Harsh Fathers: How Both Mozart and Beethoven’s Music Was Influenced By The First Men In Their Lives
Photo Credit: Oğuz Kaan Boğa and Cansu C
Control and abuse (by Beethoven’s father) were traits that both composers knew from an early age, but they used their gifting to surge ahead in life
During my college years I studied different composers and the music they composed. I was familiar with two great composers—Beethoven and Mozart before college because I had played music compositions my piano teacher assigned me to practice. I did not know much about either composer before college, but after learning about them, it gave me a greater appreciation of their contributions to the music world, and it helped me understand the impact their personal lives had in their work as composers.
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART-
Mozart was an Austrian composer, and my favorite composer as a child. I was enthralled to learn about his musical talent at a very young age, and I thought it was admirable that his father Leopold, took him and his sister around Europe to showcase their musical abilities. He encouraged young Mozart, guiding him to grow as a composer so he could be known for his genius. He wanted his son to be known as the world’s greatest composer. But, as Mozart got older, he wanted to pave his own path lessening his father’s control. He had some rebellion towards his father and this frustrated Leopold. Mozart wanted to be independent of his father and make his own decisions.
While I don’t think Mozart had hatred towards his father, and I believe he was appreciative of his father’s guidance, he had a desire to carve out his niche in the world and make it on his own. Leopold did not want the string to be cut so he went as far as to try to prevent his son from marrying Constanze Weber. The father-son relationship was so strained that Mozart did not attend his father’s funeral. I believe Leopold loved his son, but he did not want to lose control over his son’s future. It was Leopold who guided Wolfgang to build and expand his music around Europe, and while I believe Mozart was grateful for what his father had done, he needed freedom.
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN-
Beethoven was a German composer and had a totally different environment and life from Mozart. Beethoven grew up very poor. His father was an alcoholic and his music teacher, and he was not the best example for his young son to emulate. He would often wake him up in the middle of the night and make him practice until the sound of the church bells chimed in the morning. Beethoven was so gifted that he would compose his own melodies, but instead of receiving praise from his father for his talent, he was ridiculed, called dumb and ignorant, and was told to not waste his time doing something that he was not ready for.
When young Beethoven made a mistake playing music, his father would often beat him or slap him on his ear, saying hurtful things to him. I have often said there are reasons Beethoven continued with music even though he suffered under his father’s terrible treatment of him. I believe the harsh treatment from his father instilled in him a strong sense of work ethic to give it your all and not give up even when you face challenges.
The ill treatments may have led him to become independent and paved the way to his own success. It was like he had something to prove to the world that he was worth something. He was not a nobody, and he put all of his emotions into his music. What he could not express verbally, he was able to express in his music.
Both composers faced challenges from their fathers. There is no denying both composers were deeply influenced by their fathers’ control and abuse. It was because of their father wounds that they were able to express their feelings and thoughts in the music they composed. The lessons they learned as children paved the path for how they viewed themselves and how they wanted the world to view them. I am very grateful for the music they created and the great impact both had in the world of music.
