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Beethoven was born and baptized on December 16, 1770. This happened in Bonn, Germany. He was the son of Johann van Beethoven, who was a violinist. He was also the oldest of three children. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ba-Be/Beethoven-Ludwig-van.html
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Beethovens father had a dream that his son would be a musical prodigy, like Mozarts son. So he forced Beethoven to take piano lessons. He didn't like it at first, but it started to grow on him.
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Since he was 12, he was a substitute organist for Prince Electoral's orchestra. Finally, he became the assistant http://www.favorite-classical-composers.com/beethoven-biography.html
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In Vienna, Austria, Beethoven had the chance to play in front of Mozart, and he did. Mozart was impressed, but Beethoven had to rush home because his mother was dying. < Picture of Mozart
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Beethoven moves to Vienna, Austria. Here, he studied with Joseph Hayden and other composers. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ba-Be/Beethoven-Ludwig-van.html
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Beethoven finally performed for the public. He played one of his own songs called "Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat".
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Beethoven started to experience some hearing problems. His ears started to ring, along with other symptoms.
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1st SymphonyThis is one of nine symphonies that Beethoven has completed. They say that each one represents a stage in his musical abilities.
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The problems started worsening with his hearing. Beethoven even attempted suicide.
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5th SymphonyThis is considered one of Beethovens greatest achievements. Composing this also helped him express his feelings about himself losing his hearing.
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Beethoven was almost completely deaf by this time. His manners and appearence began to go downhill. http://www.favorite-classical-composers.com/beethoven-biography.html
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9th SymphonyThis is considered one of his greatest pieces ever written. It was a first example of a major composer using voices in a symphony, making it a vocal symphony.
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Beethoven died at 57. He died in Vienna, Austria. He had four operations on his stomach, which eventually got infected. 20,000 people lined the streets for his funeral.
