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Beethoven was born in Bonn in Germany, his mother a singer in the service of the Elector of Köln (Cologne). His father was weak-spirited and drank excessively, but he recognized the boy's talent and was disappointed when the young Beethoven fai ....

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... significance for Beethoven were still to come: he completed his first symphony in 1800 and his first set of string quartets in 1801. Beethoven was Vienna's first successful freelance musician: he never again held a court position after leaving Bonn. Instead he had wealthy aristocratic friends, patrons and perhaps loves, to whom he dedicated his early compositions in return for payment. Begining in 1798, Beethoven experienced a continual humming and whistling in his ears that gradually grew stronger, eventually prompting the agonizing realization that he was going deaf. In 1802, in a state of desperation in which he contemplated suicide, Beet ...