Ludwig van Beethoven

Portrait of 13-year-old Beethoven

Johann van Beethoven 

Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 17, 1770. His father, Johann van Beethoven made poor little Beethoven get up in the middle in the night and practice the piano.  He was very, very, tired every day. His father was very strict to Beethoven. He would punch him if he made a mistake. When Beethoven was 7 1/2 he performed his first concert. His father announced that he was 6 which made Beethoven think that he was younger that he was. 

After some more practice he was invited to play for the king of Germany. The king liked it so much that he made Beethoven stay. His father didn’t want Beethoven to stay, but the king said he had to. So, Beethoven stayed and played for the king. After a while Beethoven wanted to go home. At first the king said no, but after a day he let Beethoven go. When Beethoven got back, he continued to play the piano. He also started composing his own music. 

When Beethoven grew older he went to Vienna. While he was there he he met the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Josef Haydn who became his teacher. After he came back, he began to grow deaf. After a while he was so deaf that he had to use a horn to put to his ear. Then he became so deaf that it hurt and he got sick. Eventually he got so sick that he died. He died in 1827 at the age of 57. His best compositions are Symphony No.5, Symphony No. 6,Symphony No.9, Fur Elise, and The Ruins of Athens. 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

9-year-old-Mozart playing the harpsichord

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756. His father Leopold, taught him harpsichord at age 3! He started composing at age 5! His first composition was Andante in C. His sister Nannerl, also played the piano. 

In 1762 Mozart and his family started traveling around Europe to perform concerts (He was age 10). Some of the countries they traveled in were Paris, London,Vienna, and Munich.This period of time was called The Grand Tour. Mozart loved to do tricks on the piano. Once at a concert, he covered his hands with a cloth and played the harpsichord. Another trick he did at the harpsichord was he  played it with his toes. By this time Leopold was very impressed with his son. 

A portrait of Mozart

After a while it was time for Mozart to go. He travel to Vienna. While he was there he met a composer and musician named Ludwig van Beethoven (Lud-VIG- von BAtoven). After he left, he went to another composer’s house. His name was Carl Maria von Weber (Carl-Maria-von-Weaver). He fell in love in Aloysia Weber, but she was all ready in love with somebody else. Instead he went out with Aloysia’s younger sister Constanze. Finally, they were married.They had 6 children, but 4 of them didn’t survive. The ones that did survive were Karl Thomas Mozart and Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart who also became a composer. Mozart  died in 1791 age 35. His best compositions are The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Clarinet Concerto in A, and Eine Kleine Nachmusik.