Ludwig van Beethoven

Born in Bonn, Germany, in 1770, the pianist and composer received his training from his father, who was a singer at the Elector and Archbishop of Cologne’s court chapel, and from Bonn court organist Johann Gottlieb Neefe, for who he soon began to deputize. He also worked as a harpsichordist and violist in the court chapel. Count Ferdinand Ernst von Waldstein, who came from Vienna, proved to be Beethoven's first patron, not only commissioning compositions but also arranging a study visit to Vienna. A second visit followed, but when the court had to flee from the invading French in December 1794, Beethoven was unable to return to Bonn and stayed in Vienna for the rest of his life. There, he took lessons from Joseph Haydn, Johann Baptist Schenk, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, and Antonio Salieri. Thanks to the support of aristocratic music lovers, including Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz, Gottfried Freiherr van Swieten, Prince Karl Lichnowsky, and later Archduke Rudolph, Franz Joseph Prince Lobkowitz and Ferdinand Prince Kinsky, Beethoven became one of the most prominent figures in Viennese musical life. His rapidly growing success as a pianist and composer was counteracted by a rapidly worsening hearing impairment. He died in 1827, at the age of 56.
In Vienna, Beethoven celebrated particular success as a soloist in his own five piano concertos; his nine symphonies set new standards for this genre that lasted until the late 19th century. The same applies to his string quartets and piano sonatas. His only completed opera, Fidelio, which was revised several times, is now an integral part of the opera repertoire. For dance performances, Beethoven composed the early work Musik zu einem Ritterballett and the ballet music Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus, choreographed by Salvatore Viganò. Beethoven's music also inspired numerous choreographers to create their own works, including etwa Isadora Duncan (Seventh Symphony, 1904), Antony Tudor (La Gloire, 1954), Maurice Béjart (La IXe Symphonie, 1964), Hans van Manen (Grosse Fuge, 1971), Jerome Robbins (Four Bagatelles, 1974), Peter Martins (Beethoven Romance, 1989), Twyla Tharp (The Beethoven Seventh, 2000), John Neumeier (Beethoven-Projekt I, 2018) and Sasha Waltz (Beethoven 7, 2023).

(Information as of January 2026)