Two-hundred-fifty years ago, a musical maverick was born. Ludwig van Beethoven charted a powerful new course in music. His ideas may have been rooted in the work of European predecessors Wolfgang ...

Beethoven is famously known for having composed several of his masterpieces while being deaf. However, being deaf was really not the worst of his problems. He was haunted by ill health — chronic ...

As a short biography, John Burk’s The Life and Works of Beethoven is a welcome book. The author traces the development of the great composer, beginning with a charming discussion of life in the town ...

Composed in 1808 and dedicated to Prince Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz and Count Andrey Razumovsky, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony was his vivid work in F major, “Pastoral.” The work is open and expansive, ...

Many biographies have been written about Ludwig van Beethoven, and they all agree on one thing: he was a genius tormented by his family, financial and health circumstances. But these obstacles only ...