"Pity, pity—too late!" (Attributed as his final words upon receiving a gift of wine) [28, 19].
"Don't only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the divine ." [27]
Beethoven's life was a testament to the conquest of personal tragedy through art [30]. At age 28, he contemplated suicide as his hearing failed, a despair he recorded in the Heiligenstadt Testament [16, 18]. He famously wrote that his art was the only thing that kept him from ending his life , believing he must first deliver all the music he felt born to create [16, 18].
Contains the Ode to Joy , which has become the Anthem of Europe [36, 9].
One of his most recognizable and beloved compositions for piano [36].