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Ludwig Van Beethoven has been an artist who has always been studied by many people throughout time. Not only have his works been analyzed, but his life has as well. Generally, his lifetime is divided into three style periods in which he composed music. I will be concentrating on the third style period (a complete listing of the works he composed during this time is attatched), which is generally thought of as lasting from 1815 until his death in 1827 (Grout 536, Cooper 447). Before one looks at the works he composed during this time, it is important to give a brief overview of what was happening in his life at this time. One of the largest issues plaguing Beethoven during this time was his health. During the third style period, he was continuously ill (which was not too uncommon throughout his life). A brief over view of his health during this time is as follows: chronic lung and bowel inflammation, Colic and inflammation of the lungs in 1815, diagnosis of a “lung disease” in 1817, bedridden for six weeks with Rheumatic fever in 1820, prolonged Jaundice in 1821, bedridden again for six weeks for Thoracic Gout in 1822, and a severe eye condition which came about in 1823 and required him to stay in a darkened room and sleep with bandages over his eyes (Cooper 443). This is just a listing of some of the main problems which he had during this time. Beethoven was never in good health, especially during this time period (Cooper 442). Being bedridden for so many lengths of time and being in so much pain most likely had an affect on his work. Another issue that affected his life during this time was the death of Beethoven’s brother and the consequent joint custody of his nephew (Cooper 13). In 1815, Carl died and left Beethoven with joint custody of his son, Karl (Cooper 13). Beethoven fought for full custody of Karl for over four years and in 1816 suffered from what would be thought of today as a mental breakdown (Cooper 13-14).
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