Early Life & Background
Beethoven was born in this city.
What is Bonn, Germany?
The total number of symphonies composed by Beethoven.
What is nine?
Beethoven’s music bridges these two major musical eras.
What are the Classical and Romantic eras?
Beethoven admired the ideals of this intellectual movement.
What is the Enlightenment?
Beethoven began to lose his hearing at about this age.
What is his late 20s?
This famous composer briefly taught Beethoven in Vienna.
Who is Joseph Haydn?
The Eroica Symphony was originally dedicated to this political leader.
Who is Napoleon Bonaparte?
This new quality of emotional depth became a hallmark of Beethoven’s style.
What is personal expression or drama?
These later composers were deeply influenced by Beethoven’s symphonies.
Who are Brahms, Wagner, or Schubert?
Beethoven wrote the Heiligenstadt Testament while visiting this village near Vienna.
What is Heiligenstadt?
Beethoven moved to this city to study and pursue his career.
Vienna
The Ode to Joy appears in this symphony.
What is Symphony No. 9?
Beethoven expanded this section of sonata form to increase dramatic tension.
What is the recapitulation section?
Beethoven’s music symbolized freedom and heroism during this major event.
What is the French Revolution
Beethoven continued composing despite deafness by relying on these sensations.
What are vibrations and musical memory?
At age 12, Beethoven published his first compositions in this genre.
What are Keyboard works?
The Moonlight Sonata was written for this instrument.
What is the piano?
Beethoven often replaced the elegant minuet with this energetic dance form.
What is the scherzo?
Beethoven’s career helped change the composer’s role from servant to this.
What is an independent artist?
This monumental piece represents Beethoven’s triumph over personal struggle and deafness.
What is Symphony No. 9
This nickname described Beethoven’s moody and intense personality.
What is the “angry genius”?
This symphony is often considered the first truly Romantic symphony.
What is Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”)?
This compositional device helped Beethoven unify long musical works.
What is motivic development?
Fidelio is Beethoven’s only work in this genre.
What is opera?
This late work shows Beethoven’s deep spirituality and innovation.
What is the Missa Solemnis (or the late string quartets)?