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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German composer. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of music, and was the predominant figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music. His reputation and genius have inspired — and in many cases intimidated — ensuing generations of composers, musicians, and audiences. While primarily known today as a composer, he was also a celebrated pianist and conductor, and an accomplished violinist.

Born in Bonn, Germany, he moved to Vienna, Austria, in his early twenties, and settled there, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. In his late twenties he began to lose his hearing gradually, and yet he continued to produce notable masterpieces throughout his life, even when his deafness was almost total. Beethoven was one of the first composers who worked as a freelance — arranging subscription concerts, selling his compositions to publishers, and gaining financial support from a number of wealthy patrons — rather than being permanently employed by the church or by an aristocratic court.

Beethoven was one of the greatest masters of musical construction, sometimes sketching the architecture of a movement before he had the subject-matter more than dimly in his mind. He was one of the first composers to systematically and consistently use interlocking thematic devices, or "germ-motives", to achieve inter-movement unity in long compositions. Equally remarkable was his use of "source-motives", which recurred in many different compositions and lent some unity to his life's work. He made innovations in almost every form of music he touched. For example, he diversified even such a well-crystallized form as the rondo, making it more elastic and spacious, which brought it closer to sonata form.

Beethoven's most recognized, concrete, and original contributions can be grouped into five types, though these are by no means exhaustive:

1) The sonata-form movement of titanic and elemental struggle (string quartets Op. 18 No. 4 and Op. 95; the Eroica, 5th, and 9th ("Choral") Symphonies; and the piano sonats 5,21,23,29,32. Triple Concerto, 0p.56.)

2) The scherzo of tumultuous, headlong humor and intoxicating energy (string quartets Op. 18 No. 6, Op. 59 No. 1, Op. 130, and Op. 131; the 7th and 9th Symphonies; the piano sonata in G Op. 14; the violin sonata in F Op. 24; and the cello sonata in A Op. 69).

3) The ethereal slow movement of mystic glorification (7 th and 9th symphony; string quartets Op. 59 No. 2, Op. 127, Op. 132, and Op. 135; the piano sonatas Op.31 Quasi Una Fantasia, Op. 106 called the Große Sonate für das Hammerklavier, E Major Op. 109, and C minor Op. 111; the 5th piano concerto; the Benedictus of the Missa Solemnis; and the Archduke piano trio Op. 97).

4) The noble slow movements of supreme classical beauty and powerful emotional expression, revealing great nobility of spirit; the 4th piano concerto, the slow second movements of the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th symphonies; piano sonata 26 Das Lebewohl, piano sonata 23, the Triple Concerto.

5) The expansion and weight given to the 'symphonic' finale (the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th symphonies; the Waldstein and Große Sonate für das Hammerklavier piano sonatas; and the Große Fuge - the original finale from the string quartet in B-flat, Op. 130).

Beethoven composed in a great variety of genres, including symphonies, concerti, piano sonatas, other sonatas (including for violin), string quartets and other chamber music, masses, an opera, lieder, and various other genres. He is viewed as one of the most important transitional figures between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history.

As far as musical form is concerned, Beethoven worked from the principles of sonata form and motivic development that he had inherited from Haydn and Mozart, but greatly extended them, writing longer and more ambitious movements.

In the Early period, he is seen as emulating his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart, while concurrently exploring new directions and gradually expanding the scope and ambition of his work. Some important pieces from the Early period are the first and second symphonies, the first six string quartets, the first three piano concertos, and the first twenty piano sonatas, including the famous Pathétique and Moonlight.

The Middle period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis centering around his encroaching deafness. The period is noted for large-scale works expressing heroism and struggle; these include many of the most famous works of classical music. Middle-period works include six symphonies (Nos. 3–8), the fourth and fifth piano concertos, the triple concerto and violin concerto, five string quartets (Nos. 7–11), the next seven piano sonatas including the Waldstein, and Appassionata, and his only opera, Fidelio.

Beethoven's Late period began around 1816. The Late-period works are greatly admired for their characteristic intellectual depth, their intense and highly personal expression, and experimentation with forms (for example, the Quartet in C Sharp Minor has seven linked movements, and his Ninth Symphony adds choral forces to the orchestra in the last movement). Works of this period also includes the Missa Solemnis, the last five string quartets, and the last five piano sonatas.

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