Ludwig van Beethoven: Quick Facts

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Nov. 13, 2026

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Baptized	December 17, 1770
Died	March 26, 1827 • Vienna • Austria
Notable Works	“Für Elise” • “Archduke Trio” • “Battle Symphony” • “Choral Fantasy in C Minor” • “Christ on the Mount of Olives” • “Diabelli Variations, Op. 120” • “Emperor Concerto” • “Eroica Symphony” • “Fidelio” • “Great Fugue” • “Hammerclavier Sonata” • “Heiligenstadt Testament” • “Missa Solemnis” • “Moonlight Sonata” • “Piano Sonata in B-flat Major” • “Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Opus 21” • “Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67” • “Symphony No. 6 in F Major” • “Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92” • “Symphony No. 9 in D Minor” • “The Creatures of Prometheus” • “The Glorious Moment” • “Two Preludes Through all Major Keys” • “Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61” • “Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Opus 47, Kreutzer” • “Waldstein Sonata”

Beethoven's father advertised his son as the next musical child prodigy by claiming that he was two years younger than he actually was.
Beethoven first publicly performed when he was eight years old.
Kosovo and the Council of Europe adopted Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" as their anthems.
After Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France, Beethoven erased a dedication to him so harshly that he ripped the manuscript.