Beethoven, Symphony 7, Allegretto, mvt 2

Easily the most famous and influential of all the composers who ever lived, Ludwig Van Beethoven was gifted with an acute sense of hearing. He was trained from youth on the piano by his father and by his early twenties had become a virtuoso in Vienna. He composed and performed a number of great pieces in a short time. By the age of 26, he started going deaf from tinnitus and eventually had to stop performing altogether. 15 years later, he was completely deaf and from that point he stuck to composing and writing.

His Middle (Heroic) period began shortly after Beethoven's personal crisis brought on by his recognition of encroaching deafness. It includes large-scale works that express heroism and struggle. Middle-period works include six symphonies (Nos. 3–8), including Symphony # 7, which is very dark and brooding.

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