Life story
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in December 1770 in Germany, baptised on 17 December, into a family of musicians. From his earliest years music was the language he was born to speak, and it would remain so until the end of his life.
A composer, conductor and pianist, he is regarded as one of the greatest figures in the history of Western music. Mentored during the Classical period, he carried its forms forward and became a key driver of the transition to Romantic music.
Through his hands the symphony, the piano sonata and the string quartet grew in scope and depth. Even as deafness closed in upon him, he continued to create, drawing from silence music of extraordinary power and feeling.
He died on 26 March 1827 in Vienna, the city that had become his home. His compositions remain among the most performed in the world, and he rests in the Vienna Central Cemetery, his voice still speaking through his music.
Životopisné údaje z verejných zdrojov. Portrét: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).
Constellation of Life
Important milestones that shaped their journey.