A German composer whose piano sonatas and symphonies bridge the Classical and Romantic eras.
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn in 1770 and moved to Vienna as a young man, where he first made his name as a fearless piano virtuoso before establishing himself as the leading composer of his age. From his late twenties he suffered a gradual loss of hearing that became total in his final years — yet he kept composing, writing some of his most profound music when he could no longer hear it performed.
For pianists, Beethoven stands at the centre of the repertoire. His thirty-two piano sonatas are often described as the instrument’s “New Testament,” tracing a single great arc from the poise of the Classical style into the storm and depth of Romanticism. His writing is dramatic and physical — sudden contrasts, driving rhythms, singing slow movements — and it asks the player for both control and courage.
Much of Beethoven is demanding, but not all of it: the bagatelle Für Elise and the hymn-like “Ode to Joy” are among the first pieces countless people learn, and the opening movement of the Moonlight Sonata is within reach long before its stormy finale. Start with those, and the great sonatas wait patiently at the far end of the road.