Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German
composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most
admired composers in the history of Western music; his
works rank amongst the most performed of the classical
music repertoire. His works 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. The "early" period,
during which he forged his craft, is typically
considered to have las...(+)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German
composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most
admired composers in the history of Western music; his
works rank amongst the most performed of the classical
music repertoire. His works 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. The "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 "classical" styles of Joseph Haydn
and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes
characterized as "heroic". During this time he began to
suffer increasingly from deafness. In his "late" period
from 1812 to his death in 1827, he extended his
innovations in musical form and expression.
Born in Bonn, Beethoven's musical talent was obvious at
an early age, and 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 he was soon courted 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,
appeared in 1800, and his first set of string quartets
was published in 1801. During this period, his hearing
began to deteriorate, but 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, was premiered in 1810, but
not with 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).
In the years from 1810, increasingly less socially
involved, Beethoven composed many of his most admired
works including his later symphonies and his mature
chamber music and piano sonatas. His only opera,
Fidelio, which had been first performed in 1805, was
revised to its final version in 1814. He composed his
Missa Solemnis in the years 1819–1823, and his final,
Ninth, Symphony, one of the first examples of a choral
symphony, in 1822–1824. Written in his last years,
his late string quartets of 1825–26 are amongst his
final achievements. After some months of bedridden
illness, he died in 1827. Beethoven's works remain
mainstays of the classical music repertoire.
Choral Fugue in G Major appears as Nr.2 in Nottebohm's
Beethovens Studien, Chapter VII, p. 120, as corrected
by Albrechtsberger and dates from about 1794-95. In
these fugues written for Albrechtsberger we see the
lion condemned to a diet of only vegetable soup. The
aim of these lessons is to master the polyphonic style
of Da Palestrina (1525-1594).
Although Beethoven had already reached considerable
heights in his own music at this time, in these fugues
we see him surrender his creative powers in order to
conform to the strict, and often petty, rules of his
teacher. He did so because he understood that he had to
learn things which were of the essence for his art:
polyphony taught him not only to improve his voice
leading, it is also, and has been throughout the
centuries, the engine behind all harmonic innovation.
Rather than the arrogant genius who rejects all outside
influence, Beethoven is eager to learn from a style
which is, viewed superficially, diametrically opposed
to his own.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven)
Although originally composed for Choir, I created this
Interpretation of the Choral Fugue in D Minor (Hess 239
No. 2) for Woodwind Quintet (Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet,
French Horn & Bassoon).