Ludwig van Beethoven was fourteen years younger than Mozart. We can say that they lived almost at the same time, breathing the air of the same epoch. Why, then, did they think differently, and did their works sound in completely different languages?
Wise teachers tell us that “talented music is capable of reflecting reality”. This means that brilliant composers capture in their works the main, epoch-making events, of which they are contemporaries. Grand events are reflected not only in music. They are most tangibly represented in painting and sculpture. For example, the brilliant Spanish artist Francisco Goya managed very brightly and truly to capture on the canvas the bloody breath of his eerie era of the medieval Inquisition with its torture, the burning of heretics, the humiliation of man. The Renaissance overcame the obscurantism of the Middle Ages. Has glorified the Man. I saw in him the highest value. The ideas of humanism began to shine on the canvases of Leonardo da Vinci (“Gioconda”, “The Lady with an Ermine”, “Portrait of a Musician”), Raphael (“The Holy Family”, “Sistine Madonna”), Michelangelo (“The Last Judgment”, the statue “David”) . At about the same time in Russia, the images of the saints on the icons of Rublev became more realistic, humane. The artists of the XIX and XX centuries preserved for posterity the memory of the atrocities of the war and the greatness of the Victory: “The apotheosis of war” V.V. Vereshchegina, “Guernica” P. Picasso, “The Fascist Flew by” A.A. Plastova, “Defense of Sevastopol” A.A. Deineka.
Musicians no less vividly, and perhaps even more emotionally draw their own era, using the colors that time gives them. Medieval music (476-1400) lived in temples, was tightly connected with the life of the Church, served its rites. The palette of colors was sent down from heaven. Therefore, the dominant feature of that music was religious subjects. Then came the Musical Renaissance (1400-1600gg.): After the decline in the role of the Church in society, secular, non-religious genres began to gain momentum. Church music in this period also changed: it became more mature, deep, and profound. In the Baroque era (1600-1750), the emotionality and complexity of music increased markedly. There are more musical decorations. The period of Classicism (1750-1800) was characterized by some weakening of the external beauty and ornamentation of musical works. The climax has become noticeably brighter. Emotional saturation increased even more. The most prominent spokesmen of musical Classicism were J. Haydn, V.A. Mozart and to a certain extent L. van Beethoven.
Following the logic of this classification of musical epochs, it would be logical to conclude that in the works of Mozart and Beethoven there must be more similarities than differences. In fact, if in some ways they were similar, it is, perhaps, only by their talent. For many musical elements (ideas, musical images, themes, style) they were categorically different, like newcomers from different galaxies.
The reason for their dissimilarity was not only and not so much that Mozart was by nature a soft, gentle, non-conflict man, and Beethoven, by contrast, had a rebellious restless temperament.
Then what are the true reasons for the dissimilarity of the musical works of two geniuses? Why did they, living in practically one era, "sing" two completely different Europe?
The reason lies in the enormous events for the fate of all mankind, the events that began in Europe in 1789, when Beethoven was nineteen years old, and Mozart was left to live for two years. It was in 1789. there was a huge gap between the past and the future of mankind. Wolfgang Mozart just did not have time to take a step forward from the passing era ... He remained flesh and blood of the singer of Classicism. However, we will talk about this universal scale event a bit later. And now a few stories about the young years of Beethoven.
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770. in the city of Bonn, Germany. His grandfather, also named Ludwig, came to German lands from Flanders (a medieval county with Dutch roots). Thanks to his professional musical background, he was included in the court chapel (orchestra in the Catholic Church) of the elector-archbishop of Cologne.
The son of his grandfather, Johann, performed in the same chapel. He sang well. He had a talent. However, little was done for the family. Led a hectic lifestyle, drank a lot. He and his wife, Mary Magdalena Lime (her father was a cook), had seven children. Ludwig and his two younger brothers survived.
The family lived in poverty. My father believed that Ludwig could enrich his family by repeating the experience of the “wonderful” ascension of young Mozart to the musical Olympus. He was very cruel to his son. The first attempt of the public performance of eight Beethoven was not too successful. This cooled father's plans. Disappointed in his hopes, he became even less engaged with his son. Nevertheless, the purposeful Ludwig learned to play the piano and the violin well. Somewhat later, he mastered viola, flute and organ. Over time, he became a virtuoso pianist. And yet, the knowledge he received was superficial, unsystematic, very far from those that Mozart possessed at the same age. Nevertheless, these skills were enough for Ludwig to be accepted into the court orchestra — it was necessary to earn money. He became an assistant organist, and later became the accompanist of the court theater, met there with the works of Shakespeare, Moliere, Lessing.
Beethoven’s training and career actually began at the age of twelve, when he became a student of Bonn’s court organist K.G. The nave. The musical development of Ludwig was also contributed by the Archduke Maximilian Franz, the Elector (imperial prince) of Cologne.
Composer activities began in 1782. Ludwig composed variations for clavier on the theme of the march of the composer E.Kh. Dressler. I must say that Beethoven, unlike Mozart, the composition of music was not so easy. Ludwig did not always succeed immediately, from the first, as the artists say, brush stroke, to achieve the desired result. It happened that he had to repeatedly recycle almost every musical phrase. Be that as it may, in childhood and youth Ludwig, although he wrote almost fifty different works, but by this criterion was many times inferior to the more successful Wolfgang.
Young Beethoven sought to become an educated man. Despite the fact that, due to the circumstances, he graduated only from the lower school, nevertheless, he very early became interested in ancient mythology and literature, the poetry of Schiller and Goethe. When the opportunity presented itself, he began to attend lectures on philosophy at the University of Bonn. Gradually learned Latin, Italian and French. Even then, Ludwig began to form a great will, the ability to concentrate on achieving the goal.
When he was sixteen years old, he (with the assistance of the archduke and some rich families of Bonn) went to study music in Vienna. There, in the musical capital of Europe, he met with thirty-year-old Mozart, already recognized as a master, the leading figure of European culture. Mozart highly appreciated the talent of the young Beethoven: “He will make everyone talk about himself!” Unfortunately, the great musician did not succeed in learning. Suddenly, the news came about a serious illness of the mother, and only he, the eldest son, could help her, including financially. Mozart managed to give only a few lessons to Beethoven. The young man hastily went home. He returned to Vienna, forever, only five years later. Unfortunately, the creative union of two giants, which could increase the musical potential of Beethoven, did not take place.
They say that history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood (“and what would have happened if ...”). And yet we have the right to assume that Beethoven, repeatedly reinforced enriched with the knowledge and experience of Mozart, would make an even greater reformist contribution to world culture. It should be emphasized that even without a hypothetical Mozart contribution to Beethoven’s musical gene pool, Ludwig was recognized as the brightest, most unsurpassed musician of all times and peoples. If for a moment we admit the possibility of a different course of music history, and Beethoven’s talent really multiplied, then, presumably, it would not have come the era of romanticism (1820-1900), but a short period of confusion, stagnation, which would be replaced by the hypertrophied active period of Modernism. We looked at such a fictional turn in world music history with one goal. I once again wanted to show you that the course of global events can be influenced by a powerful purposeful Person, who boldly draws on and absorbs the knowledge accumulated by previous generations. Become such a person!
One can endlessly argue about the influence of Mozart on the creative fate of Beethoven. But what is beyond doubt is the enormous influence on him of the events that began in Europe in 1789, which we mentioned earlier.
Dear friend, love the story. She will help you to open many secrets connected not only with politics, but also with art. Now we will try to figure out why Beethoven’s music made a sharp turn and, breaking the usual evolutionary course of development, went, more precisely, flew, ascended a revolutionary trajectory.
So, dive into the story. In 1789 The French Revolution began, influencing the whole course of world politics. The revolution broke the old social order, in which there was an extreme impoverishment of the majority of the French against the background of the exorbitant enrichment of the monarchist royal family and the small privileged classes of the country. As a result of a change in the social system, the democratization of the country, a more progressive, more equitable society emerged. New reform ideas began to spread throughout the world. In this you can see the positive significance of the French Revolution, which many call the Great. Most of the Europeans, including Beethoven, were inspired by these changes.
But the revolution had a different, tragic, bloody side. For fifteen years, the revolutionary struggle of the new order with the old in France claimed nearly two million lives. And this is without taking into account casualties during the hostilities of the French Napoleonic army in European countries. On the battlefields resulting from those revolutionary events, about two million people were also killed. And if we add to this the victims of epidemics and famine ...
The terrible outcome of the revolution was the fact that every sixth Frenchman died in France over the years!
The huge, ever-increasing number of victims of political terror in France led to the fact that the guillotine invented in this camp for the destruction of people, no longer had time to do its terrible thing. She was replaced by guns. Terror has accelerated its steps.
The bloody side of the revolution, as well as the bright progressive component of the great changes, led to a sharp polarization of good and evil, to the radicalization of the views of Europeans. And on the contrary, moderation, prudence, compromise in the thoughts and actions of Europeans for many years receded into the background.
The tectonic shifts in European capitals, the earthquake in the minds of millions, the Napoleonic blood tsunami sweeping through all of Europe - all of this went through Beethoven's hypersensitive heart. He was also depressed by the fact that, because of his youth, immaturity, he could not become the forerunner of the revolution, an active participant in the events. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that only a passive, contemplative role fell to his lot.
Another tragic contradiction in the fate of Beethoven drained his soul. Being a fierce advocate of personal freedom, he at the same time consciously, voluntarily became a slave to his historical and cultural mission. It was inhumanly difficult to walk the chosen path. But a hundred times harder - to abandon the intended path ...
Childhood and adolescence ended. Somehow very quickly he turned into a thousand-year-old sage, detached from worldly vanity. His worldview gap with his contemporaries around him reached insurmountable values. The explosive, rebellious, freedom-loving traits of his character radically intensified. Originating from a difficult childhood, closeness, harshness and even rudeness reached their maximum.
Some of you may doubt whether the revolutionary events in France really could have so dramatically affected Beethoven? In order to understand this question, I was somehow offered (on condition that I agree to this experiment with my parents) to read non-stop for at least half an hour any serious analytical material about the tragic side of the Great French Revolution. Believe that very soon I was seized by anxiety, horror, hopelessness, catastrophe. It seemed to me that a little more, and I would fall into a not very pleasant psychological state. I looked in the mirror. Even after such a fleeting immersion in that era, I saw a seemingly familiar reflection in the mirror, but with some unnaturally wide open, slightly frightened eyes, disheveled hair and a detached look! But I looked there from a safe distance of two hundred years! You have to admit that watching the tragedy film “The Crew”, sitting in a comfortable chair in a cinema, and actually being on board an aircraft crashing is not the same thing ...
Changed not only the character of Beethoven. Special, inimitable Beethoven music has been formed, which is still the most popular and often performed in the world.
Clear rhythms, simple, bright, catchy motifs have become increasingly complemented by powerful, sharpened to the limit, contrasting themes and musical forms. Cantilena was preserved, but the melodies, the smoothness of the melody were seriously pushed aside by the deeply dramatic, disturbing components in his works. To the limit he sharpened the confrontation between contrasting themes and forms. Dissonances sounded sharper, more dramatic. The entertaining function of his music, if it once existed in microscopic dimensions, finally disappeared.
The ideas of the struggle for human freedom, the victories of the heroic personality sounded with particular force. The leitmotif of many of his creations was the Beethoven credo: "through the struggle to victory." He dreamed of the happiness of mankind ... In the finale of his Ninth Symphony, which was the result of Beethoven’s entire creative life, his testament to the people, the hymn to the liberated mankind sounded. The emphasis was placed on words from Schiller's ode "To Joy": "People are brothers among themselves! Hug, millions! Merge into joy of one!" It should be emphasized that the first and second parts of the Ninth Symphony are recognized by many as the pinnacle of human creativity. Similar ideas were voiced in the Fifth Piano Concerto, the Third (Heroic) and Fifth Symphonies.
It is said that all diseases are from nerves. Like it or not, only the doctors know. What we reliably know is that it is simply impossible to carry such a gigantic psychological burden that fell on Beethoven’s shoulders. Whether it is a coincidence or not, in 1798, in the midst of the revolutionary events in France, young Beethoven began to have health problems. The blow fell on the most delicate instrument of the musician, which is the ear. Deafness progressed, and after ten years Ludwig had to stop his concert activities. It was a cruel blow of fate. Increasingly, he began to attend the most tragic thoughts. In this difficult time for him, he could not wait for support from anyone. He was essentially very lonely. “I have no friends,” Beethoven admitted at that time. He practically had no family. Youthful love in Lorchen Braining appeared too early and painlessly dissolved in time. Another thing is mature, long-suffering, long-awaited and, as many believe, the only true life of a great musician is the true love of forty-year-old Beethoven to the young countess Juliette Gvichchardi. Perhaps it was a one-sided feeling. Juliet did not seem to really love Ludwig. She chose to create a family with another, well-born and rich. Another blow ...
The already severe psychological state was aggravated by an aggravated sense of unhappiness, inferiority due to the fact that his face was disfigured by smallpox in childhood.
Only due to Beethoven’s inherent firm will, self-control, and determination, could he bring himself to endure a tragedy of health, unhappy love. In a letter to his doctor, he swore: "I will take fate by the throat!" And he managed to overcome the depression. I learned how to compose music without hearing it, using my imagination. И еще почти двадцать лет он творил музыку, демонстрируя временами невиданную работоспособность, сменявшуюся иногда апатией, нежеланием работать… Пожертвовав собой, Бетховен смог ярче других отразить в музыке Великую эпоху.
Умная, прозорливая музыка Людвига ван Бетховена бессмертна. Она призвана указать людям дорогу в светлое будущее, где человечество, наконец, обретет гармонию.
Мир будет ждать нового Бетховена. Возможно, целью его творчества, его призванием станет единение землян перед лицом новых вызовов планетарного и вселенского масштаба. Разговор с Космосом только начинается…
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