C minor. 1785.
8 Quintets for strings.
1 Quintet for clarinet and strings. 1789.
26 Quartets for strings. 1770-1790.
[The six quartets dedicated to Haydn were composed in 1782-85.]
6 Concertos for violin.
4 Concertos for horn.
1 Concerto for clarinet. 1791.
25 Concertos for pianoforte.
[We may mention the Concerto in D (1773), in D minor (1784), that
in G (1784), two in C (1784 and 1786), and one in C minor (1786).]
Concerto for two pianofortes in E-flat. 1780.
Concerto for three pianofortes in F. 1776.
2 Quartets for pianoforte and strings.
7 Trios for pianoforte and strings.
42 Sonatas for pianoforte and violin.
[The sonata in B-flat, dedicated to Mlle. Strinasacchi, was
composed in 1784.]
17 Sonatas for pianoforte solo.
5 Sonatas for pianoforte, four hands.
Rondo in A minor for pianoforte. 1787.
17 Sonatas for organ, with accompaniment.
BEETHOVEN
BEETHOVEN
It was a beautiful spring morning; the sun shone in a cloudless sky,
and the birds were singing blithely on the branches of the trees just
outside the window, as if inviting the child who stood within to come
out into the sunshine and be as free and happy as themselves. But he
could not respond to their call, for he was not yet half-way through
his long task. A pitiful little figure he made, mounted on a footstool
in front of the pianoforte, with his head resting wearily on his hand,
and his absent, dreamy gaze fixed upon the window. Scarcely five years
old, and yet condemned to practise endless finger-exercises until his
eyes grew dim with straining over the notes; kept a prisoner indoors,
apart from his playmates, when the sun was shining and the birds were
singing--and all because he happened to possess a great gift for
music, and because his father, realising this fact, had determined to
use the child's talents for the support of the family.
Suddenly the door of the sitting-room opened, and a stern face was
thrust inside.
'Ludwig!'--the tone was harsh and severe, and at the well-known sound
the boy awoke from his reverie--'Ludwig! what are you doing? Go on
with your exercise at once, and remember there will be no soup for you
until it is finished.'
Then the door closed again, and Ludwig turned with a sigh to his
monotonous task. Why should his life be made so much harder than that
of other children? he might have asked himself bitterly. It was not
that he disliked music--no, he loved it--but he ye
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