LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

BORN December 1770 (exact date unknown), Bonn, Germany.

DIED 26 March 1827, aged 56, Vienna, Austria.

FAMILY One of seven children born to Johann, a singer who also gave music lessons, and Maria Magdalena. Only three of the children survived beyond infancy.

A towering figure who battled alcoholism, illness, an unhappy love life and a final decade of deafness to make some of the most famous works ever written. His Fifth Symphony has the most famous opening notes in classical music, while his Ninth Symphony ends with the glorious Ode To Joy.