Ludwig van Beethoven ( – December 24, 1773) was a Flemish professional singer and music director, best known as the grandfather of the composer

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

. In the baptismal register he was named Ludovicus van Beethoven. During his life, his first name was written variously as Lodewyk, Lodewyck, Lodewijck, Lodewijk, Louis, and Ludwig.

Ancestry and birth

The family name means "from (''

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

'') a place called ''Beethoven''" – possibly Bettenhoven. A number of authors, such as

Alexander Wheelock Thayer Alexander Wheelock Thayer (October 22, 1817 – July 15, 1897) was an American librarian and journalist who became the author of the first scholarly biography of Ludwig van Beethoven. After many updates, it was still regarded as a standard work ...

and Donald W. MacArdle in his book ''The Family van Beethoven'', point to the fact that in 1712 two boys named Ludwig van Beethoven were born. The two families were distantly related. * Ludwig van Beethoven, born January 5, 1712, in

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen 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 context. T ...

, son of Michael van Beethoven * Ludwig van Beethoven, born December 23, 1712, in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, son of Henry Adelard van Beethoven He further writes that it is not certain "which Ludwig" actually settled in Bonn in 1733. The first biographer of the composer Beethoven "made no attempt to trace his genealogy beyond his grandfather Ludwig". The Ludwig van Beethoven from Mechelen, generally assumed to be Beethoven's grandfather, was the second son of master baker Michael van Beethoven (

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

February 15, 1684 in Mechelen, died June 28, 1749, in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

) and his wife Maria Louise Stuyckers (April 24, 1685, Mechelen – December 8, 1749, Bonn). Michael van Beethoven, besides the bakery trade, participated also in the local real estate market and in the purchase and sale of antique furniture and paintings. Michael van Beethoven had three other children: * Kornelius van Beethoven (

September 25, 1708, Mechelen, died July 16, 1764, Bonn) * Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized June 23, 1710 in Mechelen, died September 22, 1710, Mechelen) * Lambert Michael van Beethoven (baptized July 25, 1715, Mechelen, died September 21, 1715, Mechelen)

Life

On December 10, 1717, going on the age of just six years, Ludwig van Beethoven the Elder, having "a beautiful voice", was granted admission to the choir boys seminar of the St. Rombout's Cathedral in Mechelen, effectively becoming a choirboy. On October 12, 1725, he began studies under Anton Colfs, chief organist and

carillonneur A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

St. Rumbold's Cathedral St. Rumbold's Cathedral (; ) is the Roman Catholic metropolitan archiepiscopal cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium, dedicated to Saint Rumbold, Christian missionary and martyr who founded an abbey nearby. His remains are rumoured to be buried insid ...

. Instruction focused on

tablature Tablature (or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering or the location of the played notes rather than musical pitches. Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar, lute or vihuel ...

and

figured bass Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidental (music), accidentals) indicate interval (music), intervals, chord (music), chords, and non- ...

as well as the

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

and organ. No records exist of the years following the end of his apprenticeship in spring of 1727. On November 9, 1731, he became a

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

singer at St. Peter's Church in

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

; he is also mentioned as a substitute for the

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (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 has evolved considerably in i ...

. This appointment was probably promoted by Rombout van Kiel, a canon of the St. Peter's Church and former classmate of father Michael van Beethoven. By September 2, 1732, Beethoven is registered as a

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

singer at

Saint Lambert's Cathedral, Liège St. Lambert's Cathedral (or in full, the Cathedral of Our Lady and St. Lambert; ) was the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic cathedral of Liège, modern-day Belgium, until 1794, when its destruction began. This enormous Gothic architecture, Go ...

. This new appointment might be attributed to the support of Francois Stoupy, director of the Liège College in Leuven and friend of Rombout van Kiel. In March 1733 Archbishop of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and

Prince-elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

Clemens August of Bavaria summoned Beethoven to his court in Bonn after he had heard him sing in Liege, where Beethoven had been a substitute conductor: In Bonn, Ludwig sang under the Kapellmeister

Girolamo Donnini Girolamo Donnini (18 April 1681 – 1743) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, born in the town of Correggio, Emilia-Romagna. He was a pupil of the painters Francesco Stringa in Modena, and then of Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole in Bologna, ...

from 1733 until Donnini's death in 1752. His long-cherished hopes of one day becoming Kapellmeister himself went unfulfilled in 1760 when a much younger colleague, Joseph Touchemoulin, got the assignment instead. Unlike Beethoven, Touchemoulin was an experienced violinist and an accomplished composer. On February 6, 1761, upon the death of Archbishop Clemens August of Bavaria, his successor Maximilian Friedrich von Königsegg-Rothenfels immediately began to implement strict austerity measures. Ludwig van Beethoven the Elder was made new Kapellmeister with the duties of singer and conductor combined. The disillusioned Touchemoulin consequently left Bonn to find work in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

. As a separate occupation Ludwig van Beethoven the Elder maintained a wine trade business, which he had developed over the course of many years, exporting Rhine and Moselle wine to

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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, la ...

. Nothing is known about the volume, success and profitability of these undertakings. On December 24, 1773, Ludwig van Beethoven the Elder died from a stroke in Bonn. Although he bequeathed debts to his son Johann, the father's holdings in commodities that were also bestowed on the son more than made up the difference, resulting in the total inheritance having a net surplus.

Family

On November 17, 1733, Ludwig van Beethoven the Elder married Maria Josepha Poll (born Ball) (born about 1714, died September 30, 1775, Bonn). The marriage produced three children: * Maria Ludovica Bernhardine van Beethoven (baptized August 28, 1734, Bonn, died October 17, 1735, Bonn) * Mark Joseph van Beethoven (baptized April 25, 1736, Bonn, died unknown) *

Johann van Beethoven Johann van Beethoven ( 1739 or 1740 – 18 December 1792) was a German musician, teacher, and singer who sang in the chapel of the Archbishop of Cologne, whose court was at Bonn. He is best known as the father of the celebrated composer Ludwig ...

(born c. 1740, probably in

, died December 18, 1792, Bonn); father of the composer

The family of Ludwig van Beethoven the Elder initially resided in the former Jesuit college in Wenzelgasse, then in an estate, owned by master baker Fischer in Rheingasse 386 and finally in a coaching inn in Bonngasse 386, opposite the Beethoven-Haus, (Bonngasse 515). Maria van Beethoven was to become an alcoholic, which resulted in her being placed in a clinic until her death in 1775, and his son Johann was ultimately to descend into alcoholism as well. Their alcoholism may have been related to the family wine trade business.

Assessments

Master baker Fischer described the appearance of Ludwig van Beethoven the Elder, of whom Amelius Radoux (1704 – c. 1773) had produced a contemporary oil portrait, as follows: "Stature of the court's Kapellmeister: A big beautiful man, learned man's face, broad forehead, round nose, large eyes, full red cheeks, very serious face". According to physician Franz Gerhard Wegeler, who later became a childhood friend of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven, Ludwig the Elder "was a small, vigorous man with extremely lively eyes". Fischer and Wegeler describe him as a man with a serious and honorable character, diligent in professional practice and financial management, as well as being generally helpful and sociable. Although his famous grandchild

was only three years old when Ludwig van Beethoven the Elder died, the younger Beethoven apparently had clear memories of his grandfather and developed a lasting love and admiration for him. In each of the countless times he changed lodgings during his years in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Beethoven would carry the Radoux oil portrait of his grandfather in person hurrying "to award it a place of honor" in the new home.

References

External links