Ludwig van Beethoven 1770 - 1827, Germany-Austria

Beethoven towers over classical music like a colossus. His music was a radical departure from anything that anyone in Europe had ever heard. His demanding personality and music dominated Vienna for the first quarter of the 19th century. Today, the beauty, passion, fire and deep spiritual nature of his music are revered by music lovers everywhere on earth.

Beethoven’s creative life falls into three periods: the early, middle and late. The influence of Haydn and Mozart is clear in his early period. With the revolutionary Eroica Symphony, the Symphony No. 3, Beethoven announces that a new personality has arrived on the world stage. This is the beginning of Beethoven’s second period, when the full force of his musical personality comes into full flower. Towards the end of his life, Beethoven entered into a third period, one characterized by a spirituality and depth of feeling never heard before, and rarely achieved since. The piano sonatas and string quartets from this period soar to astounding emotional heights.