those of Beethoven have the elemental power of Nature herself,
especially shown in the vigor and variety of the rhythm. Second,
he would always carry sketch books in which to jot down ideas
as they came to him. These he would polish and improve—
sometimes for years—before they took final shape. Many of
these sketch books[134] have been preserved and edited, and
they illustrate, most vividly, Beethoven’s method of compos-
ing: slow, cautious, but invincible in its final effect; an idea
frequently being altered as many as twenty times. At the age of
twenty-two he was chiefly known as a pianist with wonderful fa-
cility in improvisation; his compositions had been insignificant.
The next eight years—up to 1800, when Beethoven was thirty—
were spent in acquainting himself with the Viennese aristocracy
and in building up a public clientèle. Then follows the marvel-
lous period until 1815 in which his power of inspiration was at its
height, and which gave to the world a body of work for magni-
tude and variety never surpassed: all the symphonies except the
Ninth, the first twenty-seven pianoforte Sonatas, five concertos
for pianoforte and orchestra, the opera of Fidelio, several Over-
tures, numerous string quartets and ensemble chamber music.
We realize even more vividly the heroic and sublime character of
Beethoven when we learn that, as early as 1798, there began the
signs of that deafness which altered his whole life. By nature he
was hypersensitive, proud and high-strung, and these qualities
were so aggravated by his malady that he became suspicious, at
times morose, and his subsequent career was checkered with the
violent altercations, and equally spasmodic renewals of friend-
ship, which took place between him and his best friends. His
courage was extraordinary. Thus we find him writing: “Though
at times I shall be the most miserable of God’s creatures, I will
grapple with Fate, it shall never pull me down.” On the artistic
side this affliction had its compensations in that it isolated the
composer from outer distractions, and allowed him to lay entire
stress on the spiritual inner side of his art; certainly this is one
of the strongest notes in his music—the pure fancy manifested
therein. As a deaf musician he is comparable to the blind seer
who penetrates more deeply into the mysteries of life than those
whose physical eyesight is perfect. Beethoven’s closing years
form a period of manifold complications, caused by the care of
his scapegrace nephew, by his settled deafness and precarious
financial position. Yet he grimly continued to compose, his last
works being of titanic dimensions such as the Choral symphony,
ann
(Ann)
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