Here’s a confession: we have talked about Beethoven on this podcast more times than Carly can count. He got a whole episode on his nine symphonies back in Episode 12. He’s been mentioned in passing more times than she can count. And somehow, in all that time, he’s never gotten a full episode dedicated to his actual life story.
This week, that gets fixed. This episode tells the story of Ludwig van Beethoven — not just the music, but the man behind it, from a strict childhood in Germany to a hearing loss that would have ended most musicians’ careers, to a symphony finale he never once heard performed.
What You’ll Hear
- Beethoven’s childhood in Bonn, Germany, and a father who pushed him hard hoping to create the next Mozart
- His move to Vienna in his early twenties to study with Joseph Haydn, and the reputation he built there as a wildly passionate pianist and composer
- The onset of his hearing loss in his late twenties, and the raw, honest letter he wrote to his brothers about how close he came to giving up
- How he kept composing after losing his hearing almost completely, including the “Ode to Joy” finale of his Ninth Symphony, and the moment at its premiere when a singer had to turn him around so he could see the audience cheering, because he couldn’t hear a note of it
- Why he’s remembered as the composer who bridged the Classical and Romantic eras
Free Beethoven Playlist
There’s a free playlist linked here that walks through some of Beethoven’s music. Listen to it over the next two weeks, leading right up to our next episode. It’s a great one to have playing in the background during dinner, drive time, or homework.
Try This at Home
Play a few seconds of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony finale for your child, then ask them to imagine composing it without being able to hear it played back. What would that feel like? It’s a simple conversation, but it opens up a real appreciation for what determination and persistence can look like, in music and in anything else your child is working hard at.
Related Episodes
For more on Beethoven, go back to Episode 12, where we covered all nine of his symphonies. And you can hear more about his teacher, Joseph Haydn, in Episode 17.
What’s Next
Next time, we’re listening closely to one of Beethoven’s most famous piano pieces, one you’ve almost certainly heard before even if you didn’t know its name. We’ll dig into a mystery that’s puzzled music historians for over two hundred years: who exactly was Elise?
New episodes of Busy Kids Love Music drop every two weeks, wherever you listen to podcasts.