B Essay, Research Paper

Beethoven/Mozart

Music, Ludwig Van Beethoven and W.A. Mozart are the two most important musicians of their time. Their pieces are everlasting and will live on forever. Their styles are so unique and uplifting that they could never be matched. These masterminds played in the same time period but their lives differed tremendously. There are some similarities and many differences between these two but one fact will remain: They are the central and most vital part of all music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was one of the most prolific and important musical innovators we have ever seen. His style of music helped re-shape music and the Classical period. Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756. Mozart was a child prodigy, claiming most success as a youth. At the age of six, Mozart could play the harpsichord and violin, improvise fugues, write minuets, and read music perfectly. At the age of eight, he wrote a symphony and at eleven, an oratorio. Then amazingly, at the age of twelve he wrote an opera. Mozart’s father was Leopold Mozart, a court musician. Both Mozart and Beethoven had help from their fathers in different ways. Mozart’s father helped him travel around as a young musician and with this he traveled many places and seen many well-known people and aristocrats. With Mozart’s early successes came many challenges to his life. He had greater expectations from the community and from his father. Unlike, Beethoven, Mozart was a bit spoiled as a youth and because of this he would not tolerate to be treated as a servant. He completely relied on his father to help him and would not work with the archbishop. This would become a problem when Mozart did not develop enough initiative and could not make decisions on his own. Then, at age 25, Mozart broke free of Salzburg and became a freelance musician in Vienna. This is where Mozart found some success. He wrote, Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, a German opera in 1782. Mozart earned a living giving lessons and holding concerts. Mozart later wrote Don Giovanni and The marriage of Figaro and these were highly acclaimed pieces. Eventually, Mozart’s popularity faded and his music was found to be too complicated and hard to follow. Mozart’s music was very versatile and his masterpieces were in many forms. His piano concertos are very important and are popular pieces. Mozart was also a master of the opera, writing many popular operas in his time. During his last year, Mozart was more successful. He wrote and opera and a Requiem, which he did not finish. W.A. Mozart’s great passion in his work can be felt in many of his various works and his style is that of the utmost perfection and can never be replicated. Mozart died in 1791, in Vienna at the age of just 35. Ludwig Van Beethoven came in the later part of the Classical Period and helped bridge this period with the Romantic era. Beethoven is considered by many the greatest musician to ever play and is a mere genius. His influence is felt today and will continue to be felt throughout time, with his pieces being so dramatic and profound that they will never be lost. Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770, into a family of musicians. Beethoven was not as much a child star as Mozart but did accomplish many things as a youth. Beethoven played for Mozart at age sixteen and Mozart said, “Keep your eyes on him; some day he will give the world something to talk about.” When Beethoven was twenty-two he left Germany and went to Vienna, to study with Joseph Haydn. Beethoven had a extremely rough upbringing, with his father being an alcoholic and a very abusive person. Many of Beethoven’s works are based on the horrendous experiences he had growing up. Beethoven had two brothers, both younger. Beethoven’s father died when he was young, so he was forced to take care of the family. Beethoven was a self-educated, very vain and self-absorbed man. He had very high expectations and was often said to have very rude and disastrous behavior. Beethoven refused to be a servant and refused to be told what to do, claiming that he should be treated as an artist and deserved more respect than an average person. Beethoven was struck with what would be his greatest downfall; deafness. This occurred in 1802 when doctors learned that he was in fact becoming deaf and there was nothing that could be done to help. This impairment reshaped his music. This led the way to a very tense and exciting side of his pieces. Beethoven’s music differs with Mozart’s in that is more intense and has a greater range of pitch and dynamics. Beethoven’s greatest pieces are his symphonies, which can be heard today as often as in his days. Beethoven was a very good innovator with his variations to music. Compared to Mozart, Beethoven tried to unify contrasting movements by means of musical continuity. Often times Beethoven’s music would not have a clear ending and were dragged out a bit longer than expected. Beethoven died in 1827, in Vienna.