LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
1770-1827 

AT A GLANCE

Ludwig van Beethoven, the German musical genius, redefined the scope of western classical music by transforming it into a powerful medium of expression of philosophical thoughts as well as feelings. The mark of his genius lay in the way he refined his improvisations and established them as techniques, charted new territory and opened up hitherto unknown avenues for others to explore. He was the fountainhead of the Romantic Movement in music. And he achieved all this without repudiating the classical heritage. He took music, especially instrumental music; to such heights as to make a critic say "All arts aspire to the condition of music". What adds poignancy to his accomplishments is the fact that he was all the while waging a heroic struggle against advancing deafness; he composed some of his masterpieces in the last decade of his life after he became completely deaf.