Outlines:

1. Biographical Background
   
   
   1. Born in 1770
      
      
   2. His earliest music teacher was his father, a singer in the chapel at Bonn.
      
      
   3. His father wanted to turn Ludwig into another Mozart.
      
      
   4. When he was seventeen he played for Mozart, who prophesied a great future for him.
      
      
   5. He studied with Haydn from 1792 to 1794 and briefly with other composers and teachers.
      
      
   6. He began to lose his hearing around 1796, and by 1820 could hardly hear at all.
      
      
2. Output
   
   
   1. Orchestral music
      1. Nine symphonies
      2. Eleven overtures and some incidental music to plays
      3. Five piano concertos and a concerto for violin
         
         
   2. Chamber music
      1. Sixteen string quartets
      2. Nine piano trios
      3. Ten sonatas for violin and piano
      4. Five sonatas for cello and piano
         
         
   3. Piano music
      1. Thirty-two sonatas
      2. Many sets of variations
         
         
   4. Vocal music
      1. One oratorio
      2. One opera
      3. Two Masses
      4. Arias and songs
         
         
3. First Creative Period (to 1802)
   
   
   1. Biographical background
      1. In the 1790s Beethoven lived in Vienna.
      2. Several members of the Austrian, Bohemian, and Hungarian aristocracy encouraged and supported him.
         1. Prince Karl von Lichnowsky let him live in one of his houses.
         2. Lichnowsky, Prince Kinsky, and Archduke Rudolf set up an annuity for Beethoven to help him stay in Austria.
         3. Beethoven dedicated some of his works to these men and other patrons.
      3. Beethoven supplemented his income by teaching piano and playing piano in concerts.
         
         
   2. Piano sonatas
      1. The first three piano sonatas (without opus numbers)
         1. Are reminiscent of works by Haydn, to whom they are dedicated
         2. Have four movements instead of the usual three
         3. The second and third sonatas have scherzos instead of minuets.
         4. His own style is evident in the use of minor mode and bold modulations.
      2. NAWM 101, Sonate pathétique, Op. 13, Mvt. 3
         1. Rondo form, with a theme related to that of the first movement.
         2. Using the normally cheerful rondo form in a minor key is unusual.
         3. The episodes are in major keys (E flat, A flat, C).
         4. The third episode is the same as the first, but transposed to the parallel major of the movement, making this section seem like a recapitulation in sonata form.
      3. Muzio Clementi (NAWM 102) was one of Beethoven's influences
      4. Jan Ladislav Dussek, of Bohemia, was another influence.
         
         
   3. Chamber music
      1. His chamber music style is indebted to Haydn.
      2. Opus 18 string quartets (1798–1800) have unconventional modulations and subtleties of formal structure, for example, Op. 19, No. 2.
      3. Other chamber works include three piano trios, three violin sonatas, two cello sonatas and the very popular Septet in E flat for strings and winds.
         
         
   4. Symphonies
      1. First Symphony (1800)
         1. Regular in form
         2. Unusual prominence given to the woodwinds
         3. The third movement is a scherzo but is labeled a minuet.
         4. Beethoven paid careful attention to dynamic shading.
         5. The introductory Adagio delays the tonic, which arrives on the first chord of the Allegro.
      2. Second Symphony (1802)
         1. Introduced by a long Adagio
         2. Ended with a long coda that develops the principal material
         3. Large dimensions throughout the symphony, but with perfect formal balance
         4. The last movement is in sonata form with extra recurrences of the first theme, suggesting a rondo.
            
            
4. Second Creative Period (1802–1815)
   
   
   1. By the beginning of his second creative period, Beethoven was recognized as the leading composer of his time.
      1. His wealthy patrons were so supportive that Beethoven could treat them discourteously without losing their goodwill.
      2. He was able to drive hard bargains with his publishers.
      3. He took commissions but could miss a deadline in the interest of polishing his work.
         
         
   2. Symphony No. 3, the Eroica Symphony, NAWM 103
      1. Named Eroica because it celebrates a hero and expresses heroic greatness.
         1. Originally dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte, who promised to lead humanity into a new age of liberty, equality, and fraternity
         2. In 1804 Napoleon had himself proclaimed emperor, and Beethoven changed the title to Sinfonia Eroica (Heroic Symphony . . . composed to celebrate the memory of a great man). Whether Beethoven was angry at Napoleon is unclear.
         3. In 1809 Napoleon was in the audience for a performance conducted by Beethoven.
      2. It was immediately recognized as an important work, although audiences had trouble grasping it because of its unprecedented length and complexity, and its ambiguous form.
      3. The second movement (the Funeral March) links the work with France and Napoleon.
         1. Instead of a lyrical slow movement this movement is a march.
         2. The main sections are in C minor.
         3. A contrasting "trio" is in C major and includes fanfares and celebratory lyricism.
            
            
   3. Fidelio, his only opera
      1. Began after completion of the Third Symphony.
      2. The libretto was borrowed from a French Revolutionary-era rescue opera Léonore ou L'amour conjugal (Leonore, or Conjugal Love).
      3. Leonore dresses as a man and rescues her husband from prison.
      4. Beethoven revised it after the French army invaded Vienna (1805), but it would not be successful until its third version in 1814.
      5. Beethoven wrote four different overtures for the opera.
         
         
   4. Rasumovsky Quartets, Op. 59
      1. Beethoven dedicated the three string quartets Op. 59 to Count Rasumovsky, the Russian ambassador to Vienna and a violinist.
      2. Two movements use Russian melodies.
      3. Beethoven used unusual and experimental techniques, which he expected to be understood in "a later age."
         
         
   5. Fourth to Eighth Symphonies (composed between 1806 and 1808)
      1. The Fourth and Fifth Symphonies were composed at the same time but express opposite emotions. The Fourth is jovial and the Fifth seems to express struggle and triumph.
      2. The Fifth Symphony
         1. Uses a motive that recurs in one guise or another in all movements.
         2. Adds piccolo and contrabassoon to the orchestra
      3. The Sixth Symphony (Pastoral) has five movements, each with a descriptive title suggesting a scene from life in the country.
         1. The extra movement, Storm, precedes the final movement, which portrays Thankful feelings after the storm.
         2. Beethoven claimed these titles were "expressions of feelings rather than depiction."
      4. The Seventh and Eighth Symphonies were completed in 1812.
         1. The Seventh is in A major; its third movement is in the distant key of F major with a trio in D major.
         2. The Eighth is more condensed, except for a long coda in the first movement.
            
            
   6. Piano sonatas
      1. 1800–01, Beethoven composed three piano sonatas, including the Moonlight Sonata.
      2. Others from the period include Op. 31, No. 2, which has a recitative-like passage (CHWM, ex. 15.3).
      3. In 1804 he composed Op. 53, the Waldstein Sonata (named for a patron) which portrays a storm with thunder in the left hand and lightning in the right (CHWM, ex. 15.4).
      4. After the Waldstein he composed the Appassionata and three others during his middle period.
         
         
   7. Piano concertos
      1. Beethoven composed concertos to play at his own concerts.
      2. The first three piano concertos were composed in his early years in Vienna.
      3. The Fourth and Fifth were composed in his middle period.
      4. The Fifth concerto, known as the Emperor, was premiered by Carl Czerny, a former student.
      5. Beethoven's middle period concertos have three movements in the Classical tradition but with some unexpected features, such as cadenzas before the orchestral expositions.
         
         
5. Third Creative Period (1815–1827)
   
   
   1. Biographical background
      1. His works continued to be performed regularly in Vienna and elsewhere.
      2. He retreated into himself because of his deafness and became moody and suspicious.
      3. By 1816 he could hear music only in his mind and his compositions became more meditative and abstract.
         
         
   2. Characteristics of Beethoven's late style
      1. Themes and motives are used to their utmost potential, and Beethoven found the variation form appealing, for example, Thirty-three Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli (1823) and movements in piano sonatas, String Quartet Op. 132, and the Ninth Symphony.
      2. Blurring of the divisions between phrases
      3. Improvisational style, perhaps giving an indication of Beethoven's famous ability to improvise at the piano
      4. Fugal and canonic imitation, especially in development sections. Also, the two double fugues in the finale of the Ninth Symphony and the Grosse Fuge for string quartet
      5. Number of movements changes—some works have only two movements and others have several (e.g., NAWM 104, Quartet Op. 131).
      6. NAWM 104, Quartet Op. 131
         1. Seven movements, with some thematic unity between the first and last
         2. The first movement is a fugue, marked "molto espressivo."
         3. The second movement is a folk-like Allegro in D, with C sharp used as a substitute dominant.
         4. Both movements have frequent notated dynamic changes to heighten their emotional impact.
            
            
   3. Missa Solemnis (Mass in D)
      1. Written to celebrate Archduke Rudolph's elevation to archbishop of Olmütz
      2. Choral sections are indebted to Handel, whom Beethoven admired.
      3. Freely combines and alternates choruses and ensembles in each movement
      4. Sometimes he takes liberties with the liturgical text in order to alter the form.
         
         
   4. Ninth Symphony
      1. Beethoven was so deaf he could not hear the audience's enthusiastic applause at the end of the premiere in 1824.
      2. The most striking innovation is the use of chorus and solo voices in the finale.
         1. Schiller's Ode to Joy text had inspired Beethoven for years.
         2. Beethoven selected stanzas that reflected his ideals of universal fellowship through a joy that came from an eternal heavenly Father.
         3. Beethoven sets up the introduction of voices by having recitative passages and responses in the orchestra at the beginning of the movement.
      3. Last movement incorporates themes from the preceding movements.
         
         
6. Beethoven's Influence
   
   
   1. His late works were too personal and too complex to be understood or imitated.
      
      
   2. Later composers were more influenced by the revolutionary and impulsive elements in his middle-period works.
      
      
   3. Many consider him a Romantic composer.