[Life Story]
I. Childhood
Beethoven's grandfather and father were both court singers. Most of the time, his father is drunk, and he is not very good to his family. He never even asks if his family is well fed and warm. At first, a kind grandfather can save this family from too much suffering; On the other hand, the musical talent of his eldest grandson also makes the old man feel very gratified. But when Beethoven was only four years old, his grandfather died. Beethoven's father used to drag the child to the keyboard and let him practice there for hours, slapping him whenever he played wrong. Neighbors often hear children sobbing to sleep because of fatigue and pain. Soon, Faifr, a poor traveling musician, came to this town and was taken to Beethoven's home. He and old Beethoven used to drink in the pub outside until midnight, and then went home to drag little Ludwig out of bed and start classes, sometimes until dawn. To make him look like a child prodigy, his father lied about his age. When I was eight, I took him out to a concert when I was six. But there are no child prodigies in the world. Despite a lot of efforts, the old Beethoven never turned his son into another young Mozart. Compared with Mozart, Beethoven's childhood was too unfortunate. Mozart received a good education in his childhood, and his training time was pleasant and quiet. He had a loving father and a beloved sister. Beethoven, on the other hand, won the respect of his hometown people for his performance, but his world-wide travel performance was far less amazing than Mozart's.
Second, the mentor.
The father took the boy from one teacher to another and asked him to learn different musical instruments and the art of composing music. None of these teachers could be called good teachers until he fell into the hands of court pianist and manager of Bonn Theatre. This is a respectable music teacher, a friendly and well-educated young man. This is really a great blessing for Beethoven. Because although Bonn has the best schools-even the kind old Bach would happily send many of his children to study-Beethoven's father never thought it worth sending Beethoven there to study even for two or three months. In his eyes, reading is far less profitable than learning music. For the first time in his life, young Beethoven found class enjoyable. Teacher neffei is very kind to him, not only teaching music, but also teaching him many other things in the world. In order to pay for his tuition, Beethoven took the place of his teacher as an organist when Mr. Niffe was busy or left town. So when he just turned fourteen, he was appointed as an assistant court organist and an ancient pianist in the theater. How proud that hateful and unfortunate father is to see his son's music finally make some money!
Three. Visit Mozart
Around this time, he visited Vienna for the first time in his life and played for his favorite idol Mozart. Mozart thought that the child was just playing with an exhibit that had been practiced for such an occasion for a long time, so he had to praise him politely and coldly out of courtesy. Little Beethoven was angry and asked Mozart to give him a theme, and then he improvised on it with so much emotion and genius. Mozart was surprised and immediately ran to the door of the next room. "Pay attention to this young man," he shouted to a group of friends who were having a party inside. "One day the whole world will hear his voice!"
Fourth, Beethoven and Haydn.
Beethoven finally realized that he could not make greater progress in his hometown, so he decided to try his luck in Vienna again. By this time Mozart had died, but Haydn had just won his first victory in London and was at the peak of his reputation. When passing through Bonn, Haydn once heard a chorus of Beethoven and praised it greatly, so Beethoven decided to turn to Haydn to study first. Haydn has spent his youth. He writes and directs his greatest works more diligently than ever before. No wonder he doesn't have much time and energy to correct the paper. Moreover, he requires students to pay only 20 cents per class, and he probably doesn't think it is necessary to spend too much time practicing manuscript paper. So Beethoven often found some uncorrected mistakes in practice, and he was very angry. When the old teacher went to London for the second time, Beethoven turned to a less talented but strict teacher to study. Later, he often declared loudly that he had learned nothing from Haydn. However, before long, he will gradually feel that if he didn't get anything from the correction exercise, it was that he got inspiration from Haydn because he dedicated his first piano sonata to Haydn. When Haydn appeared on the stage for the last time to perform Genesis, he was helped out by several servants. Beethoven bent down and kissed the weak old man kindly.
Five, go your own way
Beethoven didn't want to be the darling of the living room. He would rather stay in his own residence and be able to get in and out, get up, dress and eat at will. He likes to fiddle with trifles in the room according to his own interests. Once, in order to get some air and see the scenery outside the window, he deliberately cut off a piece of the window. He is always in trouble with the landlords and always walks around. Whenever he creates a climax, he always throws pots of water on his head to cool down until the water soaks through the downstairs room-we can imagine the feelings of the landlord and other tenants! Sometimes he moves so often that he doesn't even want to worry about putting his legs on the piano, but just sits on the floor and plays the piano. Because he has to sign a lease every time he rents a new house, indicating the lease period, he often pays the rent of four apartments at the same time. This is probably the reason why although he earns a lot of money, he always has no savings!
Six, deafness
When he really felt that he was going deaf, he was almost desperate. Life doesn't seem worth living: what is more unfortunate for a musician than not hearing the sweet voice that he likes to listen to and live by? At first, only a few old friends, such as Dr. Wigler and Stephen von Braeuning, knew about his misfortune. He gave up going to the palace to listen to the cheerful concert he liked very much. He was afraid that people would notice his deafness and thought that an deaf musician could not write a good work. Don't! He remembers all the music he wants to write. "I want to hold my destiny by the throat!" "Maybe it's not as difficult for him to create music when he is deaf as other musicians. In his view, music is not only to arrange various themes or sound patterns with charming voices, but also a language to express the deepest thoughts.
Beethoven and his friends
No musician has so many successes and so few happy times in his life. His friend
He is kind and loyal, but his damn deafness separates him from them. Even his hearing AIDS often disappoint him, so the only way for him to keep in touch with them is the "talking book" and pencil he always carries with him. He saw them talking to each other and thought they were always talking about him, speaking ill of him and plotting against him. One day he wrote, "Never show your face in front of me again! You are a mean dog, a dishonest guy! " The next day, when he found that his suspicion was wrong and his friend was sincere, he wrote another note: "Dear friend, you are an honest man and you are right. I understand now. So come to me this afternoon and accept your Beethoven love. " And his friends-how good people they are-always forgive his rude quarrel and accompany him to the end. His family life is miserable from beginning to end: he has never been married. When he first came to Vienna, he proposed to his hometown singer Magdalene willman, but she refused because Beethoven was "so ugly". From then on, he fell in love with several aristocratic women-lovely women with lovely names-and he confided in them with music, but they accepted his music and refused his love!
[master style]
First, the heroic symphony
Beethoven's heart is full of ideals of freedom, equality and universal love. He is an enthusiastic supporter of 1789 French bourgeois revolution. 1798, General Bernadotte (1763-1844) became the French ambassador to Vienna. Beethoven often visited his home and kept close contact with people around him. 1802, Beethoven began to compose the third symphony dedicated to Napoleon at the suggestion of Bernadotte. In his mind, Napoleon was a hero who destroyed the autocratic system and realized his ideal. 1804, Beethoven completed the third symphony. Just as he was preparing to dedicate it to Napoleon, the news that Napoleon proclaimed himself reached Vienna. When Beethoven learned the news from the student Lisi (1784- 1838), he roared angrily: "He is just an ordinary person. Now he will trample on human rights to show his personal ambition. He will ride on everyone's head and become a tyrant! " As he spoke, he went to the table and tore up the dedication to Napoleon and threw it on the ground. No one was allowed to pick it up. After many days, Beethoven's anger gradually subsided and he was allowed to make this work public. 1804 65438+February, this symphony was first performed in the court of Prince Rob Kovitz in Vienna. 1The first public performance in Vienna Theatre in April, 805 was conducted by Beethoven himself. The program reads: "A new symphony in D major by Mr. Ludwig van Beethoven is dedicated to His Royal Highness Prince Robert Kovitz." Strangely, Beethoven said that it was not in E flat major, but in D flat major. When1806 published its music score in June, it was printed on the title page: Heroic Symphony, written in memory of a great man. Since then, the third symphony has been called "Hero Symphony".
Second, the symphony of destiny.
The first four notes of Beethoven's Symphony in C Minor (Op.67) are as strong and heavy as the knocking of fate. This work is therefore called "Symphony of Destiny". The symphony of destiny was written from 1805 to 1808. Beethoven wrote a letter to his friend Wegele (1765- 1808) in June of12008. He has said, "I will hold my destiny by the throat, and it will never overwhelm me completely!" The knock of fate appeared in the third movement of Piano Sonata in C minor (Op. 10) written by 1798, and later appeared in the third movement of String Quartet in D major (Op. 18 No.3) and Sonata for Passion (Op.57). The passion for struggle shown in the Symphony of Destiny has a strong appeal. Mary Boland, a Spanish alto, was scared to death when she first listened to the Symphony of Destiny and had to leave. The old guard Napoleon heard the main melody at the beginning of the fourth movement and couldn't help jumping up and shouting, "This is the emperor!" " Berlioz regarded the thrilling struggle scene in the Symphony of Destiny as "Othello's terrible rage when he listened to the slanderers of the ego and mistakenly thought Desdemona had an affair." Schumann said, "Although you often hear this symphony, it always has a constant power for you-just like natural phenomena always scare people. "1In May and June of 830, Mendelssohn stayed in Weimar for two weeks, saw Goethe for the last time, and played famous works in ancient and modern times for him on the piano. Goethe was very excited after listening to the first movement of the symphony of destiny. He said: "This is magnificent and thrilling, and it almost collapses the house. I wonder what will happen if many people play together. "184 1 March, Engels listened to the performance of the symphony of destiny. In a letter to his sister, he praised the work and said, "If you don't know this wonderful thing, then you have never heard anything in your life." He said that in the first movement, he heard "that kind of complete despair and sorrow, that kind of sad pain"; In the second movement, I heard "tender sorrow of love"; The third and fourth movements, "the joy of strength, youth and freedom expressed by the trumpet" are so inspiring. Engels revealed the essence of the Symphony of Destiny in a few short sentences.
Third, the legend of moonlight song
"More than one hundred years ago, there was a German musician named Beethoven who wrote many famous songs. Among them, there is a famous piano piece called Moonlight. The legend goes like this: One autumn, Beethoven traveled around the world and performed in a small town on the Rhine. One night, he was walking along a quiet path and heard the intermittent piano sound coming from a small room, playing his music. Beethoven approached the hut, the piano suddenly stopped and someone was talking in the room. A girl said,' How difficult this song is to play! I've only heard others play it several times, but I don't remember how to play it. "If only I could hear how Beethoven played himself!" A man said,' Yes, but tickets for the concert are too expensive, and we are too poor.' The girl quickly said,' Don't be sad, brother, I'm just saying.' Hearing this, Beethoven gently pushed open the door and came in. Candles were lit in the hut, and men were making leather shoes in the dim candlelight. There is an old piano in front of the window, and a girl of sixteen or seventeen is sitting in front of it. Her face is handsome, but she is blind. The shoemaker saw a stranger come in, stood up and asked, "Who are you looking for, sir?" Wrong door, right? Beethoven said,' No, I'm here to play a tune for this girl. The girl quickly stood up and offered her seat. Beethoven sat in front of the piano and played the tune that the blind girl had just played. The blind girl was so absorbed in listening that when the music ended, she said excitedly, "How well you play! How deep the feelings are! You, you must be Mr Beethoven, right? Beethoven didn't answer. He asked the blind girl, "Do you like it?" Let me play another song for you. A gust of wind blew out the candle. The moonlight shone through the window, and everything in the hut seemed to be covered with silver gauze. Beethoven looked at the poor brothers and sisters standing beside him and pressed the keys in the quiet moonlight. The shoemaker listened quietly. He seems to face the sea, and the moon rises from where the water meets the sky. On the surface of the microwave, silver light will be scattered everywhere for a while. The moon rose higher and higher, passing through a wisp of gauze-like Wei Yun. Suddenly, there was a strong wind at sea, which rolled up huge waves. The waves sparkled in the moonlight and rushed to the shore one by one ... The shoemaker looked at his sister, whose eyes were wide open as the moonlight shone on her quiet face. She seemed to see something she had never seen before, the rough sea in the moonlight. Brother and sister were intoxicated by the wonderful piano sound. When they woke up, Beethoven had left the hut. He flew back to the inn and spent the whole night recording Moonlight Music, which he had just improvised. This is an article in the seventh volume of Chinese textbooks for primary schools in China. It tells the story of Beethoven playing Moonlight for blind girls. This is indeed a beautiful legend. Beethoven's piece (op.27 No.2-piano sonata in C minor) describes the moonlight scenery on the sea, which originated from German music critic Rael Stubb (1799- 1860). Russian pianist anton rubinstein (1829-1894) is very opposed to using Moonlight to interpret this piece of music. He said: "Moonlight should be thoughtful, thoughtful and quiet in music description. In short, it is a soft and bright mood. The first movement of Sonata in C minor, from the first note to the last note, is completely tragic (implied by minor), a cloudy sky and a gloomy mood. The last movement is intense and enthusiastic, and it shows a completely opposite side to the gentle moon. There is only a short second movement, which can be said to be a moment in the moonlight. " In Germany, some people also call this kind of music "Garden Pavilion" sonata. The garden pavilion is a pavilion built in the shade of a tree. Obviously, this title is also inaccurate for this sonata. It seems that this piece of music is by no means a clear landscape painting, but an inner gloomy mood. Thiel (18 17- 1897), the author of Beethoven's biography, said that the first movement was "A girl prays for her sick father", which is more appropriate than "Moonlight" and "Garden Pavilion" in any case. This piece of Beethoven was written in 180 1 year when he was a girl. On 1 1 month 16 this year, Beethoven mentioned her when he wrote to Wegele, saying, "She loves me and I love her." But by the beginning of 1802, she had fallen in love with Count Andrew Hallenborg and married him in 1803. Romain rolland linked this song with Beethoven's lovelorn love, saying, "Fantasy didn't last long, and the pain and indignation in sonata has surpassed love. "Roland interpreted the first movement as melancholy, whining and crying. Russian musician Ole Biyishev (1794- 1858) thinks that the first movement is "deep sorrow" of lovelorn, just like "hanging fire". However, 180 1 was the time when Beethoven and Guichar Di fell in love. It may not be true to say that this work is about the pain of lovelorn love. Perhaps Stasov (1824- 1906), a Russian art critic, is more reasonable in explaining this work. Recalling listening to Liszt's performance in Petersburg, he thought the sonata was a complete tragedy. The first movement was a state of mind full of tenderness and sometimes dark premonition. He had a similar impression when listening to anton rubinstein's performance: "... from a distance, as if from the depths of an invisible soul, a silent voice suddenly rose.
Some voices are melancholy and full of infinite sadness; Others are meditation, endless memories and gloomy omens ... "Sonata in C minor is especially famous for its title and legend of' Moonlight'. Beethoven once said, "People often talk about sonatas in C minor, but I have written better things than this, such as sonatas in F major (Op. 78)." It can be seen that Beethoven himself was not very satisfied with Song of the Moonlight.
Fourthly, sonata of passion.
When Schindler once asked Beethoven about his sonatas in D minor (Op.312) and F minor (Op.57), Beethoven replied, "Please read Shakespeare's The Tempest." Therefore, the former is called "Sonata of Tempest", while the latter is named "Sonata of Passion" by Hamburg music publisher Crantz (1789- 1870). (On the other hand, the title of "Enthusiasm" was added by German pianist, violinist, composer and conductor Reineck (1824- 19 10), which seems unfounded. Beethoven didn't approve of the title "Enthusiasm", but for this heroic and magnificent work, the title is quite appropriate. Lenin, the teacher of proletarian revolution, once heard Russian composer and conductor Dobro Wan (1894- 1953) play this sonata in Moscow, and said, "I don't know what is better than the Sonata of Passion, and I am willing to listen to it every day. This is wonderful and unprecedented music. I always think with perhaps childish boast: what miracles can people create! " 18701On October 30th, Paris was surrounded by Prussian troops for more than three months during the Franco-Prussian War. Bismarck, the bloody prime minister, negotiated the armistice terms with thiers, the head of the French bourgeois government, in the stronghold of William, King of Prussia at Versailles. That night, Gaertel, the former German ambassador to Italy, played the Sonata of Passion for Bismarck on an old piano in Viham. After listening to the last movement, Bismarck said, "This is the cry of a whole generation." He understood Beethoven's "enthusiasm" from the standpoint of a bloodthirsty careerist. He once said: "If I can listen to this piece of music often, my courage will not run out" because "Beethoven is the best for my nerves". Beethoven said on June 29th, 180 1, "My art is used to improve the fate of the poor." If Beethoven knew what was underground and heard that his music was used by Bismarck, he must be dead.
Five, fighting machine, friendship, artillery
Beethoven's friend melzer (1772— 1838) is famous for inventing and manufacturing mechanical musical instruments. 18 13 In the autumn, Beethoven wrote a war symphony entitled "Victory of Wellington" or "Battle of Victoria" for the universal piano invented by melzer, describing the scene that the British army defeated Napoleon in the northern Spanish city of Victoria on June 2 1 3 of the same year. On the basis of Winkle's invention (1776-1826), Meltzer once created today's universal slapping machine. Beethoven adopted it for the first time and marked the speed of his works according to the number of beats per minute. Beethoven's hearing AIDS were also made in melzer around 18 10. On one occasion, Beethoven Paimer took a trip, and he wrote that the richest man was a funny cannon to praise the creator of the holiday machine. This canon, which symbolizes the friendship between Beethoven and Meltzer, was later selected by Beethoven into his eighth symphony (Op. 93) and became the theme of the second movement. Sixth, the Seventh Symphony in Ballet Wagner called Beethoven's Seventh Symphony (Op.92) "the ultimate dance", "the highest form of dance" and "the most wonderful embodiment of body movement according to the ideal form". It is said that he once imagined that the Seventh Symphony would be represented by a dance accompanied by Liszt piano. Wagner's ideal was later realized by Russian choreographer Ma Xin. 1938, he made this symphony into a ballet to show a fable-the creation and destruction of the world:
The first movement: creation-under the guidance of creative spirit, the chaotic world has become an orderly residence for animals and plants. There are men and women, and dangerous snakes. The second movement: the earth-hatred and rape appear on the earth. A group of men and women mourned the murdered teenager. The third movement: the sky-the gods and goddesses in the sky are indifferent to the riots on the ground and still enjoy themselves. The fourth movement: debauchery and destruction-people indulge in debauchery. God saw them clumsily imitate the joy of the upper world and destroy the world with fire because of anger. 1938 In May, this ballet was first performed by the Brazilian Ballet of Russia in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Seven. Ode to Joy and Chorus Symphony
1793 65438+ 10, a friend of German poet Schiller and a law professor at Bonn University wrote to Schiller's wife Charlotte, saying: "There is a young man ... with great and lofty aspirations, who wants to set Schiller's Ode to Joy to music paragraph by paragraph." This young man is Beethoven, who lived in Bonn at that time and was only 23 years old. Beethoven contributed the music of Ode to Joy in 1798 and 18 12. The theme of Ode to Joy, written in 18 12, was later used in 18 14 to complete the prelude to the named day festival in C major (Op. 1 15). Beethoven's song "Love each other" written for Bigger poems around 1795 is closely related to the theme of Ode to Joy in the last movement of the chorus symphony, which can be said to be the predecessor of the theme of Ode to Joy. Later, Beethoven used this tune as the theme in Fantasia for Piano Chorus in C Minor (op. 80)65438-0808, and sang Kuffner's poem praising the charm of music. The chorus part of piano chorus fantasia is an attempt at the finale of chorus symphony. 1in March, 824, Beethoven wrote to probst: "The finale of the chorus symphony was written in the style of piano chorus fantasia, but on a much larger scale." It can be seen that Beethoven's intention to compose "Ode to Joy" began at 1793, and it took 30 years to finish in the Chorus Symphony. Chorus symphony was completed in the reactionary period after Carlsbad's resolution, when all free thoughts and democratic movements were brutally suppressed. 1824 During the first performance of Lentner Thor Theatre in Vienna in May, the audience's enthusiasm was unprecedented. The audience applauded and cheered five times when Beethoven appeared, so that the police had to intervene. But Beethoven, who stood in the band with his back to the audience, couldn't hear anything. Fortunately, contralto singer Hong Re turned around holding his hand and "saw" the cheers of the audience. From the unusual emotions caused by the first performance, we can see how profound the practical significance of singing, that is, the freedom of singing, was at that time. [Music field]
First, I forgot to eat happily
One day, Beethoven came to a restaurant for dinner. After ordering food, he was suddenly inspired, so he grabbed the menu on the dining table and made a song on the back of the menu. After a while, he was completely immersed in the beautiful melody. Seeing Beethoven's devotion, the waiter didn't dare to disturb him, and planned to serve him later. About an hour later, the waiter finally came to Beethoven's side: "Sir, are you ready to serve?" Beethoven paid the bill as if he had just woken up from a dream. The waiter is like a monk-confused: "Sir, you haven't eaten yet!" " ""no! I'm sure I've eaten. " Beethoven didn't listen to the waiter's repeated explanations at all. After paying the price on the menu, he grabbed the menu full of notes and rushed out of the restaurant.
Second, Japan has done as the Romans do.
In his later years, Beethoven once heard a friend play his variations in C minor. After listening for a while, he asked, "Whose work is this?"
"yours." The friend replied.
"My? I wrote such a clumsy song? " Then he added, "Ah, Beethoven is a fool!" Goethe's evaluation of Schiller is completely applicable to Beethoven: "He is changing and growing every week. Every time I see him, I always feel that his knowledge, knowledge and opinions have improved compared with the last time. " Beethoven even tried to destroy the songs he wrote when he was young, Adelaide and Septet in E-flat Major (Op. 20). This is by no means accidental. Like Beethoven, it can really be said that "fifty knows forty-nine mistakes."
Third, let opponents copy.
Beethoven made friends with the Browning family in Bonn when he was 18 years old (1788). The daughter of this family is called Ereonole (1772-1841), and the son is called Rolenc (1777-65438+). 10, Beethoven left Bonn for Vienna. Because of a quarrel before he left, Beethoven didn't write to Errol for one year after he arrived in Vienna. 1793, he dedicated the title of his first work published in Vienna (some of which was written in Bonn) to Eleanor. This work is a variation on violin and piano with the theme of Figaro aria in the first act of Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro. 1793165438+1October 2, Beethoven wrote a letter to Allen Noelle. At the end, he talked about the technically difficult vibrato on the piano, saying, "Someone in Vienna took me the next day after listening to my impromptu performance in the evening.