1. The Early Music of Beethoven
Chapter 49
The Early Music of Beethoven

2. Lecture Overview Europe from 1770 to 1800 Beethoven’s life (1770-1827)
Beethoven’s works of the first period ( )
Representative works:
Piano Sonata in C Minor (Pathétique), Op. 13, movement 1
Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, movement 3
Review

3. Beethoven’s World
Beethoven was born in 1770 the city of Bonn, on the Rhine River, in the northwest corner of what is now Germany. From the age of 21, he lived in Vienna, the capital of Austria and seat of government of the far-flung lands ruled by the Hapsburg kings. At this time, the German-speaking states of Europe were members of a loose alliance called the Holy Roman Empire, whose emperor was the Hapsburg king. The most powerful German state was Prussia, in the northeast part of Europe.

4. Beethoven’s Life 1770 born in Bonn
1792 moves to Vienna and studies with Haydn
1792–1802 first compositional period
1802 despair over deafness, Heiligenstadt Testament
1802-c1814 second compositional period
1814–1815 Congress of Vienna
c1814–1827 third compositional period
1827 death in Vienna

5. Beethoven’s Principal Compositions
Orchestra: 9 symphonies, overtures, concertos (including 5 for piano and 1 for violin)
Chamber music: 16 string quartets, 7 trios, sonatas for instruments and piano
Piano: 32 sonatas, variations
Opera and ballet: Fidelio (opera), Creatures of Prometheus (ballet)
Chorus: 2 masses, oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives, finale of Symphony No. 9

6. The Youthful Beethoven
Beethoven’s appearance made an impression on virtually all who met him. He was very short, and an acquaintance from his youth remembered his “broad shoulders, short neck, large head, round nose, and dark brown complexion.” The French composer Luigi Cherubini compared him to an “unlicked bear cub.”

7. Beethoven’s Principal Music of his First Period of Composition (1792–1802)
Piano Sonatas: Nos. 1–20
Symphonies: Nos. 1–2
Piano Concertos: Nos. 1–2
String Quartets: Nos. 1–6 (Op. 18)
Violin Sonatas: Nos. 1–5
Trios (violin-cello-piano): Nos. 1–4

8. Beethoven, Piano Sonata in C Minor (Pathétique), 1798, movement 1
Sonata form

9. Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, 1795, movement 3
Sonata-rondo form

10. Review Key Terms Christian Neefe Ferdinand Waldstein WoO numbers
French Revolution
improvisation
Carl Czerny
fantasia
sonata-rondo form
episode (in a rondo form)