by Judith P. Josephson by Judith P. illustrations by Barbara Kiwak

Josephson/Kiwak BOLD COMPOSER: Ludwig van I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight to Begun Yet Not I Have Jones about John Paul A Story Poet Jazz Age Hughes about Langston A Story Senecas the Living with about Mary Jemison A Story of Machines Maker about Eli Whitney A Story Musical Genius Amadeus Mozart about Wolfgang A Story He Went Places Oh, the Seuss about Dr. A Story Revolutionary Uncommon about Thomas Paine A Story of Freedom Voice Douglass about Frederick A Story Paiutes of the Voice Winnemucca about Sarah A Story Promise of Words Johnson about James Weldon A Story Creative Minds Biographies: Minds Creative

Little Women s a child, loved to daydream. His hair and to daydream. His loved Beethoven Ludwig van s a child, For additional Creative Minds titles, visit www.lernerclassroom.com. Minds titles, additional Creative For A Beyond Alcott May about Louisa A Story Bold Composer Beethoven van about Ludwig A Story Demanding Justice about Mary Ann Shadd CaryA Story Laws Nature’s Discovering Newton about Isaac A Story Innovator Farmland about Cyrus McCormick A Story Constitution of the Father about James Madison A Story Rights Equal Fighting for about SusanA Story B. Anthony First Son and President about John QuincyA Story Adams Die or Go Free Tubman about Harriet A Story Learning for A Hunger Washington T. about Booker A Story clothes were usually a mess, but that didn’t seem to matter. Even at a Even seem to matter. didn’t that but usually a mess, clothes were and compos- playing the piano his ability at his passion and young age, composed life, Beethoven During his astounded people. ing music his older, grew As he written. music ever the most powerful some of Without gone. finally dimmer and dimmer until it was hearing became the to write, giving the music himself, he continued being able to hear today. that are still praised and enjoyed beautiful pieces world THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

A Story about Ludwig van Beethoven

by Judith P. Josephson

illustrations by Barbara Kiwak

j Millbrook Press/Minneapolis For my parents, who gave me the gift of music — J. P. J.

My thanks to Edith Fine, Karen Coombs, Donna Agins, and my critique group. Thanks also to Dan Swem, Patricia Stroh, and the Ira F. Brilliant Beethoven Museum at San Jose State University, and my editor, Susan Rose

Text copyright © 2007 by Judith P. Josephson Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Millbrook Press, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

Milbrook Press, Inc. A division of Lerner Publishing Group 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A.

Website address: www.lernerbooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Josephson, Judith Pinkerton. Bold Composer: a story about Ludwig van Beethoven / by Judith P. Josephson ; illustrations by Barbara Kiwak. p. cm. — (A creative minds biography) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978–0–8225–5987–0 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0–8225–5987–0 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) 1. Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770–1827—Juvenile literature. 2. Composers—Austria—Biography—Juvenile literature. I. Kiwak, Barbara, ill. II. Title. III. Series. ML3930.B4J67 2007 780.92—dc22 2006000703

Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 – JR – 12 11 10 09 08 07 Table of Contents

Music, Always Music 7 A Guiding Spirit 15 On to 22 A Great Silence 30 A New Way 36 The Art of Music 43 “Must It Be?” 51 Afterword 59 Selected Works 61 Selected Bibliography 62 Websites 63 Index 64

1 Music, Always Music

Young Ludwig van Beethoven ducked into a hen- house. Smells of musty hay and chickens filled his nose. Sunlight peeked through the wood slats, making striped patterns on the floor. Creeping toward the nests, Ludwig sneaked his hand under one hen’s warm feathers. He heard his neighbor Frau Fischer bustling across the courtyard. She scolded him for stealing her eggs but smiled, calling him an egg fox. “I am more of a music fox...than an egg fox,” said Ludwig.

7 Ludwig loved music. He heard music in the squeak of the iron window handles. Starting at the age of three or four, he plunked out melodies on the clavi- chord, an early keyboard instrument.

Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770, in the small town of in the German part of the Holy Roman Empire. For hundreds of years, the Holy Roman Empire had controlled many govern- ments throughout Europe. Bonn’s dusty, tree-lined streets wound past old houses with gardens, a market square, and town hall. Chickens and pigs roamed freely. Ludwig’s father, Johann, played the , sang, and taught music. Musicians usually worked for wealthy people, the royal family, or church leaders, but they weren’t paid well. So the Beethovens never had much money. Ludwig wore shabby clothes. His dark hair stuck out in matted clumps. “Why do you look dirty?” Frau Fischer once asked. “You should make yourself proper.” “When I grow up, nobody will worry about it,” Ludwig said. His father taught him how to read musical notes and to play using both hands. Ludwig quickly under-

8 stood how musical notes fit together in rhythms and patterns. Johann van Beethoven thought there was only one right way to learn an instrument—step-by-step. He was a strict teacher. He slapped Ludwig’s hands if he didn’t play the right notes. Standing on a little bench to play, Ludwig sometimes cried as he practiced. Ludwig’s mother, Maria Magdalena, wasn’t sure how to raise her bright, unusual eldest child. Caring for her younger children left little time for Ludwig. Carl was born in 1774, and Johann in 1776. Four other babies died in infancy. Though Ludwig’s mother was loving, he often felt lonely and neglected. His demanding father rarely praised the boy. Yet Johann bragged to others, “My son Ludwig is my only joy....I know that some day he’ll be a great man of the world.” Sometimes Ludwig propped his elbows on the win- dowsill, chin in his hands, and daydreamed. One day Frau Fischer called to him, “How are you, Ludwig?” No answer. She tried again. The boy still didn’t answer. Then she said, “Foul weather seems to be with you.” “Please, no, no! Forgive me!” he said. “I was busy with such a beautiful, deep thought I couldn’t bear to be disturbed.”

9 Etched on the simple headstone was one word: “Beethoven.” Ludwig van Beethoven was an extraordinary pianist. He was also one of the greatest composers of all time. Countless composers who lived after him studied his music. Bold ideas, remarkable energy, and simple melodies filled his best works. Beethoven once said that his music spoke from his heart to ours. Fiercely interested in many forms of music, he wrote over 350 works—from pieces for small groups to soar- ing . Deafness slowly silenced his world, but not his music. Over 180 years after Beethoven’s death, his music still rings across the ages.

60 Selected Works Beethoven gave opus numbers to only 138 of his works, numbering over 350. Years listed are the years he finished the works. 1782 9 Variations in C Minor for piano on a march by Dressler 1783 3 Piano Sonatas (Elector Sonatas) in E-flat Major, F Minor, and D Major 1790 Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II 1792 8 Variations in C on a theme by Count Waldstein for piano 4 hands 1796 12 Variations in G Major on Handel’s “See the Conquering Hero Comes” from Judas Maccabaeus for and piano 1798 Violin Sonatas nos. 1–3 in D, A, and E-flat Major, op. 12 Piano Sonata no. 8 in C Minor (Pathétique), op. 13 1800 Sonata in F Major, op. 17 no. 1 in C Major, op. 21 5 Pieces for a mechanical clock 1801 Piano Sonata no. 14 in C-sharp Minor (Moonlight Sonata), op. 27/2 The Creatures of Prometheus (ballet), op. 43 1802 Symphony no. 2 in D Major, op. 36 1804 Piano Sonata no. 21 in C Major (Waldstein), op. 53 Symphony no. 3 in E-flat Major (Eroica), op. 55 Christ on the Mount of Olives (oratorio), op. 85 1805 Piano Sonata no. 23 in F Minor (Appassionata), op. 57 (opera), op. 72 Leonore Overture no. 2, op. 72b 1806 Symphony no. 4 in B-flat Major, op. 60 Leonore Overture no. 3, op. 72c 1807 Leonore Overture no. 1, op. 138 1808 Symphony no. 5 in C Minor, op. 67 Symphony no. 6 in F Major (Pastoral), op. 68 1809 Piano no. 5 in E-flat Major (Emperor), op. 73 Piano Sonata no. 24 in F-sharp Major (also called “Für Therese”), op. 78 1810 Overture and Incidental Music, op. 84 Bagatelle in A Minor for piano (also called “Für Elise”) 1812 Symphony no. 7 in A Major, op. 92 Symphony no. 8 in F Major, op. 93 1814 Fidelio (revised opera and overture), op. 72a 1815 Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (cantata), op. 112 1818 Piano Sonata no. 29 in B-flat Major (Hammerklavier), op. 106 1823 Missa solemnis in D Major, op. 123 1824 Symphony no. 9 in D Minor (Choral), op. 125 1826 no. 16 in F Major, op. 135

61 Selected Bibliography

Quotes in the text are taken from sources marked by an asterisk (*).

*Beethoven, Ludwig van. Beethoven: Letters, Journals and Conversations. Translated and edited by Michael Hamburger. London: Thames and Hudson, 1951.

*Beethoven, Ludwig van. The Letters of Beethoven. 3 vols. Edited by Emily A. Anderson. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1961.

*Beethoven, Ludwig van. Beethoven’s Own Words. Compiled by Philip Kruseman. London: Hinrichsen Edition Limited, 1947.

*Clive, Peter. Beethoven and His World: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

*Cooper, Barry. Beethoven. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Krull, Kathleen. Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times and What the Neighbors Thought. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1993.

*Lockwood, Louis. Beethoven: The Music and the Life. New York: W. W. Norton, 2003.

*Marek, George. Beethoven: Biography of a Genius. New York: Crowell, 1969.

62 Martin, Russell. Beethoven’s Hair. New York: Broadway Books, 2000.

Nichol, Barbara. Beethoven Lives Upstairs. New York: Orchard Books, 1993.

*Sonneck, O. J., ed. Beethoven: Impressions of Contemporaries. New York: G. Schirmer, 1926.

*Wegeler, Franz, and Ferdinand Reis. Beethoven Remembered: The Biographical Notes of Franz Wegeler and Ferdinand Ries. Arlington, VA: Great Ocean Publishers, 1987.

Websites about Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven the Immortal http://www.lucare.com/immortal

Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Website http://www.lvbeethoven.com/index_En.html

Mad about Beethoven http://www.madaboutbeethoven.com

63 Index

Bach, Johann Sebastian, 13, 16, Christ on the Mount of Olives,36 25 Beethoven, Carl van (brother), “Für Elise,” 47 9, 19, 28, 33, 34, 37, 44, 48 Beethoven, Johann van (father), Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 8, 9, 10, 12, 19, 24 17, 48 Beethoven, Karl van (nephew), 44, 49, 56, 57, 59 Handel, George Frideric, 16, Beethoven, Ludwig van: appear- 26, 57 ance, 8, 17, 26, 47, 53, 55; Haydn, Franz Joseph, 16, 21, childhood, 7–22; conducting, 25, 40 25, 34, 53; criticism of, 25, 40; death, 57–58; finances, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 10, 20, 28, 33, 35, 37, 44; health 13, 16, 19, 20, 21, 25, 40, 59 problems, 20, 29, 31, 34–35, 49, 55, 57; hearing loss, Neefe, Christian Gottlob, 12, 30–31, 33, 34–35, 48, 51–52, 13, 16, 26 53, 55; in love, 33–34, 47, 58; Muse, 15; musical training, operas, 16, 39, 43–44 8–9, 12–13, 15–16, 25; per- organ, 12, 13–14 forming, 10, 14, 16, 18, 26, 28, 34, 37, 41, 44, 48, 53; piano, 15, 25–26, 33, 34, 42, temper, 25, 35, 41, 49 46, 47, 49 Beethoven, Maria Magdalena van (mother), 9, 16, 19 sonatas, 15, 34 Beethoven, Maria Margaretha symphonies: no. 3 (Eroica), (sister), 20 40–41, 43; no. 5, 44; no. 6 Beethoven, Nikolaus Johann (Pastoral), 44, 46; no. 9, 52–53 van (brother), 9, 19, 24, 28, 34, 47, 56, 58, 59 Vienna, 17, 19, 20–21, 23–24, Bonn, city of, 8, 10, 13, 16, 17, 36, 43, 44, 46, 55, 57 19, 23, 26, 57 , 13, 16, 31, 33 Breuning, Stephan von, 17, 20, violin, 8, 13, 16, 31, 33 38, 41, 59 Waldstein, Ferdinand, 20, 21 choral music, 36, 52, 53 Wegeler, Franz, 17, 31, 57

64 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK by Judith P. Josephson by Judith P. illustrations by Barbara Kiwak

Josephson/Kiwak BOLD COMPOSER: Ludwig van Beethoven I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight to Begun Yet Not I Have Jones about John Paul A Story Poet Jazz Age Hughes about Langston A Story Senecas the Living with about Mary Jemison A Story of Machines Maker about Eli Whitney A Story Musical Genius Amadeus Mozart about Wolfgang A Story He Went Places Oh, the Seuss about Dr. A Story Revolutionary Uncommon about Thomas Paine A Story of Freedom Voice Douglass about Frederick A Story Paiutes of the Voice Winnemucca about Sarah A Story of Promise Words Johnson about James Weldon A Story Creative Minds Biographies: Creative

Little Women s a child, Ludwig van Beethoven loved to daydream. His hair and daydream. His to loved Beethoven Ludwig van s a child, For additional Creative Minds titles, visit www.lernerclassroom.com. Minds titles, additional Creative For A clothes were usually a mess, but that didn’t seem to matter. Even at a Even seem to matter. that didn’t but usually a mess, clothes were and compos- playing the piano his ability at his passion and young age, composed life, Beethoven During his astounded people. ing music his older, he grew As written. music ever the most powerful some of Without gone. finally dimmer and dimmer until it was hearing became the to write, giving the music himself, he continued being able to hear today. and enjoyed pieces that are still praised beautiful world Beyond Alcott May about Louisa A Story Bold Composer Beethoven van about Ludwig A Story Demanding Justice about Mary Ann Shadd CaryA Story Laws Nature’s Discovering Newton about Isaac A Story Innovator Farmland about Cyrus McCormick A Story Constitution of the Father about James Madison A Story Rights Equal Fighting for about SusanA Story B. Anthony First Son and President about John QuincyA Story Adams Die or Go Free Tubman about Harriet A Story Learning for A Hunger Washington T. about Booker A Story