Beethoven: His Early Years

Throuought his lifetime, the composer Ludwig van Beethoven made many great
achievements through music that, even in modern times, continue to reach and inspire
people from all walks of life. Though nearly all of Beethoven's sucesses were achieved
through his will power and strong sense of ambition, some recognition must be acredited to
his father, who, through rash treatment in Ludwig's earlier years, helped drive him to
pursue his love of music.
Little is known about Beethoven's actual birthday, due simply to the idea that
Beethoven believed himself to be two years younger than his family and community
suggested he was. "All throughought his life, Beethoven insisted that he was born in 1772,
however, according to church records and personal family documentations kept during the
time period, it is known that Beethoven's approximate time of birth and baptism was either
December fifteenth or sixteenth, 1770 in Bonn, Germany" (Solomon 7-8).
Beethoven was th...