Ludwig van Beethoven was born 250 years ago.

Wikipedia - Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)

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The Wall Street Journal

OPINION

COMMENTARY

Beethoven’s Fifth, Ninth and 250th

He never heard his own later works, but we’re still listening.

By Andrew Lennon

December 16, 2020

Ludwig van Beethoven was born 250 years ago and baptized December 17, 1770. Even those who don’t care for classical music recognize the opening bars of his Fifth Symphony. “Ode to Joy” from his Ninth brings tears to the eyes of listeners when “flash mobs” perform it. I’m a huge Beethoven fan and have been fortunate to hear both symphonies in concert.

Beethoven was resilient, innovative and gritty. His prodigious creativity left an enduring mark.

Amid 21st-century technological progress, the evolution of the piano in the late 18th century may seem quaint. But Beethoven took full advantage of the wider frequency and amplitude ranges this new instrument provided. The fortepiano—Italian for “loud soft”—was a major improvement on the harpsichord. Because the piano uses hammers to strike strings, players for the first time could vary a note’s volume.

Beethoven’s life is almost as inspiring as his music. He had an abusive, alcoholic father, Johann Beethoven, who often dragged his son from bed at night to practice at the keyboard. He so wanted Ludwig to be a child prodigy that he claimed the 7-year-old boy was only 6 when he gave his first recital. Johann felt he was in competition with Leopold Mozart, father of Wolfgang.

Beethoven was remarkably productive: His complete works fill 80 compact discs. The maximum disc playback length is 74 minutes, just long enough to accommodate the Ninth Symphony.

You and I have heard the Ninth; Beethoven never did. He began to lose his hearing soon after he published his First Symphony, and by his mid-40s he was completely deaf. Yet he kept composing.

The Ninth was the first major symphony to combine a chorus and orchestra. Beethoven “conducted” the work at its premiere in 1824, but because he couldn’t hear, the musicians were told to ignore him and follow the lead of the other conductor, Michael Umlauf.

“Beethoven was several bars off from the actual music by the time the piece concluded,” according to an account on the History Channel’s website. He couldn’t hear the applause, so singer Caroline Unger, 20, “had to turn him to face the audience as they hailed him with five standing ovations, raising their hats and handkerchiefs in the air.”

Mr. Lennon is a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy.