B Major: A Look at Beethoven

Question: In which present-day country was Ludwig van Beethoven born?

Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, and was baptized on December 17, 1770.

Question: In which city did Ludwig van Beethoven give his first public performance as an adult?

Answer: Beethoven’s first public appearance was in Vienna, on March 29, 1795, as a soloist in one of his piano concerti.

Question: How many symphonies did Ludwig van Beethoven compose?

Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven composed nine symphonies. They are among the most famous works of classical music.

Question: In what city did Ludwig van Beethoven live for most of his life?

Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven lived in Vienna permanently from 1792 until his death in 1827.

Question: Beethoven’s ninth symphony is notable for the fact that it contains:

Answer: Beethoven’s ninth, or "Choral" symphony, combined the worlds of vocal and instrumental music in a manner never before attempted. It was completed in 1824 while he was nearing the end of his life.

Question: With which of these composers did Ludwig van Beethoven not study?

Answer: Johann Sebastian Bach died about 20 years before Beethoven was born. Beethoven studied with Joseph Haydn, Antonio Salieri, and, briefly, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Question: Which of these Beethoven compositions has been known as the "Kettledrum Concerto"?

Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven’s unusual use of the kettledrum in his Violin Concerto in D (1806) provoked some contemporary critics to dismiss it as a kettledrum (rather than violin) concerto.