In this article I will discuss the life and works of Ludwig van Beethoven. This article will cover his life as a person, his life as a musician, and finally the lives and careers he influenced. Beethoven is worthy of this article because he is one of the greatest contributors to music as a whole. Ludwig van Beethoven was born at 515 Bonngasse, Bonn, on December 16, 1770. The previous sentence is the closest guess to where and when Beethoven was born. There are records of Beethoven's baptism on 17 December 1770. "...the exact date of his birth is not known..." (William) Beethoven's mother is not well documented, however it is known that she died when he was sixteen years. Beethoven's father, however, is somewhat documented. His father is said to have been a violent drunk who forced Ludwig to play music for his own amusement. At the age of 17, in 1787, after playing in public performances and receiving instruction from various teachers, Ludwig left Bonn and went to Vienna, the world capital of music at the time. This move led Mozart to take Ludwig as his student. Beethoven later described Mozart's piano playing as "...fine but discontinuous, without legate". (Lockwood) The death of Beethoven's mother prompted him to return to Bonn to support his family. Here he befriended Stephan von Breuning and “Doctor Franz Wegeler, who wrote one of the first biographies of Beethoven” (William) Doctor Wegeler was obviously very close to Beethoven, he is believed to have been one of the first people Beethoven spoke about his fear of impending deafness. During the end of Beethoven's stay in Bonn, Joseph Haydn was traveling and heard a performance of Beethoven and was so impressed that he invited him to join him and become ... middle of paper ...... movement in c minor and the second in E major. This composer is one of the most important figures in the history of music. As stated in the previous paragraph, his out-of-the-box thinking has literally influenced every composer since his time. From the beginning his skills as a pianist were revolutionary and game-changing. His revolutionary move to become a freelance composer only added to his revolutionary style. As in all true heroic stories he had to overcome something, Beethoven had his greatest adversary within himself: his hearing failed and he slowly became deaf. After becoming deaf, Beethoven continued to compose and added a very emotional touch to his music. Until his death Beethoven continued to contribute to the history of music. It is not difficult to argue that Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most important musicians of all time.