7 The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time 7Beethoven never married. Although his friends were
numerous, he was a rather lonely man, prone to irritability
and dramatic mood swings. He continued to appear in
public but increasingly focused his time on his composi-
tions. Living near Vienna, he took long walks carrying
sketchbooks, which became a repository of his musical ideas.
These sketchbooks reveal the agonizingly protracted pro-
cess by which Beethoven perfected his melodies, harmonies,
and instrumentations.
Three Periods of Work
Most critics divide Beethoven’s work into three general
periods, omitting the earliest years of his apprenticeship in
Bonn. The first period, from 1794 to about 1800, generally
encompasses music whose most salient features are typical
of the Classical era. The influence of such musicians as
Mozart and Haydn is evident in Beethoven’s early chamber
music, as well as in his first two piano concerti and his first
symphony. Although Beethoven added his own subtleties,
including sudden changes of dynamics, the music was gen-
erally well constructed and congruent with the sensibilities
of the Classical period.
The second period, from 1801 to 1814, includes much
of Beethoven’s improvisatory work. His Symphony No. 3,
known as the “Eroica,” and the Fourth Piano Concerto are
fine examples of this period.
The final period, from 1814 to his death in 1827, is char-
acterized by wider ranges of harmony and counterpoint.
The last string quartets contain some of the composer’s
most vivid melodic and rhythmic material, while the form
of the music is notably longer and more complex. In his
symphonies and string quartets, he often replaced the
minuet movement with a livelier scherzo. He also used