I have to admit that Beethoven is one of my favorite composers ever. I think that he was a total genius who could write music that has endured for a couple of centuries and that he wrote a significant amount while being totally deaf. He was a complete genius, to be able to achieve what he did would have to make him belong in the genius category. Or would it?
Let’s put aside the label of genius for a while and focus on some other well known facts about the man behind the legend.
First of all, his compositions, while being incredible, were not written easily by him. Even before he started losing his hearing, he didn’t just write his compositions, he agonized over every note, every rest, every phrase, everything. From what I have read over the years about Beethoven, his manuscripts have evidence of written notes that have been scribbled out and re-written multiple times. Maybe it would be true to say that he not just agonized oven his compositions but rather he obsessed over them.
Some people would argue that Beethoven was a genius because he could write wonderful music whilst being completely deaf. I don’t think that this is the case because once you have been playing music for a few years, you don’t need to hear a combination of notes to know what they sound like because you have already heard them many times before. For example, if I mentioned the notes C, E and G, a lot of musicians, both amateur and professional would know what this combination of notes sounds like without playing them or singing them. All it is, is tapping into many memories. Beethoven could compose even though he was deaf because he had memory of various note combinations and rhythms (and he also cut off the legs of his grand piano, so he could feel the vibrations through the floor).
While I am no expert or authority on Beethoven, I do know from what I have read that he not only became totally deaf but that he was a cranky old man even though he died at the age of 56. I used to think that it was reasonable for him to become a cranky old man at a young age because he became deaf, but now I realize that he chose to be cranky. Yes, life had dealt him some rough circumstances, but how many people have crossed our paths that have had huge hurdles to overcome in life and have remained reasonable, caring human beings?
The other aspect of Beethoven’s life that I would like to mention is that he remained a bachelor his whole life. He was very much interested in a lady called Elise, so much so that he composed Fur Elise, which translates into ‘For Elise’, in an attempt to win here affection. She ultimately rejected him because he was known to be cranky. I also wonder whether she rejected him because she felt he was too absorbed with his music that he would always put his music before her.
I’ve always enjoyed music written by Beethoven and I always will, but maybe he wasn’t a genius but rather he was so absorbed into his music that he never made time for developing enough people skills that he is remembered as being cranky. Maybe if he hadn’t been so obsessed with writing music that he could have won Elise’s heart and maybe he could have experienced the joy of having relationships with family and friends.
It is too easy for me to sit at a computer and wonder about a life that was lived 200 years ago, but maybe Beethoven wrote his amazing music because it took up all of his time and all of his attention. If any of us would have spent our lives this way, could we too be considered musical geniuses?
I for one am glad that I haven’t spent my life so far, so hyper focused on playing the piano and teaching music. I’m happy enough that I play the piano reasonably well so there has been time and energy to focus on what is even more important to me – my family and friends.
What I am attempting to convey through this article is that all of us can be in awe of someone who we perceive to have more talent, more skills, more passion, more whatever! People like Beethoven are perceived as being brilliant, where the truth really is that they have dedicated a whole lot of time and energy into one area. It also means that success with any pursuit, including learning to play the piano, is not a matter of talent or brilliance, but rather a matter of time and effort. The more time and effort equals a higher skill level. It is as simple as that.