You can’t talk about music without knowing classical music!? Composers you shouldn’t miss: Beethoven Edition

Hello everyone. This is quite sudden, but what image do you have of classical music? I guess answers such as "old-fashioned," "I don't know well," and "boring to hear," come up in an instant. I know the songs are long and may not be as appealing as pop music. However, composers you might’ve heard the name of lived terrifying, interesting and turbulent lives. Why don't you get to know the background and listen a bit? You can't talk about music without knowing classical music, which is the origin of all Western music.

Speaking of Beethoven

You may be familiar with the name Beethoven (full name: Ludwig van Beethoven). His masterpieces such as the Symphony No. 5 the "Fate Symphony", which starts with the famous "dadada dah" and the classic piano piece "Für Elise" are innumerable. He's an overwhelmingly well-known person because most elementary schools learn about him in music class. The portrait where he has gray shaggy hair and looks at you with an unfriendly scowl might be seen in music rooms everywhere. A friend of mine said, "I think he wasn't sociable." I kind of understand.

What kind of person was Beethoven actually?

To be brief, he was a so-called "nerd" as everyone would guess. He was unathletic and bad at dancing (it quite mattered at that time). In addition, he didn't care about clothes and his hairstyle, he didn't look clean or put-together. However, he was a germaphobe and loved taking baths and washing. He insisted that he was God's gift to the world and was stubborn and quite frugal about money. Is he what you imagined?
Then, you would think he was single all his life, but he wasn't at all. Apparently, he was rumored to have always been popular with the ladies and was in love. It's hard to imagine why such a stocky guy was attractive. All I can say is that he was a really talented man. His achievements in –music- are so enormous that he is said to have influenced all composers after his death. People were attracted to such an overwhelming talent?

Wasn't he completely deaf?

What is indispensable when talking about Beethoven is that he was –deaf-. If you took music class a little seriously, you might know he was said to have had difficulty in hearing. It is said that he was in his late-20s when he started to lose his hearing, and he hadn't even written the Symphony No. 3 yet.
People often say, "he left a lot of masterpieces even though he was deaf." It's true that he had deafness, and he had repeated suicide attempts. But you can understand his feelings. It's no wonder he despaired for the rest of his life after he lost his hearing. Hearing is essential for a musician.
But the reliable theory is that he did not had completely lose his hearing and could hear a little. This is because there are many stories that he could hear a little, such as one anecdote that he praised Liszt's performances well into his later years. Moreover, there are now several views on even the types of deafness. The technology has advanced. It may be interesting to find out more about it yourself.

Was he respected by everyone after all?

Beethoven wasn't sociable. There wasn't a person in Vienna who didn't think he was odd. However, there is a record that about 20,000 people attended his funeral when he died of pneumonia. The funeral was described as "the biggest funeral ever." Although he was a difficult man, as a composer, he must've never ceased to fascinate people.

How was it? Beethoven is a very interesting person, isn't he? What I wrote here is just a small part of his life. If you're interested in him, think about maybe reading about him yourself.

The next time you are doing work at your computer, maybe try to turn on some classical music instead of only pop music?

Reference (A recommended book to read if you are a little interested!)
Classical Composers Seen from the Other Side
Akie Uehara, Yamaha Music Media