Death of Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven died on 26 March 1827 in Vienna, aged 56. A German composer and pianist, Beethoven was born in Bonn and moved to Vienna, where he studied and became a celebrated virtuoso and composer. His music links the Classical and Romantic periods, and includes nine symphonies, five piano concertos, thirty-two piano sonatas, string quartets and the opera Fidelio. He began to lose his hearing in his late twenties, and was almost completely deaf in his last years, but he continued to compose, writing the Ninth Symphony with its choral finale, the Ode to Joy. His works expanded the scope and emotional power of music and have influenced composers ever since.

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