Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, in 1770. His father, a singer, saw the boy's talent early and made him practice the piano for hours, sometimes late into the night. It was a hard childhood. But by the age of fourteen, Ludwig was already earning a salary as a court organist, and before he was twenty he had become the head of his family.
At twenty-one, Beethoven moved to Vienna, the music capital of Europe. He quickly became the most exciting piano player in the city. People said that nobody could match the fire and feeling in his playing. Rich music lovers gave him money and support, and his name grew famous across Europe.
Then his world began to fall apart. Before he was thirty, Beethoven noticed a ringing in his ears. Slowly, year after year, he was going deaf. For a musician, no news could be worse. In one sad letter he told his brothers that he had thought about ending his life, but that his music kept him alive. 'I will take fate by the throat,' he wrote to a friend.
Beethoven kept writing, and his music grew deeper and more powerful. He wrote nine great symphonies — long works for a full orchestra. The Fifth opens with four notes the whole world knows: da-da-da-DUM. He wrote his Ninth, with its joyful song 'Ode to Joy,' when he could hear almost nothing at all. At its first performance, he stood beside the orchestra but could not hear the cheering behind him. A singer gently turned him around so he could see the crowd waving their hats and crying with joy.
Beethoven died in Vienna in 1827. About twenty thousand people filled the streets for his funeral. His life carries a simple, strong message: even when everything seems lost, a person can still create something beautiful.