Ludwig van Beethoven was an unhappy genius. He had deep feelings that he could not express in words. He found the way to express these feelings in music, and this led to a new kind of music that is expressive.
Beethoven was born in the German city of Bonn, in 1770. His father was a singer in the Church choir, and he soon saw that Ludwig had musical ability. The father thought that Ludwig might be another wonder-child, like Mozart, and that he would make the family's name and fortune. He forced the little boy to practice long hours on the violin.
Mozart's father had been kind, but Beethoven's father was impatient and often rough with him. Also, Beethoven's father was not reliable in earning a living for his family. As young Ludwig grew up he had to take a great deal of responsibility. When he was 15, and was working in the Church as assistance organist, Ludwig was practically supporting the family.
But he had kind teachers and some good friends, and he was lucky enough to get a position playing the viola in the opera orchestra in Bonn. There he became familiar with the operas of Mozart and other composers, and he learned a great deal about the instruments of the orchestra and how they played together. This was to be valuable to him later in his own composing.
When he decided to go to Vienna to study, the Archbishop at Bonn paid for his journey and other friends gave him letters to noblemen in Vienna. Beethoven was a very fine pianist, besides being able to play the violin and other stringed instruments. The Viennese music-lovers quickly adopted him as a favorite concert performer. But they criticized every new work of Beethoven's because it was too different.
The Viennese soon realized that they had an extraordinary genius living among them, and they made every effort to keep him. When Beethoven had an offer to go to another city as an orchestra conductor, three noblemen of Vienna banded together to pay him a regular income every year if he would stay with them, He stayed, and went on composing his big, powerful symphonies, concertos, piano sonatas and many other works.
But except for his music, Beethoven was not a happy man. Before he was 30, he began to grow deaf. This was a terrible misfortune for a musician. His deafness came slowly and he was able to continue playing concerts until he was 44. But 10 years later, when his great Ninth Symphony was performed for the first time, he could not hear at all. He was sitting on the stage at the performance, watching the conductor, and he had his back to the audience. One of the singers turned him around so that he could see the audience enthusiastically applauding this tremendous symphony.
Beethoven was a lonely man. Although he had fallen in love several times, he never married. His deafness made him still more lonely, for he would not go out in public at all. But he rose above his loneliness and deafness through his music. Even when he was totally deaf, he went on creating music that he could not hear except in his mind, expressing all the feelings he could not express to anyone in words.
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FelicityLawrence
ThursdayDecember28,2006
TheGuardian
1.ConsumersaretobepresentedwithtworivalnewyearadvertisingcampaignsastheFoodStandardsAgencygoespublicinitsbattlewiththeindustryoverthelabellingofunhealthyfoods.
2.TheGuardianhaslearnedthattheFSAwilllaunchaseriesof10-secondtelevisionadvertsinJanuarytellingshoppershowtofollowared,amberandgreentrafficlightlabellingsystemonthefrontoffoodpacks,whichisdesignedtotackleBritain’sobesityepidemic.
3.Thecampaignisadirectresponsetoaconcertedattemptbyleadingfoodmanufacturersandretailers,includingKellogg’sandTesco,toderailthesystem.Theindustryfearsthattrafficlightswoulddemoniseentirecategoriesoffoodsandcouldseriouslydamagethemarketforthosethatarefatty,saltyorhighinsugar.
4.TheUKmarketforbreakfastcerealsisworth￡1.27bnayearandthemanufacturersfearitwillbeseverelydentedifredlightlabelsareputonpackagingdrawingattentiontothefactthatthemajorityarehighinsaltand/orsugar.
5.Theindustryisplanningamajormarketingcampaignforacompetinglabellingsystemwhichavoidscolour-codinginfavourofinformationaboutthepercentageof"guidelinedailyamounts"(GDAs)offat,saltandsugarcontainedintheirproducts.
6.Thebattleforthenation’sdietcomesasnewrulesontelevisionadvertisingcomeintoforceinJanuarywhichwillbaradvertsforunhealthyfoodsfromcommercialbreaksduringprogrammesaimedatchildren.SourcesattheTVregulatorsarebracedforalegalchallengefromtheindustryandhavedescribedthelobbyingeffortstoblockanynewadbanorcolour-codedlabellingas"themostferociouswe’veeverexperienced".
7.Ofcom’schiefexecutive,EdRichards,said:"Wearepreparedtofaceuptoanylegalactionfromtheindustry,butweverymuchhopeitwillnotbenecessary."TheFSAsaiditwasexpectinganonslaughtfromtheindustryinJanuary.SeniorFSAofficialssaidthemanufacturers’effortstoundermineitsproposalsonlabellingcouldthreatentheagency’scredibility.
8.TerrenceCollis,FSAdirectorofcommunications,dismissedclaimsthattheproposalswerenotbasedonscience."WehavesomeofthemostrespectedscientistsinEurope,bothwithintheFSAandinourindependentadvisorycommittees.ItisunjustifiedandnonsensicaltoattacktheFSA’sscientificreputationandtotrytoundermineitscredibility."
9.TheFSAisunderstoodtohavebriefeditsadagency,United,beforeChristmas,andwillaimtoairadsthatare"non-confrontational,humorousandfactual"asacounterweighttoindustry’seffortsaboutthesametime.Theagency,however,willhaveatinyfractionofthebudgetavailabletotheindustry.
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