Ludwig van Beethoven is a well known composer who lived during the transition from Classicism to Romanticism. He inherited from the Classical period certain musical styles which were well cultivated, but, because of outside circumstances and the force of his genius, he changed this heritage and became the source of much that was characteristic of the Romantic period (Grout & Palisca, 1988, p. 625). Beethoven's music tends to follow his life experience. His work is customarily divided into three periods, each reflecting distinctive levels in his artistic development (Kirby, 1970, p. 202).
Most of the music from Beethoven's first period is similar to the music of the mature Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which was identified by a preoccupation with forms and craftsmanship, traditions of the Classical period. Beethoven's tutelage under Haydn in Vienna is probably the reason that Beethoven's First Symphony reflects Haydn's spirit and technical features (Grout & Palisca, 1988, p. 634). All four movements in Beethoven's First are standard in form; however, he still shocked his peers with his skillful arrangement of harmonies. The range of modulations (changing of keys) and harmonic connection exceeded those of his predecessors. His First is in the key of C, but Beethoven begins the piece on the dominant seventh of F major rather than the tonic, which was unacceptable to critics expecting the standard symphony to start on the tonic (Arnold & Fortune, 1971, p. 284).
By 1802, Beethoven was acknowledged throughout Europe as the foremost pianist of his time, the foremost composer for the piano of his time, and a symphonist who ranked with Haydn and Mozart. In this period, he also began to lose his hearing. Beethoven's middle period was characterized by longer works, emphasizing technical skill and concentrated thematic development. According to Carl Czerny, Beethoven declared, "I am not satisfied with my pr...