Beethoven was born in Bonn where he studied with Christian Gottlob Neefe, who spoke of his "most promising talent" and "youthful genius".
In Bonn Beethoven played viola in the court chapel, and attracted a circle of influential and aristocratic friends.
In 1792 he moved to Vienna where he studied composition with Haydn for a short time and also established himself as a virtuoso pianist.
During the early 1800s Beethoven's 'heroic' phase produced such works as the ground-breaking 3rd Symphony ('Eroica'), the 'Waldstein' and 'Appassionata' piano sonatas and the 'Razumovsky' string quartets.
In 1802 he wrote the 'Heiligenstadt Testament' which lay bare his fears concerning the loss of his greatest faculty, his hearing. By 1818 he was completely deaf but continued to compose for almost 10 more years until his death.
Always plagued by money problems, in 1809 Beethoven's situation was finally eased by an annuity granted by the Archduke Rudolph and the Princes Lobkowitz and Kinsky, all devoted champions of his music.
Beethoven's late period produced such works of genius as the 'Hammerklavier' piano sonata Op.106, the 5 late string quartets, the Missa Solemnis and the gigantic 9th Symphony, the 'Choral'.
After Beethoven's death a passionate love letter was found amongst his papers which has become known as the 'Immortal Beloved' letter - it's thought to have been written in 1812 to Antonie Brentano, ten years his junior.,