Ludwig van Beethoven was baptised on December 17th 1770 at Bonn. His family originated from Brabant, in Belgium. His father was musician at the Court of Bonn, with a definite weakness for drink. His mother was always described as a gentle, retiring woman, with a warm heart. Beethoven referred to her as his “best friend”. The Beethoven family consisted of seven children, but only the three boys survived, of whom Beethoven was the eldest.

In 1782, before the age of 12, Beethoven published his first work: 9 variations, in C Minor, for Piano, on a march by Ernst Christoph Dressler (WoO 63). And the following year, in 1783, Neefe wrote in the “Magazine of Music”, about his student: “If he continues like this he will be, without doubt, the new Mozart”.

Here you can listen to 3 great works of  this artist. Read More »

A sophisticated system of instrumental music theory was developed in Ancient Greece that still greatly influences music theory today. The Greeks’ commitment to logical thought, abstraction, and classification enabled them to surpass all previous civilizations in terms of musical organization and complexity, and all later generations of western instrumental music would draw from this established base. Read More »