Perserverance



Ludwig van Beethoven - The Quiet YearsWhen Beethoven was 28 years old, he noticed his **hearing was going**. He was very upset by this - so much so that he thought of ending his life. Beethoven's **social life** was affected the most. He is said to have had sudden bursts of anger, insulting those around him. As his hearing became worse, Beethoven went into seclusion from both the public and his friends. Eventually, he was left **completely deaf**. He only communicated with visitors and trusted friends by writing.

====‍‍‍ Ludwig van Beethoven - The Final Years ==== Being hearing impaired didn't stop Beethoven from **writing music** but life wasn't easy for him. Beethoven was seriously ill. He moved more than 52 times during his final years. Beethoven also took it upon himself to get custody of his nephew Karl. He won but Beethoven pushed his nephew too hard. He tried to mold Karl into what he wanted but it didn't happen. When the famous composer died at the age of 56, almost **30,000 people** attended his funeral. Unlike some other composers of that time, Beethoven enjoyed recognition prior to his death. What do you think of Beethoven's music? Was he the best composer or just one of many talented musicians?

Mozart aside, Ludwig van Beethoven is the most famous classical composer of the western world. Beethoven is remembered for his powerful and stormy compositions, and for continuing to compose and conduct even after he began to go deaf at age 28. The ominous four-note beginning to his Fifth Symphony -- //bom bom bom bommmmm// -- is one of the most famous moments in all of music. (Beethoven supposedly described the notes as "Fate knocking at the door.") He wrote nine numbered symphonies in all: his Third Symphony ("Eroica") and Sixth Symphony ("Pastoral") are especially famous. Beethoven also wrote the popular "Moonlight" sonata (1801). Beethoven never married. After his death his friends found letters to a lover he called "Immortal Beloved," whose identity has never been discovered. The English phrase "Immortal Beloved" is a translation of the German, "Unsterbliche Geliebte"... Beethoven's precise date of birth is unknown; he was baptized on 17 December 1770, and it is presumed he was born on 16 December.