Playing in public.

Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, on December 16 or 17,1770. His father and his grandfather were both musicians.
    Beethoven exposed his own musical talent when he was very young. His father, an irresponsible drunkard, hoped the boy would be a profitable child prodigy like Mozart. Beethoven was dragged out of bed in the middle of the night and forced to practise the piano. At the age of 7 he was playing in public. When Beethoven was 13, the elector of Cologne made him assistant organist at his chapel in Bonn.
    In 1787 Beethoven traveled to Vienna and met his idol, Mozart. When Beethoven improvised on a melody that Mozart had given him, the great master was amazed. It is said that Mozart remarked, "This young man will leave his print in the world some day".
    But Beethoven could not stay in Vienna. His mother fell ill, and he rushed back to Bonn. The death of his mother left Beethoven and his brothers at the mercy of the drunken father. At the age of 18 Beethoven had to assume full responsibility for the family.
    In 1792 Beethoven returned to Vienna, where he spent the rest of his life. He became a pupil of Haydn’s but dissatisfied with his method of teaching, which he considered not thorough enough. In order not to offend the famous master, he took lessons in secret from another composer, Johann Schenk.
    A short, stocky man, untidily dressed, with dark, piercing eyes and a wild shock of black hair, Beethoven presented a strange appearance to the people of Vienna. Knowing himself to be a genius, he lived by his own rules. He refused to bow down to the nobility. He was a man of violent temper and was often rude, even to his closest friends. Goethe, the great German poet, called him an "utterly untamed personality".
    Nevertheless, he quickly became well-known. Several princes became his patrons, and for a few years he was happy. Then tragedy struck. He discovered that he was slowly becoming deaf. This was the great crisis of his life. In a letter to his brother, in 1802, Beethoven portrayed his growing deafness and his life loneliness. "I must live like an exile," he wrote, "I almost put an end to my life. It was only art that withheld me.
    After that Beethoven’s music became profound. He developed a completely original style of composing. It reflected his violent emotions, his sufferings and joys. At this time Beethoven composed the most popular of all symphonies, his fifth.
    In 1815, Beethoven’s hearing problems steadily increased; by 1820 he was almost totally deaf and had to carry on all conversation in writing.
    In 1826, Beethoven became seriously ill. It is said that as he lay unconsciously on his deathbed, on March 26,1827, there was a loud clap of thunder. In response Beethoven sat straight up, shook his fist at the heavens, and fell back dead.
    Beethoven is perhaps the most popular and respected of composers. He was a man of profound vision and his music has deeply moved its listeners for generations.
    In 1970, the 200th anniversary of his birth was celebrated all over the worid with a great many performances of his music.