BeethovenEverything you need to know about Ludwig van Beethoven.
Beethoven's death mask
Beethoven's death mask, taken in March 1827 (public domain photograph).

Timeline

Twenty dated anchor points from baptism to burial. Disputed dates are flagged, not smoothed over.

c. 16 December 1770 — Born, Bonn (traditional date)

Baptized 17 December 1770 at St. Remigius, Bonn. No birth record survives; 16 December is tradition. Beethoven himself long believed he was born in 1772.

1783 — First publication

Piano variations published in Mannheim, with the publisher’s note that the composer was eleven — he was twelve. The age-shaving was his father’s marketing.

1787 — First Vienna trip

Sent to Vienna, possibly meeting Mozart. The famous anecdote (Mozart: “Keep your eyes on him; some day he will give the world something to talk about”) has no contemporary source — see Mythology vs. Record. He returned within weeks when his mother fell mortally ill.

1792 — Moves to Vienna

Leaves Bonn for Vienna in November to study with Haydn, funded by the Elector. He never lives in Bonn again.

1795 — Public debut as composer-pianist

Vienna debut at the Burgtheater; the Op. 1 piano trios published, dedicated to Prince Lichnowsky.

c. 1798 — Deafness begins

Ringing and weakening hearing, first noticed around this year; concealed for as long as possible. See The Deafness Story.

1799–1801 — The early masterpieces

Pathétique Sonata Op. 13 (1799), Symphony No. 1 Op. 21 (premiered April 1800), Moonlight Sonata Op. 27 No. 2 (1801).

16 November 1801 — The Wegeler letter

Writes to Franz Gerhard Wegeler: “I will seize Fate by the throat; it shall not wholly overcome me” — the first great statement of defiance. See Sayings & Letters.

6 October 1802 — Heiligenstadt Testament

At Heiligenstadt, writes the unsent testament to his brothers Carl and Johann: despair over deafness, contemplation of suicide, and the resolve that “only Art” held him back. Quoted verbatim in The Deafness Story.

1803–1804 — The Eroica

Symphony No. 3 composed; the Napoleon dedication withdrawn after Napoleon crowns himself emperor (May 1804) — reported by Ferdinand Ries. See Eroica and Napoleon.

20 November 1805 — Fidelio premieres

Fidelio (originally Leonore) premieres at the Theater an der Wien — days after Napoleon’s troops occupy Vienna, to a half-empty house. Revised 1806; final version 1814. See Fidelio.

22 December 1808 — The marathon concert

At the Theater an der Wien, Beethoven premieres the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the Fourth Piano Concerto, and the Choral Fantasy in one freezing four-hour concert.

1809 — The annuity

Archduke Rudolph, Prince Lobkowitz, and Prince Kinsky guarantee 4,000 florins a year to keep him in Vienna. He never takes a court post.

6–7 July 1812 — The Immortal Beloved letter

Writes the passionate unsent letter from Teplitz — “My angel, my all, my very self.” The recipient is never identified. See Sayings & Letters.

1815–1820 — The custody battle

After brother Caspar Carl’s death (1815), Beethoven fights the boy’s mother Johanna for custody of nephew Karl; wins in 1820.

1817–1818 — Hammerklavier

Piano Sonata Op. 106 (Hammerklavier) — the most technically demanding sonata yet written.

1819–1823 — Missa Solemnis

The Mass in D, Op. 123, composed for Archduke Rudolph’s installation as Archbishop of Olmütz — finished late, premiered in St. Petersburg (1824). See Missa Solemnis.

7 May 1824 — The Ninth premieres

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, premiered at the Theater am Kärntnertor, Vienna — with the Ode to Joy finale. Beethoven, deaf, is reportedly turned around to see the applause. See The Ninth and Ode to Joy.

1824–1826 — The late quartets

Opp. 127, 132, 130, 133 (Große Fuge), 131, 135 — music decades ahead of its audience. See The Late Quartets.

July 1826 — Karl’s suicide attempt

Nephew Karl attempts suicide; Beethoven takes him to Gneixendorf, where he completes the Op. 135 quartet.

26 March 1827 — Death

Dies in Vienna during a thunderstorm, aged 56. Funeral 29 March; thousands follow the coffin. See Death and Funeral.

Source notes