Beethoven Deafness
Beethoven Deafness
Beethoven’s life before going deaf
by Grace Karns
Beethoven was born on 16 December 1770 in Bonn (now part of Germany) His father was very strict and would often beat young Beethoven when playing wrong notes during practice sessions. When his mother stood up to him, she would get beaten as well. Beethoven became a great pianist so his mom would never be beaten again.
While young virtuoso Beethoven was playing piano, Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein noticed him and sponsored him to study in Vienna. It was hoped that he could study under Mozart but he soon died. Beethoven did have the opportunity to study under Haydn.
Beethoven's mom died of tuberculosis, he had said that seeing her before she died was such a horrific image it will forever be etched in his mind. His father soon spiraled out of control dealing with alcoholism. Which put his 2 brothers in Beethoven's hands. His father died and Beethoven was unbothered. By his early 20’s Beethoven's hearing began to deteriorate
Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt Testament
by Piero Ramirez
When Beethoven had no other option but to accept he would become a deaf composer and there was no hope for a cure or treatment, he wrote a letter to his two brothers, yet this letter was never sent to any of them. This draft was found after his death and in it, Beethoven talks about his perspective on this problem. Many interesting ideas can be taken from this testament. He talks about how he has no other option but to finally accept the fate that a skill that once was close to perfection, is now almost gone. Beethoven faces for the first time not just a sense of loneliness, but also exclusion from the activities the society of its day enjoyed, didn’t belong anywhere anymore.
He mentions how afraid he is to admit to another person his condition making just things even worse in his social life. He mentions how he is afraid of never enjoying the beauty of the artistic world to which he has spent his entire life dedicated to, saying it’s almost like torture. After explaining all the problems caused by this condition, he proceeds to completely change his mindset and say how art is the reason he has chosen to live despite the problems. He mentions that now more than ever is a moment to not give up and have patience. Beethoven believes that he shouldn’t give up on life until he has “disclosed all his artistic capacities”, only then, he will allow himself to die.
Effect on personal life and relationship with other musicians
By Jocelyn Lee
Due to the effects of losing his hearing, Beethoven was constantly changing his places of residency in Vienna. This is supposedly due to his landlord’s frustration with Beethoven’s loud banging on his piano all throughout the day. Even though he was going deaf, Beethoven still continued to compose and even perform in public. His reason for continuing and refusing to reveal his deteriorating condition was due to the fact that he believed that it would ruin his career.
By the age of 45, Beethoven had gone completely deaf and was forced to give up his public appearances and performing, retreating to a life of isolation, seclusion, and privacy, only allowing a select few of his friends to visit and communicate through written conversations on a notebook. As he grew older, his health continued to deteriorate but that did not stop him from continuing to create masterpieces we still honor and play today. As for the effects of his deafness on his relationship with other musicians, not much is known about it but as we see a few sentences up, his relationship with his select few friends was written conversations in a notebook and he lived a life of privacy, seclusion, and isolation due to his hearing loss and eventual deteriorating health.
What helped Beethoven compose music while deaf?
by Jesse Garcia
Beethoven was and still is one of the greatest composers ever to live, but many questions remain as to how he was able to compose while being fully deaf. Many still seem to be confused about how this was possible but Beethoven found a way and he continued to make more and more music just by “... observing the vibrations of the piano. Beethoven noticed that he could not hear high notes when playing piano. To hear his own compositions, he sawed the legs off of his piano and placed the piano on the floor, and pressed his ear to the floor as well.
He would then proceed to bang on the keys, to hear what he had written.” The most important thing about this is that he never gave up on his passion for music and he became even more determined to overcome his disability and continue making music, “Beethoven saw his deafness as a challenge to be fought and overcome. His stubborn nature strengthened him and he came to terms with his deafness in a dynamic, constructive way to become a world-famous composer.”
Modern Deaf Composers
by Shalom Lokeni
Matt Maxey
Matt Maxey is an African American deaf composer/musician residing in Atlanta but originally from Decatur, Georgia. He had a great part in starting the DEAFinitely Dope organization back in 2014. The organization was developed as an idea based on providing support to those that felt marginalized and ignored by mainstream America. It first started as a brand and as it got more attention it blossomed into a movement and attracted many educational institutions nationwide. He uses that platform to continue to break barriers and defy the norms with a fresh perspective on interaction, inclusion, accessibility, and equality.
Evelyn Glennie
Evelyn Glennie is a middle-aged Scottish deaf woman who is a Grammy-winning percussionist and composer who became almost completely deaf at the age of 12. Through her difficulties, she found a deeper love and understanding of the music she loves so much. When she performs she does it barefoot so that she can feel the vibrations of the music.
Sources:
https://musicolojake.com/fall17/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Heiligenstadt.pdf
Beethoven Biography | Biography Online
Beethoven’s Biography: The Early Years 1785-1795 - Classic FM
https://www.californiasymphony.org/composer/beethoven/the-whole-story-of-beethovens-deafness/
https://www.deafinitelydope.org/team-member/matt-maxey/
https://www.californiasymphony.org/composer/beethoven/the-whole-story-of-beethovens-deafness/