Beethoven

Ludwig von Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. From a very young age, he was schooled and guided (musically) by his father, then he was introduced to the best teachers available. Beethoven's principal teacher was a man by the name of Neefe, the court organist in Bonn. After his talent was recognized by Neefe, Beethoven worked as his student and assistant.

Ludwig also had a very close friendship with the members of the Breuning Family. As a young man he spent a great deal of time in and out of their home, and he frequently made trips with them out into the countryside.

When Beethoven was 18, he traveled to Vienna, with the intention of taking lessons from Mozart. Unfortunately, Mozart was too busy with his work to give him very many lessons, and Beethoven had to return home shortly after his arrival in Vienna. His reason for returning home was the illness of his mother, sadly, she died of consumption soon after Beethoven's return home.

Beethoven's second trip to Vienna was a little more constructive. Although this visit was after Mozart's death, Beethoven was able to take lessons from Haydn, who had been Mozart's close companion and teacher. While in Vienna, Beethoven made a place for himself in the upper social classes, and the friends he gained there remained his faithful supporters.

As far as Beethoven's music was concerned, he was an exacting perfectionist. He often became so absorbed in his work that everything else in his life fell to squalor. His flat was always a terrible mess, and he often appeared unkempt and sloppy while he was working on a piece. However, that probably didn't matter very much because he tended to spend his time locked in his flat working like a madman during those times. Amazingly enough, he had such a keen grasp of music that he could continue to compose it even after he began to lose the ability to hear it. Beethoven never heard some of his greatest pieces outside of his own mind.