At the age of twelve, he was already playing freely and was working as an assistant to the organist Niefer (1748-1798). It was at this point that he began his formal musical studies with Niefer. A musician of many talents, Niefer broadened Beethoven's artistic horizons, familiarized him with some of the finest examples of German classical art, and solidified Beethoven's understanding of a noble purpose. Beethoven's formal studies and systematic upbringing actually began with Niefer's careful teaching and nurturing: Niefer also guided him to Vienna in 1787 to study with Mozart. After hearing him play, Mozart predicted that Beethoven would one day shake the world. Shortly after his arrival in Vienna, Beethoven received news of his mother's death and had to return to Bonn immediately. Due to family commitments, he did not come to Vienna for a second time until after his father's death in the fall of 1792, but by that time Mozart was no longer alive. After his second visit to Vienna, Beethoven quickly earned the reputation of being one of Vienna's most accomplished virtuosos (especially in improvisation). Later, he studied first with Haydn, then with Schenker, Abrechberg and Salieri. In Bonn he came into contact with many famous professors, writers and musicians of the time through his association with the intellectual Brenin, from whom he was influenced by the ideas of the "Rampage Movement". His democratic ideas had matured in the years before the French Revolution, but grew particularly rapidly during the revolutionary years.
The progressive ideology of the French bourgeois revolution of 1789 inspired him a great deal, thus laying the foundation of his humanistic world. Although the three famous composers of the Viennese Classical School lived in a fairly close era, Beethoven's thinking was obviously not of the same "era" as Haydn and Mozart. Haydn was humiliated throughout his life, and although he was occasionally angered, he was always submissive; he was seldom excited by the progressive literary trends and revolutionary sentiments of the time, and his music was permanently insulated from the struggle. Mozart suffered no less mentally than Haydn; he was brave enough to resist, preferring poverty to the insults of the archbishop, but in his music a hint of pain, melancholy, and sadness can often be sensed behind the sunny and youthful joy of his music. Only Beethoven, who not only raged against the tyranny of the feudal system, but also used his music to call people to fight for freedom and happiness. Beethoven's compositions in Bonn (1782-1792) consisted mostly of small piano pieces, repertoire and songs, and it can be said that he was still in the preparatory stage of his compositions during this period. During his first ten years in Vienna (1792-1802), his more famous works were only "Sorrow", "Moonlight" and "Croce" sonatas and "Piano Concerto No. 3". During this period, however, he gained a better understanding of social and political issues, and was able to realize what he was trying to achieve. 1802-1812 saw the maturity of his compositions, which later became his "heroic years".
The maturation of Beethoven's creative activity appears to have been rather slow, but in fact it was very solid. He wrote his first symphony at the age of thirty, whereas at that age Mozart had already written some forty symphonies.
Beethoven had felt his hearing weakening since 1796, but it was not until 1801, when he was convinced that his ear disease was incurable, that he told his friends about it. However, his love of art and his love of life overcame his personal pain and despair - suffering became a source of creative strength. At the peak of the development of such a spiritual crisis, he began to compose his optimistic Heroic Symphony. The Heroic Symphony marked the beginning of Beethoven's spiritual turnaround, as well as the beginning of the "heroic age" of his compositions.
Beethoven's later years in Vienna were characterized by a temporary decline in his compositions (1813-1817), as Europe was going through a period of severe political reaction, particularly the reactionary rule of Metternich. From 1818, during the last decade of his life (1818-1827), Beethoven, completely deaf, in deteriorating health, and living in poverty and mental torment, composed his Ninth (Choral) Symphony with titanic perseverance, summing up his glorious, epic life and demonstrating the good will of mankind.
Beethoven died on March 26, 1827, in Vienna. He died without a single relative at his side, but was buried on the 29th of the same month in a mass wave, with all schools closed in mourning, 20,000 people escorting his coffin, and an inscription by the Austrian poet Glienbach (1791-1872) engraved on his tombstone: "When you stand in front of his bier, it is not a sense of disillusionment that envelops you, but rather a sense of the loss of spirit, which is the cause of his death. It is not disillusionment, but a sublime feeling; and it is only to such a man as he that we can say: he accomplished great things ......."
Beethoven is one of the world's great composers in the history of art, his creations focus on his titanic character, reflecting the progressive ideology of the era, its revolutionary heroism can be summarized in the image of "through suffering - to joy; through the struggle - to victory". His works are not only magnificent and grandiose, but also very simple and distinctive, with rich musical content, and at the same time, easy for the audience to understand and accept. Beethoven's music is a reflection of the pain and joy, the struggle and the triumph of the people of his time, and therefore it has always been so inspiring and motivating that even now it makes people feel affectionate and inspired.