Running head: YouTube classical Music Composer Ludwig van Beethoven1Classical Music Composer Ludwig van Beethoven2

IntroductionLudwig van Beethoven (17 December 1770 26 March 1827) was a German pianist and composer. He was a figure in Western art music in Classical to Romantic era transition. His Compositions

He was taught music and often soundly beaten by his father Johann - a music teacher and by a fellow composer Haydn after he moved to Vienna in 1792. His hearing began to deteriorate in his mid-twenties, and by the last decade of his life he became almost totally deaf. He gave up performing and conducting in public but continued to compose; many of his most admired works come from this period.

His symphonies were composed as follows: Symphony 1 was composed in Key C, symphony 2 in key D, symphony 3 in Key E flat and titled Eroica. Eroica helped redefine symphony as a genre of music. It was first performed in 1804. Symphony 4 was composed in Key B flat, symphony 5 in C minor, symphony 6 in Key F and titled Pastoral. Symphony 7 was composed in Key A. Symphony 8 was composed in Key F and symphony 9 in D minor and was titled, Choral. The ninth symphony included a chorus. It was very popular since it was with this symphony that a composer used choral voices in a major symphony. His opera was titled, Fidelio. It was composed in the middle period of Ludwigs career and it went on through many revisions and rewrites. By the time of his death, he had the following compositions: 1 Opera, 9 Symphonies, 31 orchestral works, 77 choral works, 87 Songs and 92 chamber pieces. He also wrote further 101 Instrumental works (Brunning, 2012). References

Brunning, C. F. (2012). Classic FM's Fast and Friendly Guide to Beethoven. Retrieved from Youtube: http://www.classicfm.com/composers/beethoven/