Inspirational Quotes by Ludwig van Beethoven (German Composer)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was a German composer. He exerted a profound influence on the development of Western classical music.

Pre-eminently an instrumental composer, Beethoven was responsible for a prodigious musical output. He is credited with developing the symphony further than any who preceded him and elevating music to the highest form of art.

Beethoven was born into a family of court musicians in Bonn, Germany. His grandfather was a well-known musician. In 1787, Beethoven visited Vienna, the hub of European music, and briefly studied under Mozart. From 1792, Beethoven made Vienna his home. He took lessons from Joseph Haydn and flourished with funding from many aristocratic patrons.

Despite increasing deafness from his late twenties onwards, Beethoven wrote prodigiously. He wrote nine symphonies, seven concerti, 16 string quartets, and 32 piano sonatas, as well as other orchestral, chamber, and keyboard works.

Beethoven died in 1827, possibly from severe liver damage. Schools were closed on the day of his funeral, and 30,000 people followed his casket through the streets of Vienna.

In 1985, Beethoven’s prelude to Friedrich Schiller’s hymn “An die Freude” (“Ode to Joy”) from the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony became the official anthem of the European Community.

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