Beethoven and Basketball
By Giovanni Phillips
Ten-year-old Giovanni Phillips loves two things in life Beethoven and Basketball! Giovanni learned to play five Beethoven songs including his favorite song Ode to Joy. I n his own words, He talks about his hero Beethoven, and why his music is so important in this exclusive article for Kid Scoop News San Diego!
When Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany December 16, 1770, his father and mother knew that young Ludwig would fit in the musical world perfectly. And so he did. At age 1, Beethoven was forced to play the piano. A year or two afterwards, he was forced to play day and night. This only happened because his father was always drunk. Whenever Beethoven made a little mistake on the piano, his father either beat him, or locked him in the basement for the night. These punishments gave him a fiery will to succeed.
As a young boy, Beethoven liked to play the violin. His father usually asked,” What silly trash are you scratching together now? You know I can’t bear that –scratch by note, otherwise your scratching won’t amount to much.” Beethoven ignored him. Beethoven composed his own music under the age of 10. At age 12 Ludwig played piano in “C” minor which no one played at that time because it was very hard to play. By 1793, Beethoven often played the piano for Viennese Nobility.
At age 25, Beethoven went deaf. His only way of talking to people was asking them to write down what they were saying in an empty book. Ludwig Van Beethoven sadly passed away in Vienna Austria – March, 26, 1827 at age 56. There were around 26,000 at his funeral. He was considered a genius. He died a hero.
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