Ludwig van Beethoven

            Nothing lasts forever, and all happiness comes with misery. Those few words seem to sum up my life. I have been diagnosed with a rare heart disease, edema and the doctors informed me that they do not know how much longer I have to live, but deep within me, I know that this will be my last night on this earth. Ever since that eventful day that my mother gave birth to me, my life has been a treacherous struggle.
             I was born into turbulent times. My generation was in the midst of experiencing the French Revolution. Like my father and grandfather before me, who were musicians at the court of the local prince, the Elector Max Friedrich, I too inherited musical talent. However, I was unlike my father in many ways. My father was an alcoholic and left the family when I was of a very young age. At age eleven I, being the oldest child in the family was forced to support my family (my mother and two brothers). For this reason, I searched around to find the best job I could, which just happened to be the assistant organist in the court chapel. A year later, at age twelve I was promoted to harpsichordist in the court orchestra. This job opened up many options for me. In my 17th year (1787) as harpsichordist, I visited Vienna and was granted an opportunity to play for the legendary composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I performed brilliantly, and deeply impressed Mozart. "Keep an eye on him - he will make a noise in the world some day."" Shortly after, I returned home to Bonn after hearing that my mother had fallen ill and was dying.
             About five years later, I arrived back in Vienna where I settled. I befriended many wonderful people and patrons, some of which whose names I put in the dedications of my work, Prince Lichnowsky, Prince Lobkowitz and Count Razumovsky. At that point in my life, I worked for the clergy and functioned under a slightly modified version of the patronage system. This meant that my own private works took second place to the clergy's wishes.