Ludwig van Beethoven was baptised in Bonn on 17 December 1770. A musical prodigy, he was taught first by his father and then by Christian Gottlob Neefe, and at 21 he moved to Vienna, where he studied composition with Joseph Haydn and made his name as a virtuoso pianist.
He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time, and expanded forms such as the symphony, the piano sonata and the string quartet. He gradually lost his hearing, probably from otosclerosis, and kept composing; his late string quartets are considered pinnacles of the genre. He died on 26 March 1827, aged 56.