What can be said about BEETHOVEN that hasn't already been said? He’s one of the greatest, if not THE greatest composer and pianist in the history of Classical music, and his works are some of the most performed in the Classical repertoire.
Ever since he was a child, he had an excessively tormented and passionate life, with alternatives of joy and despair. Furthermore, his last years are saddened by his material misery and his deafness, which had become total.

His early compositions from the first period are characterized by respect for the Classicism of the late 18th century, where the influence of Haydn and Mozart is recognized.
But it's in the second period when Beethoven's Romanticism stands out in all its splendor: the translation of personal feelings of joy or suffering frequently imposes modifications in a way that differs greatly from the rules accepted during Classicism. Beethoven's daring attitude amazes the musicians of his day, and, despite his increasing deafness, his glory is at its zenith.

In his third period, however, it is noted that the composer is withdrawing into himself: totally deaf and prey to material and moral misery, he gives up performing in public, writing more than anything for himself and for art. So he composes his last quartets and sonatas, the Missa Solemnis and, of course, the Ninth Symphony, with its Ode to Joy, which will remain one of the greatest musical conceptions of all time.

Indeed, Beethoven's influence will be exerted on all the musicians who came after, such as Chopin, Wagner, Brahms and Tchaikovsky.