the Open Directory Project
• Beethoven-Haus Bonn. Official website of Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, Germany. Links to extensive studio and digital archive, library holdings, the Beethoven-Haus Museum (including "internet exhibitions" and "virtual visits"), the Beethoven-Archiv research center, and information on Beethoven publications of interest to the specialist and general reader. Extensive collection of Beethoven's compositions and written documents, with sound samples and a digital reconstruction of his last house in Vienna.
• The Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, The Beethoven Gateway (San José State University)

Digitised, scanned material (books, sheetmusic)[link]

• "Beethoven" Titles; Beethoven as author from archive.org
• "Beethoven" Titles; Beethoven as author from books.google.com
• Digital Archives from Beethoven-Haus Bonn
• "Beethoven" titles from Gallica

Sheetmusic (scores)[link]

• Works by Beethoven Beethoven-Haus Bonn
• "Beethoven" Titles from the Munich Digitization Center (MDZ)
• "Beethoven" Titles from the University of Rochester
• Free scores by Ludwig van Beethoven at the International Music Score Library Project
• Free sheet music from Kreusch-sheet-music.net
• Free scores by Ludwig van Beethoven in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• Works by Ludwig van Beethoven at Project Gutenberg
• Free scores by Ludwig van Beethoven in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
• Beethoven scores from Mutopia Project

Historical recordings[link]

• Beethoven – recordings with audio available;   Beethoven – recordings (incl. without avail. audio);   Information on sound files (CHARM)
• Beethoven cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library
• Recordings at archive.org

General reference[link]

• [2] De Beethovensite. Alles over Ludwig van Beethoven. [The Beethoven Site. Everything about Ludwig van Beethoven.] All in Dutch, except for the first page which has a few FAQs answered in English.
• [3] Very comprehensive "Euro" website in French/English/Spanish/Italian.
• [4] The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Page. Info about each song's lyrics (often in multiple translations), origin, other versions, many interesting details.
• Unheard Beethoven Very good to find out about recordings of less well-known works – there are, after all, according to the latest Biamonti Catalogue, nearly 1000 of them.
• Mad About Beethoven by British television and radio announcer John Suchet
• Beethoven: The Immortal. Introduction and detailed account of the composer's life. Articles include his deafness, demeanor, daily routine, medical history, final days, and letters.
• Raptus Association for Music Appreciation site on Beethoven
• All About Ludwig van Beethoven
• Listings of live performances at Bachtrack
• Works by or about Ludwig van Beethoven in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Specific topics[link]

• Beethoven's last apartment in Vienna, digitally reconstructed 2004, on Multimedia CD-ROM edited by Beethoven-Haus Bonn
• "Beethoven's Only Beloved: Josephine!"
• A delicate film from Prometheus of Beethoven

Johann van Beethoven

Johann van Beethoven^[1][2] (14 November 1740 – 18 December 1792) was a German musician, teacher, and singer who sang in the chapel of the Archbishop of Cologne, whose court was at Bonn. He is best known as the father of the celebrated composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827). Bonn was the place of his birth and death.

Life[link]

Johann van Beethoven was the son of Ludwig (Lodewijk) van Beethoven^[3][4] (1712 in Mechelen – 1773 in Bonn) and Maria Josepha Ball (married 1733). His father was probably born in or near the Brabantian town of Mechelen (now in Flanders, Belgium), and had served as a musician in several communities in Flanders before moving to Bonn in 1733. There he served as a musician at the court of Prince-Archbishop-Elector of Cologne Clemens August of Bavaria, rising to the post of Kapellmeister in 1761. Johann also showed musical talent, and joined the court, primarily as a singer, in 1764. In addition to singing (his range, while usually described as that of a tenor, may have extended into alto and even higher registers), he played the violin and zither, and played and taught keyboard instruments of the day, including the harpsichord and the clavichord.

He probably met his future wife, Maria Magdalena Keverich (1746–1787), on a trip to Ehrenbreitstein. She was the daughter of the head chef to the Archbishop of Trier, whose court was there, and she had family connections in the court orchestra at Bonn. Already widowed at the age of nineteen, she and Johann were married on 12 November 1767 in the Catholic St. Remigius church, Bonn. Their first child, Ludwig Maria, was born in early April 1769, and died several days later. On about 16 December 1770 their second son was born; he was baptised Ludwig, after his grandfather, the next day. They had two more children that survived to adulthood, Karl (1774–1815) and Johann (1776–1848).

Johann realized Ludwig's talent and became his first teacher. It is said^{[by whom?]} that Johann was a violent father when it came to his son's playing. Whenever Ludwig played poorly, Johann would exclaim that it was an embarrassment to the family. Johann was an alcoholic, a situation that worsened when Maria died in 1787, after which time the family was increasingly dependent on young Ludwig for support. In 1789 the 18-year-old Ludwig obtained an order resulting in one half of Johann's pay being turned over to him for support of the family.

Johann died in 1792, not long after Ludwig moved to Vienna to study with Joseph Haydn. His employer the Elector wrote sardonically to a friend, "The revenues from the liquor excise [tax] have suffered a loss in the death of Beethoven."^[5]

Flemish ancestry[link]

Despite his surname, Johann van Beethoven was only one half Flemish;^[6][7][8] his father Lodewijk was the last van Beethoven to be fully Flemish. Most of van Beethoven's most recent family came from what is now Germany, mostly the Rhineland Palatine area. Johann's son Ludwig is considered to be German, and people occasionally spell his name as von Beethoven, which is incorrect.

The Nazis were especially interested in Beethoven's background: "After making sure that Beethoven had no suspicious racial or national tinge of the non-Germanic in his background (clear evidence of his Flemish ancestry was denied in a series of articles), the masters of the Nazi propaganda and cultural machinery promoted his works as the essence of Germanic and Aryan strength".^[9]

Descendants[link]

Johann's famous son Ludwig van Beethoven never married. Johann's second son Karl did have children, but none of his living descendants bears the name van Beethoven (the last to bear that name, Karl Julius Maria van Beethoven, died in 1917).

Notes[link]

References[link]

• MacArdle, Donald W. (1949) The Family van Beethoven. The Musical Quarterly 35:528-550.

External links[link]

• (German) Descendants of Michael van BEETHOVEN (1684-1749)
• Ludwig Van Beethoven: Family Tree
• "The 'Van' of Beethoven" by Herbert Antcliffe in The Musical Times, Vol. 77, No. 1117 (Mar., 1936), pp. 254–255 - Article explains how "A certain Ludwig (Lodewijk) van Beethoven was born at Mechelen as the son of Michiel and the grandson of Cornelius and of Catherina Leempoels..."