Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

German

9 symphonies: Symphony No. 5 and 9 are most popular

• Beethoven’s first written concerto, Piano Concerto No. 1 was actually not his first! It was published first but was his third written concerto.
• Beethoven struggled with math. He left school at age 11 knowing how to add and subtract but not how to multiply or divide.
• At age 25, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. At 27, he would hear a constant buzzing, and at 46, he was completely deaf. He went on to write some of his best works without even hearing them!