s, the
musical form was raised to its highest point of development, but more
important, Beethoven had refined and enriched his own music to where it was
now imbued with lyrical poetry. As George R. Marek notes, Beethoven's music
during this second period "was no longer sonority pure and simple, but
contained abstract ideas that made it possible for the further development
of harmonic music" (58). Beethoven's third period came after 1817 and was
exemplified by the Ninth Symphony, the Missa Solemnis and the last piano
In order to understand Beethoven's musical ruthlessness and to
appreciate the extent of his magnificent self-assurance in striking out
into new and uncharted paths, "it is necessary to remember that music is
the reflection of the musician and his psyche" (Solomon, Musical Review
35), for Beethoven was the great musical expressionist and the very spirit
of the French Revolution who considered himself the equal of nobility.
Toward his benefactors and admirers, Beethoven was impetuous and at times
downright rude, for he could never see himself as beneath anyone else. He
was also sublimely self-assured and stood as the quintessential
personification of the creative ego.
Baptized in Bonn, Germany on December 17, 1770, Ludwig van Beethoven
was the second child of Johann and Maria Magdalena Beethoven and it is
clear that he received instruction from his father on the piano and the
violin at a very early age. Ludwig's first appearance in public was at a
concert given on March 26, 1778 at which he played "various keyboard
concertos and trios" (Solomon, 156). A little later, at the age of eight,
3
his father is said to have sent him to the old court organist van den Eeden
from whom he may have received some grounding in music theory as well as
keyboard instruction. He appears also to have had piano lessons f...