Ep. 103: Beethoven – Top 5 Compositions
Intro
Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.
I’m Jans your Mnemonic Man and today's episode is on Ludwig van Beethoven who was one of the “Big Three” composers which also included Mozart and Bach. Probably universally best known for his Symphony No.5 which resulted in the joke “What is Beethoven’s favourite fruit?” to which the answer is "BaNANANAAAAA", "Ba NA NA NAAAAA".
His career is generally divided into three periods:
· The Early Period up to around 1802
· The Middle Period from 1802 to 1812
· And; The Late Period from 1812 to 1827
When all is said and done, Beethoven has left a lasting impact on the world of classical music which is made even more astonishing to the fact that he accomplished this with limited to full hearing loss throughout his career.
Today’s mnemonic is on Beethoven’s top 5 compositions.
So, with no further ado, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.
Wikipedia Summary
Ludwig van Beethoven[n 1] (baptised 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transition from the Classical period to the Romantic era in classical music. His career has conventionally been divided into early, middle, and late periods. His early period, during which he forged his craft, is typically considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to around 1812, his middle period showed an individual development from the styles of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes characterized as heroic. During this time, he began to grow increasingly deaf. In his late period, from 1812 to 1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and expression.
Beethoven was born in Bonn. His musical talent was obvious at an early age. He was initially harshly and intensively taught by his father, Johann van Beethoven. Beethoven was later taught by the composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe, under whose tutelage he published his first work, a set of keyboard variations, in 1783. He found relief from a dysfunctional home life with the family of Helene von Breuning, whose children he loved, befriended, and taught piano. At age 21, he moved to Vienna, which subsequently became his base, and studied composition with Haydn. Beethoven then gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist, and was soon patronized by Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky for compositions, which resulted in his three Opus 1 piano trios (the earliest works to which he accorded an opus number) in 1795.
His first major orchestral work, the First Symphony, premiered in 1800, and his first set of string quartets was published in 1801. Despite his hearing deteriorating during this period, he continued to conduct, premiering his Third and Fifth Symphonies in 1804 and 1808, respectively. His Violin Concerto appeared in 1806. His last piano concerto (No. 5, Op. 73, known as the Emperor), dedicated to his frequent patron Archduke Rudolf of Austria, premiered in 1811, without Beethoven as soloist. He was almost completely deaf by 1814, and he then gave up performing and appearing in public. He described his problems with health and his unfulfilled personal life in two letters, his Heiligenstadt Testament (1802) to his brothers and his unsent love letter to an unknown "Immortal Beloved" (1812).
After 1810, increasingly less socially involved, Beethoven composed many of his most admired works, including later symphonies, mature chamber music and the late piano sonatas. His only opera, Fidelio, first performed in 1805, was revised to its final version in 1814. He composed Missa solemnis between 1819 and 1823 and his final Symphony, No. 9, one of the first examples of a choral symphony, between 1822 and 1824. Written in his last years, his late string quartets, including the Grosse Fuge, of 1825–1826 are among his final achievements. After some months of bedridden illness, he died in 1827.
Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven]
Mnemonic
Ludwig van Beethoven – Top 5 Compositions Mnemonic – PPESS
(Picture Beethoven playing the piano with his two hands and a foot - pes is Latin for foot)
1. Piano Concerto No.3
2. Piano Sonata No.31
3. ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto
4. Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’
5. Symphony No.5
Five Fun Facts
1. Beethoven’s birth date is not known. What is known is his baptism and it is assumed that his birthday would be one or two days before this, as in the 18th century baptisms usually took place one or two days after birth because of the high death rate of infants.
2. Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany. He was surrounded by music with his father Johann van Beethoven a tenor at the Elector’s Court and his grandfather also a good musician.
3. Beethoven was nicknamed “The Spaniard” because he had dark hair and skin. It was later found that his darkened skin was the result of hemochromatosis.
4. Beethoven never married but had a penchant for married ladies. He was a romantic and two of his best compositions were for the fairer sex. Moonlight Sonata was written for Giulietta Guicciardi and the Piano Sonata No. 24 for Therese von Brunsvik.
5. As everyone is well aware Beethoven ended his life deaf. From his mid 20’s his hearing started to fail most likely a result of a childhood illness. However, this did not stop him from doing what he loved continuing to compose until his death in 1827.
Three Question Quiz
Q.1. Which famous composer did Beethoven study with? Options are Richard Strauss or Joseph Haydn
Q.2. What is the title of Beethoven's one and only opera?
Q.3. Which most famous composer once said of Beethoven "One day he will give the world something to talk about."
Bonus Q. How old was Beethoven when he died? Options are 36, 56 or 66
Bonus Q. What is the title of Beethoven’s only full-length ballet? Options are The Creatures of Prometheus or The Lady in the Ice
Mnemonic Recap
Ludwig van Beethoven – Top 5 Compositions Mnemonic – PPESS
(Picture Beethoven playing the piano with his two hands and a foot - pes is Latin for foot)
1. Piano Concerto No.3
2. Piano Sonata No.31
3. ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto
4. Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’
5. Symphony No.5
Three Question Quiz Answers
Q.1. Which famous composer did Beethoven study with? Options are Richard Strauss or Joseph Haydn
A. Joseph Haydn
Q.2. What is the title of Beethoven's one and only opera?
A. Fidelio
Q.3. Which most famous composer once said of Beethoven "One day he will give the world something to talk about."
A. Mozart
Bonus Q. How old was Beethoven when he died? Options are 36, 56 or 66
A. 56 years old and he died in 1827
Bonus Q. What is the title of Beethoven’s only full-length ballet? Options are The Creatures of Prometheus or The Lady in the Ice
A. The Creatures of Prometheus
Now just speaking of full-length Ballet’s, apparently Sylvester Stallone was looking to do a full-length movie on Beethoven. Anyway, he got together with his mates Van Damme and Schwarzenegger, and Stallone said, “I’ll play Beethoven”, then Van Damme said “I’ll be Mozart”, and Schwarzenegger said, I’ll be Bach!
Word of the Week
plaudit
[ plaw-dit ]
noun
an enthusiastic expression of approval.
Example
Beethoven’s first public performance at just age seven and half years old, was met with plaudits by a stunned audience in Cologne.
Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]
https://www.themnemonictreepodcast.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-mnemonic-tree-podcast/id1591795132
https://open.spotify.com/show/3T0LdIJ9PBQMXM3cdKd42Q?si=fqmaN2TNS8qqc7jOEVa-Cw
References
https://www.classicfm.com/composers/beethoven/best-pieces-ever-written/
https://culturezvous.com/en/who-was-ludwig-van-beethoven/
https://www.funtrivia.com/submitquiz.cfm
https://www.usefultrivia.com/music_trivia/beethoven_trivia.html