Biography of Ludwig van Beethoven-Part 2
-1800 Premiere of Symphony no. 1 (30)
In 1800 he premiered the Septet and the First Symphony at a concert, and began to compose Symphony no. 2. Although people today consider his First Symphony to be more classical than his other works, similar to Mozart’s and Haydn’s works, certain listeners at that time found it to be strange and irregular.
-1801 Acknowledgement of Deafness and Moonlight Sonata (31)
He composed music for the ballet The Creatures of Prometheus in 1801. On June 29th, Beethoven addressed his deafness for the first time in a letter to his childhood friend Dr. Franz Wegeler in Bonn, and claimed that it has been getting worse in the last three years. He fell in love with Giulietta Guicciardi who was his pupil and dedicated the Sonata quasi una Fantasia to her, which is now known as Moonlight Sonata. He proposed to her at some point but she married Count Wenzel Robert Gallenberg in 1803.
-1802 Heiligenstadt (32)
In April 1802, Beethoven moved to Heiligenstadt, part of Vienna, for the summer. There he composed Eroica Variations and the three Piano Sonatas op. 31 (including the The Storm); he also completed the Second Symphony. He wrote his first will, the Heiligenstadt Testament, in which he publicized his deafness: “Oh you men who think or say that I am malevolent, stubborn, or misanthropic, how greatly do you wrong me. You do not know the secret cause which makes me seem that way to you…oh how harshly was I flung back by the doubly sad experience of my bad hearing. Yet it was impossible for me to say to people, ‘Speak louder, shout, for I am deaf.’”
-1803 Premiere of Symphony no. 2 (33)
In 1803, Beethoven was appointed composer at Theater an der Wien in Vienna. That April, his Second Symphony and Third Piano Concerto debuted. The same year, he composed the the Third Symphony (The Eroica Symphony), which was dedicated to Napoleon because Beethoven thought him to be liberator of the people.
-1804 Encounter with Josephine Brunsvik (34)
In 1804, he began working on his opera, Leonore, with Sonnleithner. Meanwhile, his contract with the theater ended. On May 20th, Napoleon ascended the throne; enraged, Beethoven ripped out the dedication to him on the front page of the Eroica Symphony. In October, he began giving Josephine Deym Brunsvik piano lessons and composed the song An die Hoffnung for her; he continued to be in love with her for a long time.
-1805 First Performance of Third Symphony and Leonore (35)
The Eroica Symphony was premiered on April 7th, and Leonore was first performed at the Theater an der Wien on November 20th. Meanwhile, the French army occupied Vienna and defeated the combined Austrian and Russian armies.
-1806 Birth of His Nephew and Composition of the Fourth and Fifth Symphony (36)
Beethoven’s brother Kaspar Anton Karl married Johanna Reiss in May, and his nephew Karl was born in September. He composed the Fourth Symphony and started working on the Fifth Symphony; the Fourth was bought by Count Oppersdorff, a neighbor of Prince Lichnowsky, when Beethoven was at the Prince’s country estate at Grätz, Silesia. He completed the composition of the Fifth Symphony in 1807.
-1808 Premiere of the Fifth and Pastoral Symphony (38)
In the summer of 1808, Beethoven composed the Pastoral Symphony in Heiligenstadt. On August 10th, he published Fourth Piano Concerto and Violin Concerto. In October, he was offered the position of Kapellmeister (orchestra master or music director) at the court of King Jerome (Napoleon’s brother) with very good pay. The Fifth and Pastoral Symphonies were debuted at a benefit concert at the Theater an der Wien on December 22nd.
-1809 French Army Capture Vienna and Haydn’s Passing (39)
He accepted the offer of Kapellmeister in January, but his friends did not want him to leave Vienna. Archduke Rudolph, Prince Lobkowitz and Prince Kinsky offered to pay him annually if he stayed in Vienna, and so he changed his plans and remained in Vienna. In April, Austria declared war on France. On May 10th, the French army took over Vienna. The bombarding took a toll on Beethoven’s already weakening hearing. Beethoven’s former teacher Haydn died at the age of 77 on May 31st.
-1810 Composition of Für Elise (40)
In February, Josephine Deym marries Baron von Stackelberg, ending Beethoven’s romantic hopes. Beethoven became acquainted with the Malfatti family and composed the Bagatelle WoO 59 (Für Elise) for Therese Malfatti.
-1811 Seventh Symphony and An die Geliebte (41)
He began composing the Seventh Symphony, and turned the poem An die Geliebte into a song for Antonie Brentano.
