"His sweeping symphonies still greet eager ears in concert halls and theaters throughout the world. Ludwig van Beethoven emerged as a driving force in the music world when he composed those harmonic notes that would live far beyond his own years. Beethoven first became active in the ways of concertos and symphonies in 1782, when he played the viola in various different orchestras and collaborated with other well-known players of the time, such as Antoine Reicha, Nikolaus Simrock and Franz Reis. His boldness and his grasp of tones led him to realize that he wanted to string these musical notes together to create his own masterpieces of music. What resulted were such compositions as ""Symphony No. 3, Eroica"" and ""Appassionata."" Both of these as well as many others remain as stark testaments to the creative genius that was Ludwig van Beethoven.Beethoven was born in the German city of Bonn in December 1770. His early training as a musician began with lessons from his father as well as other local musicians in the area. He spent his time traveling to different orchestras and working his way up the ranks, even while he was still a young man. In 1792, he moved to Vienna, Austria and studied with Haydn as well as other professors of music, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Slieri. A couple years later he started his career as a pianist and a composer, and during this time he became acutely aware of his growing deafness and sustained many disappoints in his life, including failed relationships and a reported custody battle over a nephew.Beethoven, though, emerged with compositions of groundbreaking creative triumph, writing some of his most well-known string quartets and sonatas during the latter part of his life. He inspired others in the industry to follow his lead and provided audiences then and now with pieces of work that emphasize the mightiness of human emotions. Beethoven died in Vienna on March 26, 1827."
