Johann van Beethoven (14 November 1740 – 18 December 1792) was a Brabantine-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

musician, teacher, and singer who sang in the chapel of the

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

, whose court was at

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

. He is best known as the father of the celebrated composer

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

(1770–1827). Johann was an alcoholic and an abusive father who often beat Ludwig. At 18, Ludwig had to obtain an order to force Johann to support his family. Johann died soon after Ludwig moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to study with

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

Life

Johann van Beethoven was the son of Maria Josepha Poll (married 1733) and Lodewijk or Ludwig van Beethoven (1712–1773; not to be confused with Johann's famous son of the same name), who was probably born in or near the city of

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

, in the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last House of Valois-Burgundy, Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary of Burgu ...

(now in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, Belgium), and had served as a musician in several communities in and around Mechelen before establishing himself in

in 1733, where he served as a musician at the court of Prince-Archbishop-Elector of Cologne

Clemens August of Bavaria Clemens August of Bavaria (german: Clemens August von Bayern) (17 August 1700 – 6 February 1761) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. Biography Clemens August (Clementus Augustus) was born in B ...

, rising to the post of

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

in 1761. Johann van Beethoven also showed musical talent, and joined the court, primarily as a singer, in 1764. In addition to singing (his range, while usually described as that of a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

, may have extended into

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

and even higher registers), he played the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

and

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...

, and played and taught keyboard instruments of the day, including the

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

and the

clavichord The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to compositi ...

. He met his future wife,

Maria Magdalena Keverich Maria Magdalena van Beethoven, née Keverich (19 December 1746 – 17 July 1787)Ehrenbreitstein Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (german: Festung Ehrenbreitstein, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz. Occupying the position of an ...

. She was the daughter of the head chef to

Johann IX Philipp von Walderdorff Johann Philipp von Walderdorff (24 May 1701 – 12 January 1768) was the Archbishop-Elector of Trier from 1756 until 1768, and the Prince-Bishop of Worms from 1763 until 1768. Biography John Philip was born in Molsberg into the noble Wa ...

Archbishop-Elector of Trier The elector of Trier was one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and, in his capacity as archbishop, administered the archdiocese of Trier. The territories of the electorate and the archdiocese were not, however, equivalent. History ...

, whose court was there, and she had family connections in the court orchestra at Bonn. Keverich was already widowed at the age of nineteen. She and Johann were married on 12 November 1767 in the Catholic

Church of St Remigius, Bonn St. Remigius is a Catholic church and parish in Bonn, Germany. The building was completed in 1307, in Gothic style. History Construction of the church, originally intended as a monastery church, was begun in 1272 by the Franciscan Order. It was c ...

. They had seven children, three of whom lived into adulthood: * Ludwig Maria van Beethoven (2 April 1769 – 6 April 1769) *

(16 December 1770 in Bonn, Kurköln – 26 March 1827) *

Kaspar Anton Karl van Beethoven Kaspar Anton Karl van Beethoven (baptized 8 April 1774 – 15 November 1815) was a brother of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Youth Kaspar van Beethoven was born in Bonn, the second son of Johann van Beethoven and Maria Magdalena Keverich. He ...

(8 April 1774 – 15 November 1815) *

Nikolaus Johann van Beethoven Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its ...

(2 October 1776 – 12 January 1848) * Anna Maria Franziska van Beethoven (23 February 1779 – 27 February 1779) * Franz Georg van Beethoven (17 January 1781 – 16 August 1783) * Maria Margarete Josepha van Beethoven (5 May 1786 – 26 November 1787) Johann realized Ludwig's talent and became his first teacher. Johann was also aware of Leopold Mozart's success traveling with a talented and young Wolfgang, and wished to duplicate their fame and fortune. He was, however, an abusive father according to a number of witnesses. "There were few days when udwigwas not beaten in order to compel him to set himself at the piano", related one childhood friend of Ludwig. A court councilor reported that Johann occasionally locked Ludwig in a cellar. Whenever Ludwig played poorly, Johann would exclaim that it was an embarrassment to the family. Johann would drag young Ludwig out of bed to play piano all night with no sleep. Johann was an

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

, a situation that worsened when Maria died in 1787, after which time the family was increasingly dependent on young Ludwig for support. In 1789 the 18-year-old Ludwig obtained an order resulting in one half of Johann's pay being turned over to him for support of the family. Johann died in 1792, not long after Ludwig moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to study with

. His employer the

Elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

wrote sardonically to a friend, "The revenues from the liquor excise axhave suffered a loss in the death of Beethoven."MacArdle (1949, 537)

Ancestry

The family name means "from (''

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

'')

Bettenhoven Bettincourt ( wa, Betincoû; nl, Bettenhoven) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Waremme, located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The village was a municipality of its own before the 1977 fusion of municip ...

". Johann van Beethoven was only one half from the Duchy of Brabant;R. Capell, ''Beethoven'', in ''Music & Letters'', Vol. 19, No. 4 (Oct. 1938), pp. 375–390Ernest Closson and Gustave Reese, ''Grandfather Beethoven'', in ''The Musical Quarterly'', Vol. 19, No. 4 (Oct. 1933), pp. 367–373TF Howell, ''Beethoven's nationality'', in ''The Musical Times'', 1915. "The chief hereditary character of Beethoven was Flemish, and all else was what we now label German." his father Lodewijk was the last Beethoven to be fully from the Duchy of Brabant. Most of his most recent family came from the German-speaking

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

region and the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

Descendants

Johann's famous son Ludwig van Beethoven had no children and was never married, but his second son, Karl, did have children. However, none of Karl's living descendants now bears the name of Beethoven, the last to do so, Karl Julius Maria van Beethoven, having died without a son in 1917.

Notes

References

*MacArdle, Donald W. (1949) The Family van Beethoven. ''The Musical Quarterly'' 35:528–550.

External links

Beethoven family since 1485
--- Link appears to be unavailable, can someone who knows dutch verify this?-->
"The 'Van' of Beethoven"
by Herbert Antcliffe in ''The Musical Times'', Vol. 77, No. 1117 (Mar. 1936), pp. 254–255 – Article explains how "A certain Ludwig (Lodewijk) van Beethoven was born at Mechelen as the son of Michiel and the grandson of Cornelius and of Catherina Leempoels..." {{DEFAULTSORT:Beethoven, Johann van 1740 births 1792 deaths 18th-century German male singers 18th-century keyboardists 18th-century German male violinists Beethoven family German harpsichordists German keyboardists German music educators German people of Flemish descent German operatic tenors Musicians from Bonn People from the Electorate of Cologne Zither players