Musical Career of Beethoven - Research Paper Example

?To the casual observer it may seem as something impossible that an individual that was entirely and completely deaf could continue to create complexworks of classical music. However, this was very much the case with regards to the character of Beethoven. Although it cannot be said that his deafness did not impact upon his production of classical music during his lifetime, it can be said that this condition did not stop him entirely from creating some of the most complex and beautiful works that the classical period can boast. As a function of understanding the impacts that Beethoven’s deafness had, the following analysis will consider his career; focusing especially upon those years in which partial or complete deafness defined the reality that he lived in. As a function of such a unit of understanding, the analysis will seek to be particular concentric around the years that Beethoven’s hearing progressively became worse. Whereas he remains one of the most well recognized and famous classical composers, scholars still debate what the ultimate cause of Beethoven’s hearing loss might have been. Beethoven himself described its onset as a troublesome ringing in his ears. Medical professionals at that time as well as today believe that the condition could have been brought on by an acute illness that he suffered during early adulthood. Whatever the cause, Beethoven began to experience a noticeable level of hearing loss by the age of 26. Scholars are aware of this due to the fact that it was at this age that Beethoven first mentioned that the hearing loss was troubling him in his correspondence to friends and family. As one might expect, for someone as passionate about music as was Beethoven, such a loss was tantamount to complete and total defeat and desolation. Within his own correspondence it was noted that he even experienced suicidal thoughts at times due to the fact that the hearing loss was affecting his ability to maintain a positive and optimistic attitude. As such, bouts of severe depression ensued by which Beethoven contemplated ending his life. However, the hearing loss was gradual and Beethoven was not aware at any one particular point during the hearing loss process that he would ultimately be entirely and completely deaf. Although a definitive date does not exist by which Beethoven completely and entirely could be considered deaf, it is widely reported that the first time he experienced complete and total deafness was at the premier of the 9th symphony; arguably his magnum opus. At this time, Beethoven reportedly went out on the stage at the conclusion of the symphony and was greeted by rapturous applause. However, due to the fact that he could not hear this, he felt initially that his work was a commercial and professional failure and began to cry heavily.1 Even this debacle and embarrassment was not enough to discourage Beethoven from performing publically. Several public performances with Beethoven as a featured musician took place following the debacle of the 9th Symphony. However, during the performance of the Piano Concerto No. 5, Beethoven was forced to allow his student Carl Czerny to perform as he could no longer hear the music or the beat and keep time with the other musicians. Though it is true that Beethoven was not completely and entirely deaf at this stage, he was unable to hear certain pitches of music and could only hear the very lowest bass notes. Recent scholarship into Beethoven’s music after the year 1814 notes the fact that his loss of hearing helped to alter the music after this period of time as compared to the music composed before it. What is meant by this is that the music prior to 1814 included something of an equal composition of both high pitches and low pitches within the score. Although it is true that there remain a profound number of high pitches within Beethoven’s music post 1814 (or after the time in which acute hearing loss profoundly impacted upon the way in which he composed music), it can be readily noted that as a direct result of his hearing loss, he was unable to appreciate or even recognize the pitch or meaning of these higher notes.2 As such, a profoundly higher percentage of low notes and are evidenced within the music that he composed post 1814. Another aspect of his music that continues to be debated is whether or not the rise in dissonant melodies post 1814 can be attributed to his deafness or whether or this was merely the result of the fact that Beethoven was evolving with the musical times and sought to integrate a new level of development within his compositions.3 Although the former is not without merit, it is likely the alter which is the most likely. As with contemporary musicians, Beethoven was continually on the lookout for means by which he could strengthen his music and seek to differentiate it from the litany of other classical music pieces that were pervading Europe at this time. In short, seeking to produce the same type of music again and again may have been nominally rewarding from a monetary standpoint; however, as an artist, Beethoven, as well as others, saw it more important to seek to develop upon new concepts and integrate with new ideas within the score of their respective music. In such a way, it is the view of this author that although a heightened level of dissonance is exhibited within Beethoven’s later pieces, this can be attributed to the development of new ideas and not the fact that he was somehow incapable of understanding basic musical theory with regards to what chords corresponded and what chords clashed. Moreover, the researcher and the reader should keep in mind the fact that Beethoven was trained from an early age by some of the most talented minds within musical theory that existed within Europe.4 As such, the level and extent to which he was likely to make such a technical error merely due to a lack of hearing is minimal to say the least. Some scholars have argued that Beethoven’s musical ability was actually improved due to the fact that his isolation to the world provided him with a rich context to develop intricate harmony and melody. However, it is the belief of this author that the years after his hearing loss would have been just as prolific and just as talented had Beethoven retained his hearing for the entirety of his life. This statement is but a tacit belief of course and cannot be proven due to the fact that it is merely a hypothetical. However, from a contextual understanding of the level of talent that Beethoven exhibited even during his earliest years, it is unfair to assume that any other representation might have been effected during the peak or final years of his life. However, Beethoven’s hearing loss cannot and should not be seen as detrimental to the historical understanding of precisely who Beethoven was and what type of interests or fascinations he had.5 Rather, an interesting aspect of Beethoven’s hearing loss, from the standpoint of the historical record, was the fact that he began to utilize and keep what were termed as “conversation books” by biographers and historians. These conversation books held within their pages the conversations, written by hand, that Beethoven held with those individuals that came to call on him at his abode and sought out his advice on topics related to music or philosophy. It is estimated by historians that upwards of 400 of these conversation books remain and help to shed a valuable level of insight into the character and thoughts of Beethoven that would otherwise not exist. Effectively, Beethoven’s deafness, although impacting upon his mental health, likely did not heavily impact upon the talents that he could have brought to bear had he not been deaf in his later years. Although it would be foolish to say that his deafness did not impact upon his music whatsoever, an alternate and perhaps more realistic approach that this author has integrated with is the fact that the condition of deafness contributed to the development of new ideas and the utilization of new techniques that would have never been developed had a direct need for such tools not been realized in the first place. As an artist and a composer, many of Beethoven’s techniques can be seen as a direct outgrowth of his deafness; however, by the same token, seeking to label each and every aspect of how Beethoven integrated with the music and sought to have it developed as somehow indicative of his condition is both presumptuous and foolish. The world will never know what might have been had Beethoven never become deaf; however, even though this condition was doubtless a horror for him and for his loved ones, he was able to pull victory from adversity and prove that even with such a damning handicap, the genius of his music could still be appreciated by audiences of his time as well as the current era. Bibliography Fulford, Robert, Jane Ginsborg, and Juliet Goldbart. 2011. "Learning not to listen: the experiences of musicians with hearing impairments." Music Education Research 13, no. 4: 447-464. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed July 25, 2013). Fritz, Harold. 1924. "Beethoven." Time 3, no. 8: 20. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed July 25, 2013). Jones, T. (2008). Beethoven's Odyssey: Going Deaf, Composing by Candlelight. Legal Studies Forum, 32(2), 529. Knittel, K. M. (1995). Imitation, Individuality, and Illness: Behind Beethoven's 'Three Styles'. Beethoven Forum (University Of Nebraska Press), 4(1), 17. Moesch, C. (2011). See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary. Library Journal, 136(12), 49. Read More