Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany. was a German pianist and composer widely considered the greatest of all time. Beethoven's personal life was marked by his struggle with deafness, and some of his most important works were composed during the last ten years of his life. Beethoven died on March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria. He died at the age of 56. Ludwig van Beethoven was born around December 16, 1770 in Bonn, in the Electorate of Cologne. Although no one knows Ludwig's actual date of birth, he was baptized on December 17, 1770. The law and custom of Beethoven's birthplace required babies to be baptized within twenty-four days of their birth, on the 16th December was most likely the day Beethoven was born. Beethoven wrongly believed he was born two years later, in 1772, and he stubbornly insisted on the incorrect date even when presented with official documents proving beyond reasonable doubt that 1770 was his true year of birth . Beethoven had two younger brothers, Caspar, born in 1774, and Johann, born in 1776. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay Beethoven's parents were Beethoven's mother Maria Magdalena van Beethoven and his father Johann van Beethoven, a mediocre court singer better known for his alcoholism than any of his musical abilities. However, Beethoven's grandfather, godfather and namesake, Kapellmeister Ludwig van Beethoven, was Ludwig's most famous and talented musician and was a source of endless pride for the young Beethoven. Between the birth of Beethoven's brothers, his father began teaching Beethoven to play music with extraordinary rigor and brutality that marked him for the rest of his life. On a daily basis, Beethoven was locked in the cellar and deprived of sleep so that he could devote extra hours to practice. Ludwig studied violin and keyboard with his father and took additional lessons from the city's organists. Whether despite or because of his father's methods, Beethoven was a talented musician. In 1781, at the age of 10, Beethoven left school to study music full-time with Christian Gottlob Neefe. When Beethoven was 12 years old, he published his first composition. By 1784, as Beethoven's father's alcoholism worsened and his voice deteriorated, his father was no longer able to support his family. Beethoven requested a formal appointment as deputy court organist. Despite Beethoven's young age, his request was granted and Beethoven was placed on the court's payroll with a modest annual salary of 150 guilders. When the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II was commissioned in 1790, Beethoven, at the age of 19, to compose a musical memorial in his honor. For unknown reasons, the piece created by Beethoven was never performed and people believed that Beethoven was capable of accomplishing the task. Even as Beethoven was composing some of his most important works, he was struggling with the shocking and terrible fact, which he tried desperately to hide: he was going deaf. Beethoven revealed in a heartbreaking letter to his friend Franz Wegeler that he was going deaf. Beethoven died on March 26, 1827, at the age of 56. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper now from our expert writers. Get a Personalized Essay An autopsy revealed that the immediate cause of death was post-hepatitic cirrhosis of the liver. The autopsy also provided clues to the origins of his deafness. With the character.