devote to it earnest
and sympathetic study. No other composer demands so much of one; no
other rewards the student so richly for the effort required. The making
a fact the subject of thought vitalizes it. It is as if the master had
said to the aspirant: "I will admit you into the ranks of my disciples,
but you must first prove yourself worthy." An initiation is necessary;
somewhat of the intense mental activity which characterized Beethoven in
the composition of his works is required of the student also. There is a
tax imposed for the enjoyment of them.

Like Thoreau, Beethoven came on the world's stage "just in the nick of
time," and almost immediately had to begin hewing out a path for
himself. He was born in the workshop, as was Mozart, and learned music
simultaneously with speaking. Stirring times they were in which he first
saw the light, and so indeed continued with ever-increasing intensity,
like a good drama, until nearly his end. The American Revolution became
an accomplished fact during his boyhood. Nearer home, events were fast
coming to a focus, which culminated in the French Revolution. The magic
words, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and the ideas for which they
stood, were everywhere in the minds of the people. The age called for
enlightenment, spiritual growth.

On reaching manhood, he found a world in transition; he realized that he
was on the threshold of a new order of things, and with ready prescience
took advantage of such as could be utilized in his art. Through
Beethoven the resources of the orchestra were increased, an added range
was given the keyboard of the piano, the human voice was given tasks
that at the time seemed impossible of achievement. He established the
precedent, which Wagner acted on later, of employing the human voice as
a tool, an instrument, to be used in the exigencies of his art, as if it
were a part of the orchestra.

Beethoven's birthplace, Bonn, no doubt proved a favorable soil for the
propagation of the new ideas. The unrest pervading all classes, an
outcome of the Revolution, showed itself among the more serious-minded
in increased intellectuality, and a reaching after higher things. This
_Zeitgeist_ is clearly reflected in his compositions, in particular the
symphonies and sonatas. "Under the lead of Italian vocalism," said
Wagner, speaking of the period just preceding the time of which we
write, "music had become an art of sheer agreeableness." The beautiful
in music