Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (December 16, 1770 to March 26, 1827) was a German pianist and composer. The predominant musical figure in the transition between the Classical and the Romantic periods in music, he remains one of the most recognized and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include the nine symphonies, five piano concertos, violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, and his 16 string quartets.
Widely regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived, Ludwig van Beethoven dominates a period of musical history as no one else before or since. Rooted in the Classical traditions of Joseph Haydn and Mozart, his art reaches out to embrace the new spirit of humanism expressed in the works of Goethe and other contemporaries in the world of literature.
He revealed more vividly than any of his predecessors the power of music to convey a philosophy of life without the aid of a spoken text; and in certain of his compositions is to be found the strongest assertion of the human will in all music, if not in all art. He was a considerable innovator of musical form, widening the scope of the sonata, symphony, concerto and quartet, while in the Ninth Symphony he combined the worlds of vocal and instrumental music in a manner never before attempted.
His personal life was marked by a heroic struggle against deafness, and some of his most important works were composed during the last 10 years of his life when he was quite unable to hear. In an age that saw the decline of court and church patronage, he not only maintained himself from the sale and publication of his works but also was the first musician to receive a salary with no duties other than to compose how and when he felt inclined.
路德維希·範·貝多芬（誕生於1770年12月16日, 逝世於1827年3月26日）是德國鋼琴家與作曲家。他是介於古典和浪漫音樂過渡時期代表性的音樂人物，並且也是最受認可和最具影響力的作曲家之一。他最著名的作品包括九首交響曲，五首鋼琴協奏曲，小提琴協奏曲，三十二首鋼琴奏鳴曲及十六首弦樂四重奏。
被尊崇是有史以來最偉大的作曲家，貝多芬在音樂史上佔有史無前例的地位。以約瑟夫海頓和莫扎特的古典傳統音樂為基礎，貝多芬的音樂更強化與觸及歌德和其他同時代文學作品中所表達的人文精神。
他比任何前期的作曲家更生動地藉由音樂的力量來傳達生活哲學，即使是在沒有文字或歌詞的輔助下，都可以感受到他對於人類意志最強烈的宣言。他也是音樂曲式的創新者，不僅擴大了奏鳴曲，交響樂，協奏曲和四重奏的範圍，並且在第九號交響曲中，他更以前所未有的方式融合了聲樂和器樂的聲響。
身為一位作曲家，貝多芬卻一輩子都在與耳聾搏鬥，有一些他重要的作品，甚至是在最後10年裡當他幾乎完全失去聽力時創作的。當時皇室與教堂對於音樂家的贊助逐漸減少，但貝多芬不僅保持自己的作品銷售量，而且還是第一位獲得薪水的音樂家，而這份薪水並沒有要求任何義務或職責，而是讓貝多芬可以全心全意地自由創作。
Listening: 音樂欣賞：