Master Composer. On Beethoven and Coltrane. Visual & Performing Arts

On Beethoven and Coltrane
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On Beethoven and Coltrane
Beethoven, a name well-known for his great works celebrated by the world. Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He was able to create a symphony branded by people as “one of the greatest symphonies ever composed”, which was Symphony No. 125, among many of his other famous and great works. John Coltrane, on the other hand, lived a century later. He was a famous American saxophonist and composer of jazz. Coltrane was the one who introduced jazz in modern times, all over the world. Coltrane is also famed as one of the greatest saxophonists of all time. In this essay, we would discuss the life and musical journey of these two legendary musicians and their great and timeless contributions to the industry.
There was already exposure to music in Beethoven’s early life due to being born into a family of musicians. Both his grandfather and father were court musicians. These two were a huge influence in the musical inclination and career of Beethoven, although his experiences with them are not all happy and positive memories. Beethoven was very close to his grandfather, also sharing the same name, he was the musical figure that Beethoven admired. His father, on the other hand, also had great influence but was violent with his ways of teaching music to Beethoven. Beethoven’s father was known to be an alcoholic and was often beating him, even locking him up as a child if he made mistakes with his lessons. John Coltrane also had an early exposure to music, although not professionally as Beethoven’s lineage. Coltrane grew up with his father who was a tailor but was passionate about music. His father was able to play various musical instruments, also exposing Coltrane to Lester Young, Charlie Parker, and Count Basie, who were famous jazz legends before Coltrane. During his teenage years, Coltrane was gifted an alto saxophone by his mother which jumpstarted Coltrane’s musical career (Cohen, 2015).
Both these musicians have experienced addiction during their musical journey. Beethoven became an alcoholic like his father and was also diagnosed with liver cirrhosis during the last years of his life. John Coltrane has also addicted alcohol in addition to his previous issues with substance abuse, specifically heroin. This also had an effect on the image of Coltrane, especially because he was also a known religious figure. Eventually, Coltrane was able to control his addiction and stopped using an illegal substance.
Ludwig van Beethoven was a huge part of the transition in a musical style that occurred during his time. The music transitioned from classical characterized by poise and balance, into romantic style focusing on the impact and emotion of the pieces. A similar movement was done by John Coltrane with his new style of playing the saxophone. Both Coltrane and Beethoven were creative musicians who challenged the norms and unspoken rules during their time. In music, styles, genres, and the...