What is the curse of the ninth? The curse of the ninth is a superstition in the history of classical music. According to this, a ninth symphony for a composer will be the last, and death will come during writing or after completing this piece. There are two interpretations, according to the first, this is to ‘defend’ the fame and …
What is Freemasonry? Freemasonry has its origins in the Middle Ages, it evolved from the guilds of stonemasons and cathedral builders. Later, as these professions were less popular, they started to accept honorary members without connection to the original vocation. From the 17th century symbolism, ancient religious and chivalric brotherhood rituals were introduced. It was the first international organization whose …
There is a very popular anecdote about the meeting of Mozart and Beethoven. According to this, when Beethoven first visited Vienna in 1787 (at age 17), he was introduced to Mozart. The young talent played a piece and when he saw Mozart was not impressed, he begged for more time to improvise. This finally convinced Mozart, who said: “Mark that …
Pitch To make a sound, a vibration must be caused in the air. This can be done, for example, by a string or the skin of a drum. If this vibration is fast, we hear it as a high pitch. If it is slow, we hear it as low or deep pitch. The human ear can pick up a pitch …
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, today Germany. In his teenager years, local wealthy and influential patrons helped him to meet and follow Haydn (on his way back from London) to Vienna, in order to learn from the great Master. He first left Bonn for this reason in 1787 (at age 17), only to hasten back several weeks later, …
Like every contemporary boy, Beethoven went to start his primary school education around age of 5 or 6, (exact age is unknown). The school he attended was a secular state school in Bonn, called Tirocinium. Like often the case with geniuses, he did not make any lasting impression at school and by the age of ten his father withdrew him …