1. When Beethoven arrived in Vienna in 1792, he arranged to study with Haydn. This was not very satisfactory for Beethoven. He and Haydn had numerous disagreements. But Haydn by this time was older, retired from the Esterházy estate, and interested in his ventures in London. Beethoven, for his part, was stubborn and headstrong. He eventually began studying with other composers (secretly at first). In spite of their disagreements, Beethoven expressed a lifelong respect for Haydn whenever asked. His music also shows clear signs of Haydn’s influence.

2. Beethoven faced three significant crises in his life: his growing deafness, his failure to marry and create a family, and his troubled relationship with his nephew Karl. The first crisis was noted in the Heiligenstadt Testament of 1802, the second in his “Letter to the Immortal Beloved,” which has been dated to about 1812. The final crisis, a custody battle for his nephew Karl, extended from 1815 to 1820. Each of these crises acted as catalysts for his music, and each change in compositional output corresponds to these dates (This third crisis isn’t mentioned in the text and can easily be omitted from the discussion).

3. The onset of Beethoven’s deafness was gradual. He had periodic bouts of tinnitus (beginning about 1796) that got worse over the next several years. Not only did the buzzing or ringing in his ears prevent him from hearing clearly, loud noises would startle him and sometimes cause pain. It was not until about 1816 or 1817 that he became completely deaf.

4. The simple four-note motive Beethoven created for his Symphony no. 5 is present also in his Piano Sonata, op. 57. Echoes of this motive occur other works, too. What is so significant about that particular motive? It is so simple and (as Leonard Bernstein mentions on his Young People’s Concerts devoted to Beethoven) yet so pregnant with meaning.