Johaan’s greed took the form of envy while Salieri’s took that of fear.
However, both were greed in its purest form and most likely had equal effect on
Beethoven. Johaan’s greed resulted in abusive, yet not unproductive, practice.
The final product of this was technical ability as well as much emotion, both of
which furthered Beethoven’s compositions. On the other hand, Salieri’s greed
contributed to Mozart’s early death. In his later years Beethoven greatly feared
that he too would face a premature death as his idle, Mozart, had done. This
pushed productivity out as Beethoven constantly felt a sense of urgency to make
his destined contribution to the musical world. Beethoven had made his concert
debut at the age of eight and had already tenured as a performer in the
Electorate Chapel in Bonn when the famous composer, Haydn, found opportunity to
view Beethoven’s first (though long unrecognized as such) masterpiece, Cantata
on the Death of Emperor Joseph II (Kolodin 21-24). This resulted in an
invitation by the master for Beethoven to come to Vienna to study under Haydn’s
tutelage. Beethoven’s way was made possible by the Elector and though the
relationship with the master composer did not prove to be long-lived, the stay
in Vienna did. This ultimately placed Beethoven in the midst of powerful music
loving personalities and undoubtedly enhanced his musical future. By the age of
thirty-one Beethoven recognized that he was growing deaf and began withdrawing
further from social events. This culminated by 1812 when, essentially completely
deaf at the age of forty-two, Beethoven had become a total recluse and entered
into a five-year slump during which little writing occurred (Cross 50-53). In
1824, at the age of fifty-four, Beethoven appeared for the last time in a public
performance of his Ninth Symphony.
The piece ended, but Beethoven, being
completely deaf as well as several measures off, continued conducting as the
crowd applauded from behind. In the end, Beethoven was turned around by Carolyn
Unger to face the crowd. This brought to light the true reality of his condition
and the crowd was said to have exploded with “sympathy and admiration” (Cross
53). On March 26, 1827, Beethoven died. His last wards confirmed his belief in
God and his last act confirmed his belief in the triumphant human spirit. Most
sources seem to agree that Beethoven’s work can be divided into three
distinctive categories or periods as follows: 1) Up to 1800: Somewhat conforming
to the established rules of composition, but with a visible departure of emotion
that reflected his feelings toward the heavy hand of authority, most likely that
of his father. 2) 1800-1817: Growing deaf. More intense personal feelings and
more noticeable departure from the traditional rules of harmony, tones, rhythm,
and use of instruments. 3) 1817-1827: Totally deaf. Break with the traditional
way of doing things more sharply defined than ever before. Ninth Symphony
composed, demonstrating for the first time in history the use of voices with the
orchestra. A symphony which Beethoven himself never heard. Though there can be
found a certain diversity in the articulation of these periods, there is one
thought that seems to be without scholarly contradiction. Beethoven ushered in a
new way of treating musical composition. Prior to his time, the composers did
not use music as a medium for expressing strong emotion. Beethoven’s life of
sorrow had not only left him full of such emotions, but his later condition left
him with few alternative means by which he could exchanges those feelings. Music
was the obvious choice and a new musical era was the historical result. In
retrospect, as I look back at the fallen tree in the forest in juxtaposition
with the life of this truly extraordinary man, I find a remarkable lesson to be
learned from both.
