Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Ludwig van Beethoven received his musical education by his father Johann, who was a singer and instrumentalist in the service of the Elector of Cologne at Bonn. In 1787 Beethoven moved to Vienna where he worked and studied with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn. In 1795 he made his first public appearance at the Vienna Burgtheater. He was strongly bound to aristocracy and the Viennese society and Beethoven often dedicated his work to them. Their support or employment left Beethoven a lot of time to life and work as a free artist.

In 1794 he first noticed an impairment in his hearing, which was diagnosed incurable in 1802. Around this period he composed the "Eroica Symphonie" and the "Symphonie No.5" Beethoven hearing problem increased rapidly from 1801 to 1818. In 1814 he presented his one and only opera "Fidelio", in 1815 he conducted his last concert and around 1818 he went completely deaf. In his late period, nearly deaf he composed the "Choral Symphony, No.9".