Beethoven's Finale
1824 AD
1824 1824
16.12E48.11N
MUS

VIENNA, AUSTRIA
	It was 1824 in Vienna, Austria, and Ludwig van Beethoven stood facing the orchestra. He had just finished conducting the opening of his Ninth Symphony, but he couldn't hear a sound from the audience. Finally, his assistant tugged at his suit and Beethoven turned to find the audience on its feet cheering. His symphony was a tremendous success! The only one who couldn't fully enjoy it was the composer himself; he had been completely deaf for 20 years.
	Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, and learned music from his father, a court musician. On a visit to Vienna in 1787, Mozart heard him play the piano and predicted: "He will give the world something worth listening to."
	And indeed he did, though Beethoven didn't always realize how brightly his own star would shine. For example, on an early morning walk through Vienna one summer in 1799, Beethoven overheard an outdoor orchestra playing one of his favorite pieces, Mozart's Piano Concerto in C Minor.
	"I shall never be able to do anything like that," he sighed, then went home to finish his own magnificent concerto in C Minor, possibly the finest of his five piano concertos.
	Beethoven also wrote what is probably the most famous symphony of all time, his Fifth Symphony, as well as his famous Moonlight Sonata, and many other pieces.