ess of his youth turned into a mature artist pondering and placing each effect. Many of Beethovens most popular works date from this time. The Emperor Piano Concerto, the Violin Concerto, the Third to Seventh Symphonies, the Razumovsky were composed at this time (McLeish, pg. 19). In 1805 Beethoven premiered the Eroica Symphony which was a turning point in musical history. A succession of masterpieces came in the next eight years. Around 1811, Beethovens productivity slowed down. His deafness became total and he retired into his inner world. His health deteriorated and the relationship he had with his nephew, Karl, might have robbed the World of some masterpieces. He became the guardian of Karl when Beethovens brother Casper died. Beethoven was alternately strict and easy going and Karl was driven out of his mind. In 1826, Karl attempted suicide and told police Beethoven tormented him. Beethoven took it badly and friends say he aged twenty years in those weeks (McLeish, pg. 20). He died on March 27, 1827 after a long illness. It is reported 20,000 people attended the funeral. Beethovens music falls into three periods. His first twenty works hinted at the explosive power to come. After the Eroica, the second period sets in. He was confident, a master of form, and made his own rules. His music was governed by the logic of a great technician and musical genius. The last works period was the music of a man who has seen all and experienced all, a man in a silent, suffering world. He wrote only to justify his artistic existence, not to please anyone. Some find the works of this time bleak, cold and incomprehensible. Beethoven was a musical intellect who was driven by illness and mental suffering to retreat into his own world. His music is the most powerful body of music ever brought together by one composer (Schonberg, pgs. 115, 117, 119, 123)....
