Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) has a reputation as the angry
Titan of the Classical music period. But Bonn's most famous son,
writer of the momentous Fifth Symphony, also composed the
touching piano piece Für Elise. His Ode to Joy has been the
European anthem since 1972. Both Beethoven's father and
grandfather were singers at the Elector of Cologne's court in
Bonn, and it was that orchestra's members who gave Ludwig his
musical education. He first performed as a pianist at the age of
seven in Bonn. The court kapellmeister himself called the boy a
'second Mozart'. In 1792 Beethoven left his home to study with
Joseph Haydn in Vienna. The Austrian capital was where he
composed all his famous works, for instance the nine symphonies,
the five piano concertos, the 32 piano sonatas, the 16 string
quartets and his opera Fidelio. Because Beethoven never held a
post at a royal court, he was hailed as a civil society
figurehead and visionary. His determined, often heroic music is
still today interpreted as the express