Table of Contents

Intro----------------------------------------------Page 3

Early Years-------------------------------------Page 4

Gaining Fame---------------------------------Page 5

Hearing Loss----------------------------------Page 6

Master Pieces---------------------------------Page 7

Court Duties-----------------------------------Page 8

Traveling to Vienna-------------------------Page 9

Fun Facts---------------------------------------Page 10

Later Years------------------------------------Page 11

Outro--------------------------------------------Page 12

Index--------------------------------------------Page 13

Glossary---------------------------------------Page 14

Intro

Beethoven is a great composer who lived long ago. I hope you want to read about him.

Early Years

Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16 or 17, 1770. His mom was Maria and his dad was Johann. They had three sons who had survived being a baby: Ludwig Nikolaus, and Kasper. Ludwig was born in a music family. His grandfather, Ludwig, was a music directer.

Gaining Fame

With Beethoven being a brilliant musician, he gained fame. Wealthy people gave him money without wanting anything. But Beethoven has a bad temper, and he'll sometimes fight with his patrons. Once he was at a dinner party with a prince. One of the princes friends asked him to play, and Beethoven refused. The friend bugged him and Beethoven stormed off.

Hearing Loss

Before Beethoven's success with his first Symphony he heard a ringing in his ears. Beethoven wrote a letter to a friend. The letter said: "Your Beethoven is most wretched. The noblest part of my existence, my sense of hearing, is very weak... And now it's only getting worse. Will I ever be cured?" Beethoven visited doctors, but none could help.

Master Pieces

Beethoven's hearing loss made it hard to perform. He still made music and taught others. He fell in love with one of his students a wrote a piece for her, but she left him.

Court Duties

The ruling class hired Beethoven to play the viola in the court chapel. Anyone who worked in the court was part of the ruling class. Joseph Haydn was impressed by Beethoven's skill. He offered to tutor him. He wanted his student to win over the noblemen.