Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

German composer

Lived
1770–1827

Updated September 2026

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About Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer, conductor, and pianist. Regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music, he was mentored during the Classical period, and his musical style was a key driver of the transition to Romantic music, and the expansion of instrumental forms such as the symphony, the piano sonata and the string quartet. His compositions have attracted extraordinary casual and scholarly interest, and remain among the most performed in the world.

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

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Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.