Reflecting on Beethoven as The Innovator

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was one of the most innovative figures in the music history. I recently finished taking a class on Beethoven at Stanford taught by a brilliant music scholar, Stephen Hinton. The class was a fascinating journey into Beethoven’s nine symphonies and into his life.

Beethoven played a key role in evolution of symphonies from classical period (1760 – 1820) to Romantic period (1820 – 1918). Following are a few key innovations he was responsible for:

1. Movements: A classical period symphony has three or four movements. They are usually in the sequence of Fast -> Medium -> Dance -> Fast tempo.