Ludwig van Beethoven was born in what is now Belgium on December 17, 1770. He was a composer and pianist and part of the "bridge" between the Classical Era and the Romantic Era in music. A contemporary of Wolfgang Mozart and Joseph Haydn, he is one of the best-known musicians of his time, even today. He composed 9 symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, and 5 concertos for piano. He began to lose his hearing when he was 30 or so, and by the time he was 56, he was totally deaf, though that didn't stop him from composing music. He died on March 26, 182y, and while the cause of death is unknown, an autopsy showed he had significant liver damage. There is an ongoing debate about what caused his death, with various experts putting forth syphilis, hepatitis, lead poisoning, sarcoidosis, alcoholic cirrhosis, and Whipple's disease. He funeral procession was undertaken on March 29, and it is estimated that more than 20,000 people attended.
Regular Blogs
Contains information about Ludwig van Beethoven, his life, his music, his passion for his work, and his death.
http://v-beethoven.blogspot.com
The focus of this weblog is the life and music of Beethoven. The blogger states his goal as being to post something interesting about the composer each day.
http://lvbandmore.blogspot.com
This blog is maintained by Beethoven fanatics whose mission is to find every work of Beethoven and make it available in audio. The discussions here are about the project, the process, and the music itself. It also offers downloadable audio files.
http://unheardbeethoven.org/the-unheard-blog/
