A Bit About the Beethoven

I thought I'd write a quick bit about the Beethoven that I posted last week, especially as I'm already close to putting up my next bit (Chopin! Chopin! Chopin! I looooove Chopin! I have a music crush on him). So before I get all giddy over you-know-who* I should tell you a bit about one of the most famous composers of all time.

Beethoven. Ah, even his name is grand. Big name, big chords, big sound and big orchestras. His music is considered to be the most crucial in the bridging between the Classical and Romantic eras, I tend to think of him more as late Classical however. So everyone knows about his crazy hair and how he went deaf but remarkably continued to compose and perform, and that when he died apparently there was a loud clap of thunder. So I won't dwell on the stuff we all already know.

Beethoven wrote this sonata when he was 27 years old (in 1798). This is the third movement, all three movements together takes about 20 minutes to perform (which must be tiring to say the least). He didn't give it the nickname "Pathetique", it was the publisher who did, but as is common with these things, the trendy easy to remember name has stuck.
This was written right before his first and second symphonies, something he valued highly in composition. I think you can pick up on that, there is a certain grandeur, especially in this Rondo: Allegro movement, and I like to think it hints at what he was heading towards. Interestingly, Beethoven's hearing difficulties began around the time of the composition of this sonata.

I think one of the saddest losses in musical history is the destruction of Beethoven's conversation books (264 out of 400 books according to Wikipedia). His conversation books were where people would write down what they were saying to him, and he would sometimes write down the response (or I guess answer verbally). Apparently they give a lot of insight to his working process. They must be amazing to read. Unfortunately Beethoven's biographer Anton Schindler wrote false entries in them after Beethoven's death, and then eventually destroyed a bunch.
So sad.


*I am not referring to Voldemort.