Beethoven for Kids: His Life and Music with 21 Activities

Beethoven for Kids: His Life and Music with 21 Activities — page 3 — Ludwig van Beethoven Library of Congress LC USZ62 13745 INTRODUCTION I am resolved to rise superior to every obstacle LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN from a letter dated June 1 1801 CAN YOU IMAGINE needing and wanting to listen to some thing you cannot hear Is it possible for someone who cannot hear to compose music How would a deaf composer cope with such a handicap How would it affect his life Would his music

Beethoven for Kids: His Life and Music with 21 Activities — page 4 — be appreciated by those who listened to it Can a deaf composer make an impact on the world Ludwig van Beethoven faced and overcame many obstacles in his lifetime Early on he had to deal with poverty illness and an alcoholic father His unhappy childhood was filled with loneli ness and fear As a teenager he realized that he had to take on the responsibility of supporting his mother and younger siblings He also began to suffer from poor health that would plague him for the remainder of his life Living in a time of upheaval revolution and change in European society greatly influenced Beethoven's thoughts He forced himself onto the musical stage employing his enormous talents and strong personality His music provided him with an entrance into the great palaces and concert halls of the era his ideals and character caused him to stand up for his own rights and the civil liberties of all mankind Beethoven was 27 years old when he began to lose his hear ing In Beethoven's day there were no technological solutions and no effective medical treatments for his hearing loss Sign language was just starting to be developed and was not yet an established method of communication for the deaf Amplifying ones called ear trumpets were available but they were of lim ited use Beethoven used ear trumpets to assist him until he was completely deaf and the ear trumpets could no longer transmit any sounds to his ear However he was able to sense the vibra tions of his instruments as he played them which he found to be helpful But nothing the composer tried was able to reverse halt the progress of or even manage his condition Beethoven was from an early age onward a difficult and com plex person with a very intense personality Scholars attribute some of his behavior to his hearing loss a process that worsened over a 20 year period His hearing loss added to his insecurities and fears especially during the many years he spent trying to hide the fact that he was having trouble hearing sounds Beethoven's sense about what was right and his high moral ideals dictated many of his actions Social situations were

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