Talk:Life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven

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This article doesn't really go into his deafness so much. I'd really like to know more about it. I won't insult the article by saying its not complete, but I will suggest it subtly. =)

Yeago 05:59, 7 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Yes i agree!

The facts on Beethoven's deafness seem to have been exaggerated. There's an interesting long journal article whose work I'll summarize later this evening, probably in a new article dedicated to Beethoven' hearing. - Gyan 19:35, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] On Beethoven's Hearing

In 1994, George Thomas Ealy published his analysis of Beethoven's hearing perception in the journal 19th-Century Music: Of Ear Trumpets and a Resonance Plate: Early Hearing Aids and Beethoven's Hearing Perception. Below is my summary of the article.

Symptoms of hearing impairment first appeared between 1796 & 1798. The first letter in which deafness is mentioned, is his 29/06/1801 letter to his friend Wegeler, a Bonn physician. This letter places the onset of impairment in 1798. However, the Heiligenstadt Testament written in October 1802, places it six years prior i.e. 1796. In a letter to Karl Amenda in July 1801, Beethoven says, "when I am playing and composing, my affliction still hampers me least; it affects me most when I am in company.". Paget's disease as well as cochlear otosclerosis are considered leading candidates for his hearing impairment.

Carl Czerny claims that Beethoven heard music and speech "perfectly well until nearly 1812.". This is supported by the almost total lack of reference to hearing loss in any of Beethoven's correspondence between 1801 and 1810, and also by the fact that he did not start using hearing aids till 1812. After 1812, he started using ear trumpets designed by Johann Mälzel. Mälzel produced 4 trumpets of different sizes for hearing speech and music, 2 of which had attached headbands, allowing for free use of the hands at the keyboard. There is documentation that Beethoven could hear speech as late as 1825. There's also evidence that Beethoven could hear at the keyboard atleast till 1826, using a resonance plate designed by the firm of Conrad Graf. The Beethoven-Archiv (Bonn) confirms its existence, but neither the plate nor any representation has survived. The largest of the ear trumpets, 23 inches in length, has a cylindrical-shaped opening, which may have attached to a coupling from the resonance plate, allowing conjunctive use at the keyboard.

Beethoven described his hearing loss in detail in two letters to Wegeler. In the first letter, "In order to give you some idea of this strange deafness, let me tell you that in the theatre I have to place myself quite close to the orchestra in order to understand what the actor is saying, and that at a distance I cannot hear the high notes of instruments or voices ... Sometimes too I can scarcely hear a person who speaks softly; I can hear sounds, it is true, but cannot make out the words. But if anyone shouts, I can't bear it" In the second letter, Beethoven complains of tinnitus but says the symptom has improved. He also writes of a case study of a deaf and dumb kid, who reportedly recovered its hearing after being subjected to Luigi Galvani's treatment using electrostatic generators (galvanism).

His last public performance as a soloist was in 1808 (Piano Concerto 4); as an accompanist - May 1814 (Piano Trio 7 - Archduke).

Ealy provides five or six examples indicating that Beethoven could hear speech & music till 1812. One of the examples for speech: In a letter to Ferdinand Ries in 1804, Beethoven describes a disagreement with Stephan von Breuning, "at table, my brother began to talk about it and said he thought that B(reuning) was to blame in the matter. I promptly denied this and said that you were to blame...But on hearing my remark B(reuning) in a rage jumped up and declared he would like to send for the caretaker" One of the examples for music: In a letter to his publishers Breitkopf and Härtel in 1809, Beethoven writes, "Tomorrow you will receive a notice about some small corrections which I made during the performance of the symphonies -- When I gave these works to you, I had not yet heard either of them performed -- and should not want to be so like a god as not to have correct something here and there in one's created works."

By 1812 conversation with Beethoven required shouting. Louis Spohr notes that Beethoven was unaware of his own speech's volume. Starting in 1818, Beethoven began to rely on writing for communication. This practice resulted in conversation books; 400 of which existed in 1827. Elliot Forbes notes that this amount is insufficient for all conversations in that period, indeed months elapse without a single recorded conversation. Edward Schulz notes in 1823 of a conversation with Beethoven he particpated in, alongwith Tobias Haslinger, "I feared that he would not be able to understand one word of what I said, in this...I was much deceived, for he made out very well all that I addressed to him slowly and in a loud tone. From his answers it was clear, that not a particle of what Mr. H[aslinger] uttered had been lost, though neither the latter, nor myself, used a machine. From this you will justly conclude, that the accounts respecting his deafness lately spread in London, are much exaggerated.". As late as 1825, Beethoven engaged in spoken conversations with close friends, although they needed to speak distinctly and loud. There are no references to Beethoven understanding spoken conversation after this. Beethoven's hearing fluctuated. Wawruch was his physician during his terminal illness in 1827, and describes Beethoven' history of hearing as such: "His hearing began to fail [after age 30] and, for all he would often enjoy untroubled intervals lasting for months at a time".

Several extracts from Beethoven's letters indicate that he was able to hear performed music as late as 1822. Wieck, father of Clara Wieck Schumann, visited Beethoven in 1826, heard Beethoven improvise, and commented favorably on his playing: "Then he improvised for me during an hour, after he had mounted his ear-trumpet and placed it on the resonance-plate on which already stood the pretty well battered, large grand piano, with its very powerful, rough tone...He played in a flowing, genial manner, for the most part orchestrally ... weaving in the clearest and most charming melodies."

The commonly held belief that Beethoven was functionally deaf should be dismissed. He had limited hearing when he composed his late works, but was not completely deaf.

Please feel free to incorporate the above material into the various Beethoven articles.

- Gyan 18:19, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Typo

The name "Beethoven" is misspelt at at least one place on this page. (218.228.195.44 13:55, 16 July 2006 (UTC))

Needs pics. íslenskur fellibylur #12 (samtal) 13:05, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Beethoven's 10th Symphony

Walter Weller's edition of the complete Beethoven symphonies has an arrangement of Beethoven's sketches for the first movement of the tenth symphony. Is there any controversy related to this or is it worth adding to the page? --Scottandrewhutchins

[edit] Beethoven's family...

I would like to question the claim that Beethoven had seven siblings, though all but two died in infancy. I believe this is a disputed fact about the life of Beethoven, and should be cited properly since there seems to be a fair amount of people around who do dispute it.

Detractors

http://www.madaboutbeethoven.com/pages/people_and_places/people_family/people_family.htm

"...Beethoven was neither the ninth child nor the fifth child of his parents. He was the eldest - strictly the number two, but his eldest brother died in infancy, as was common in those days..."

Richard Dawkins, "The God Delusion"

I've seen a bit around about seven children though most died in early infancy, so I just want someone to cite some published works on Beethoven on this before we accept it as factual.

Gapperjack 23:33, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Interesting facts about Beethoven

I think you should have some interesting facts about beethoven. I found out that Beethoven would get great big jugs of water and pour them into his hands and the water would go right through the floorboards and soak the guy living below him. Ha —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.145.151.151 (talk) 22:33, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Beethoven's Youth

Is there a citation for Beethoven's father being abusive? The books I've read say that he was an alcoholic, and it became particularly worse after Beethoven's mother died, but I haven't read anything about him being abusive. Also, it says that Beethoven's father tried to exploit him as a child prodigy by incorrectly advertising his age; from what I've read his father was "unambitious" in teaching Ludwig how to play music, and there had been honest mistakes on Beethoven's actual age. From what this article says, it makes Beethoven sound like he was forced into becoming the great musician he was through his father's ambitious, abusive, maybe self-indulgent schemes, which couldn't be further from the truth. I'm mostly getting this conflict in information from "The Life of Beethoven" by David Wyn Jones. ARBlackwood (talk) 03:21, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Disregard that. Another book, "Beethoven" by Barry Cooper seems to contradict what Jone's says. It mentions that Johann was a strict teacher and "was so severe it sometimes brought the boy to tears." Still no mention of being beaten though; I stick by that notion. I'm going to assume Cooper is a more reliable source (Oxford University Press) than Jones (Cambridge University Press). ARBlackwood (talk) 03:44, 23 April 2008 (UTC)