The most revolutionary musician of his time, Tondichter ("poet of sounds") as he
defined himself, Ludwig van Beethoven distinguished himself in all forms,
bridging the gap between Classicism and Romanticism. Addressing both man and the
universe, he gave his music a new spiritual and metaphysical dimension, endowing
it with an eternal power. Destined, like his paternal grandfather and father, to
become a musician in the service of the Elector, he was born in Bonn on December
15 or 16, 1770 (only the date of his baptism, December 17, is certain). By no
means from a noble family, as...