Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Yellow House was brilliant. When I first saw the soon-to-be massive Veckatimest thread on AtEaseWeb, I had no idea what I or anyone could expect after this perfection. Maybe I was expecting an extension of Yellow House, or maybe I was expecting a Kid-A-like drastic change in style. Whatever the expectations were, it was to be satisfied through Veckatimest—however not good enough to go beyond the lines of Yellow House.

I didn’t participate in the leak party before the day of release. My Veckatimest experience began with the video for “Two Weeks,” in which the weird-looking robot versions of the band sing and eventually explode (it would be very interesting to know how the robot look was made). Honestly, “Two Weeks” was a disappointment. It became clear that my expectation was an extension of Yellow House. The general air of the song was way too bright and brisk for Grizzly Bear (but again, my favorite song off Yellow House is “Marla”). The jumping beats weren’t exactly what I was expecting from Grizzly Bear. I had to run off to the AtEase forums and desperately ask everyone to tell me other tracks are stronger than “Two Weeks,” which two people assured they are. A few more repeated listens revealed the beauty of the melody, but it has remained one of the weak tracks for me so far.

One hears a lot of qualities shared with Yellow House from the first track of Veckatimest, “Southern Point.” The steady layer of guitar sub-melody and drum beats beneath Ed Droste’s vocals is just one reminisce of the band’s previous album. But one noticeable change in style includes Droste’s vocals. Whereas previous vocal tone was plain and rather fragile without much vibrato, now it is more confident and strong. The transition in the song is a nice surprise and the first signal that Veckatimest isn’t going to be as consistent as Yellow House.

The Grizzly Bear style is still present throughout “All We Ask” in the beginning. But there is a surprise about halfway into the song during the chorus. It sounds like David Bowie! (it's not just me, is it?) I’m sure Grizzly Bear has been influenced by David Bowie, but I wasn’t expecting this clear indication of it merged into the Griz sound which is quite different from Bowie in nature. It might have been an experiment with the newfound vocal tones (Pitchfork review says Dan Rossen sang it, but I don’t know the difference between him and Droste).

“Fine for Now” has some great melody and harmony in it. There even isn’t a need to mention the “instrumental” voice. Smooth changes into each part of the song create that familiar “epic” Grizzly Bear song vibe. “Cheerleader” starts off with a change in style and funky bass beats. This track marks the transition within the album to a lighter and stripped tone.

“Dory,” a moderate favorite of the fans, sounds like wind. Quiet and flowing sound of vocals (great harmony, as always) and the varying instruments makes a perfect sit-beside-a-lake-and-feel-the-wind type summer song. But the one reason I love this song so much is that it has clarinet, my favorite non-bass instrument, in it. And it plays as such a great windlike element in the song.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I heard “Ready, Able” in a bar or a café (hey, not that I’ve been to a bar). I have a negligible experience with jazz music, but I must guess this sounds pretty jazzy. The chorus has an emotional melody that I feel like I have heard before but is probably a déjà vu. “About Face” is the most Radiohead-like track in the album. It has more rock elements than any other tracks in the album with more powerful drum beats and fuzzy guitar. If you missed your typical rock sound listening to this album, you can find part of it in this song… just a really small part.

“Hold Still” is more of an interlude with inserted guitar parts that sound Japanese. It reminds me of the horrible Japanese music we had to play in band and irritates me a little, so I’ll just skip this one. “While You Wait for the Others” is regarded the weakest track by the most, which I disagree. Because “Two Weeks” is the weakest. No, not really. I just love it when a Grizzly Bear track has lots of bass in it. And no one can say no to the crazy vocal melody 3:20 into the song. Grizzly Bear is one band that appeals for me even though their songs don’t have a dramatic climax, and this one does have a dramatic climax.

“I Live with You” starts almost orchestral before the weirdly melancholy vocal kicks in, and the intro sounds a bit like a Disney soundtrack to be frank. The not-so-orchestral arrangement after the intro has a good mix of epic and, what would I call it, that rainy atmosphere. I might as well say this is a whimsical storm, but it’s definitely a lame metaphor. Forget it.

“Foreground,” the last track of the album and a beautiful ballad, is “Videotape” of Veckatimest. Not as mind-blowing as “Videotape,” but “Foreground” serves its role as a closer. But it might have been more beautiful with an epic scale track with 34 instruments that ends stripped into vocals only.

In the end, the only thing Veckatimest lacks is the consistency shown in Yellow House. I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing because Yellow House was more like "every track on this sounds the same" and in Veckatimest, you can really tell between the tracks. I shall give some more listens and find out. After all, this is a two-day old album.

In Case Anyone Thinks I'm A 13-Year-Old Romantic Novel Fan

That picture on the header is from the cover of my (Korean) copy of Lolita. Because hell yeah I love that book and it's 30% because of that picture. I shall get it in a better resolution when I get back, which is, by the way, in a week. This summer is going to be pretty suckybusy with eight books to finish and previewing for AP Physics and trying to get healthier.

Onion Tears

I spent last Christmas break eating smoked salmon with capers, flying fish eggs, and LOTS of onions. Actually, this dish probably comprises about 45% of my diet during any given break spent back home.

At one point of my life, I discovered smoked salmon. I didn't like it too much before I was told to eat it with capers and onions because it smelled like, well, fish. Some might wonder why I wouldn't eat fish that smells like fish when I have an almost sexual desire towards sushi. If your sushi smells like fish, that's not fresh, honey. But smoked salmon is smoked and being spoiled is most likely out of question. It was securely preserved in the refrigerator for my possessed hand to reach out and grab anytime I wanted to. My! I say it possessed me.

Then my addiction started to move to the caper and onion that I ate with salmon. In fact, smoked salmon does not have any taste unless texture is a taste. The taste itself is the same with only capers, onions, and fish eggs. I started to eliminate salmon from my dishes since it wasn't always ready to eat (Mom always put salmon in the freezer). I pulled out capers and onions while waiting for the salmon to melt. I would stuff my mouth with onions and capers and find myself with no more to garnish with the salmon when it's finally good to eat. I ate cold diced onions like they're apples. I smelled like onion all day (which I do at school too anyway). You can't avoid it if you live in Asia, but I was particularly bad.

So that's how I came to love onion. Please excuse me when I smell like onions or take half the onions in the grill to put in my chicken sandwich.

Net Ionic Equations

Thiocyanate is beautiful. A solution of ammonium thiocyanate, added to a solution of iron (III) chloride, forms a product of a very unusual composition and a beautiful color. Iron (III) thiocyanate is deep red, often referred to as “blood red.” The color is a strange reminiscence to the middle school days when eighth graders dressed in black snatched red ink from an innocent child to fake blood. They would not have liked it. Iron (III) thiocyanate is, in fact, a little too deep for them.

Then there are all the transition metals, atomic number twenty-seven to twenty-nine. They are cobalt, nickel, and copper. Cobalt ion turns blue in solution. Nickel is green, and copper is greenish blue with a positive one charge and clear blue with a positive two charge. They might be just like that little ugly duckling in Andersen, hiding beautiful appearances behind cold grey surfaces (which are pretty anyways).

Watching pennies turn silver and gold was quite impressive, too. A shiny 2009 penny was connected to a wire covered in black rubber and connected to a battery on the other side. The battery had another wire connecting it with a piece of zinc. An unidentified gross-looking mixture served to transfer electrons and plate zinc on the penny. A minute later, the penny would have turned sneakily into a dime-penny. Carefully heated, the zinc rapidly turns into gold—which is not really gold but brass. The wonders of chemistry hit the class too late, and it was four days before the AP exam.

Chemistry is all about symmetry, balancing equations, and predicting reactions; but for a moment, it can be about pretty colors.



I wonder if it's really that important that we don't use first person in our journals. With the assumption that journals are short essays, it really doesn't seem necessary, and it stands in my way to better writing. I mean, look at that last paragraph. When writing about rather personal experiences, first person definitely improves the quality of the piece... I think (for example─Headmaster's Dinner is better writing than this one). That's why I'd rather write short stories than meaningless essays like this one. But then you can't achieve anything with a one-page short story.

Social Movements of the Vietnam Era: Trauma and Hollowness

Melissa Lee
Mrs. Mann
English 2 Period 6
01-30-2009

Social Movements of the Vietnam Era: Trauma and Hollowness

In the 1994 movie Forrest Gump, Forrest Gump, a soldier with mental disorder, describes the Vietnam War protestors in an interesting way: “there was this man giving a little talk. And for some reason, he was wearing an American flag for a shirt. And he liked to say the ‘F’ word a lot” (Forrest Gump). Forrest Gump is successful at seeing the point of the social movements of the sixties—hippies and the New Left for instance. Looking more closely into the Vietnam War Era, many people might find the social movements rather cultural than political, although most would agree with the sheer ideas of the social movements such as freedom of speech, peace, and harmony.

The social movements have a variety of stems from all aspects of historic backgrounds. Although, historically, the era could be called a post-war era, the majority of leaders of social movements were Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, who had not experienced war (U.S. Census Bureau). However, this paper will examine the social changes based on the society, not the particular generation which led the changes.

In 1965, the United States started to support the democratic government of South Vietnam as a part of the Cold War between the communists and the democrats (Duiker 576). President Lyndon Johnson approved American military aid, stimulated by the desire to “win” free countries in the competition against communists (Duiker 576; Bender 83). However, the war was as bad as the World Wars, if not worse. Troops had died, and the majority of public did not see the need to continue the war with problems in the United States (Bender 83; King). Johnson insisted on continuing the war, but college students began to criticize him severely, when colleges started to host teach-ins to analyze and criticize the war (Bender 83). Antiwar movements were highly vehement with a mass number youths and important intellectual figures as their leaders until the Kent State shooting accident shocked the entire nation and the passion subsided (Duiker 614). Another massive social movement, the social activism movement, was mostly in response to the spread of communism (Duiker 614).The members called for true participatory democracy in America and consisted mostly of college students (Kristol).

The concept of free speech and true democracy was thought by most to be benevolent, even by the older generations (Kristol 127). However, the student and youth organizations such as Students for a Democratic Society were considered to be rather empty by a significant portion of the society. One ironical side of the movement that the opponents pointed out was the lack of a definite point. The youth population called for “freedom now” but failed to demand beyond such slogans (Kristol 127). The organizations had little success in unifying and specifying their claims into demands for legislations and, in fact, did not demand for them (Kristol 127). If they had succeeded to do so, the legislations would have helped them notably. Also, their ideas were generally accepted by the public, which means they would have had little trouble in obtaining enough votes of the Congress. Instead, quite surprisingly, most campus pamphlets did not bother to mention the efforts of the government to improve the nation’s freedom (Kristol 127). Hardly any campus meetings were held in celebration of the Civil Rights Act or the Voting Rights Act (Kristol 127). The suggested points indicate that the participants of social activism movements knew only that they were dissatisfied, but what can lead to satisfaction. In few cases they knew what they wanted, the demands were often too extreme to be satisfied. For example, many members of Students for a Democratic Society called for direct democracy in which all citizens of a nation express their wills rather than elected representatives (Kristol 129). Today, any educated person knows that direct democracy is an ideal that can never come true for any nation larger than ancient Greek city-states. In most regions, social activism had turned into violence, the opposite of what they are supposed to pursuit, without a single word from their leadership (Eisenhower 109; Reagan).

American economy had recovered rapidly after World War II (Duiker 614). The Baby Boomers, born when the economy was skyrocketing, were cared unbelievably well compared to their parent generation, the children of war (Kristol 130). Unlike their parents, the Baby Boomers were well-educated, and their future was laid neatly before them (Kristol 130). With the lack of harsh punishments following sloth, they developed a tendency to be idle whenever they could (Kristol 130). In the course, their young energy had nowhere to go. They were bored. Social activism was just a way to deal with the surplus energy. It was a revolt for revolt.
Moreover, there is a good chance that participating in such movements was considered “cool.” The irresistible human tendency to follow what is “cool” probably played a significant role in the popularity of social activist movements. Students for a Democratic Society expanded its influence to three hundred college chapters by 1965 (Bender 116). Their call for peace combined with the Hippie society, such organizations attracted students and gained popularity. The pacifist songs that overflowed into record stores in the Sixties and the Seventies, represented by musicians such as John Lennon and Bob Dylan, helped greatly in becoming a “trend.” Many people joined the Hippies as well at the time. Hippie societies at the time provided comforts such as food, clothing, and medical care for nothing (Newfield 146). Joining Hippie societies were very attractive to many youths in that aspect. A vital part of Hippie population, mostly male, was also attracted to the Hippies’ liberal idea of sex (Bender 116). To many members of the older generation, Hippies were seen as a group of stupid young people who wanted something new without appropriate labor in exchange (Newfield 146). In fact, most of them did not care about peace as long as they had LSD to take and physical comfort (Newfield 146). Nor did they seem to truly understand what their slogan meant (Newfield 147).

In a rather sociopsychological approach, the activist movements can be considered as an effort of the society to heal itself. Decades of war did not only cause trauma in individuals, but also the entire society. The aftermaths of such immense violence can vary. Without appropriate treatment, numerous symptoms may occur such as hysteria or obsession (Herman 10). No one bothered to approach trauma in a sociological way after the World Wars. The society was left uncured, and it was finally attacked again with meaningless deaths in Vietnam War. Moreover, the goal the society tried achieved through war, “winning” a free nation, was defeated (Bender 83). Everything combined to make the society seek cures for itself. Many individual trauma victims who did not go through proper treatment (which involves the stage of remembrance and mourning) have a tendency to try not to remember or speak about the tragic event that led to trauma (Herman 26, 175). The society was trying to relieve trauma by making itself busy doing other things like social activism movements or opposition to them. The focus of the activism from the society’s point of view is merely the act of calling for freedom. The society needed something to occupy itself.

As mentioned above, a huge part of the antiwar movements was music. Popular songs with controversial lyrics poured into the chart. Bob Dylan, an American folk singer, was the lead of such change in music industry. With his legendary songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Masters of War,” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” he established his status as a representative figure in the antiwar movement (Santelli 23-27). Under the influence of his girlfriend who worked for the Congress of Racial Equality, he became aware of social injustice and began writing topical songs (Santelli 23). He scrapped newspapers to find inspiring incidents and eventually reached the area of antiwar music (Santelli 23). His music achieved chart success and platinum sales and were covered by a number of musicians (Santelli 6). Under these circumstances, it is hard to say that Bob Dylan had no interest in earning money through his music. Also, Dylan was a great fan of Woody Guthrie, who had influenced him in a variety of ways (Santelli 23). Woody Guthrie was a legendary folk singer who also wrote topical songs (Santelli 23). Dylan’s desire to become like his hero partly inspired him to write antiwar songs.

The fans of pacifist music were no exceptions. Like Woody Guthrie was to Bob Dylan, Dylan was their hero. As many people know from their personal experiences, the desire to become like one’s hero is difficult to escape. Dylan fans copied him and were influenced by him. They became pacifists just like their hero for the same reason many high school students today go “emo.” Being pacifist was the “cool” thing, just like the case with participatory democracy organizations. Fans followed Dylan, participating in demonstrations and picketing, especially the ones Dylan participated as well (Santelli 31). A significant portion of the audience had little interest in peace movements; they came to see their favorite singer perform (Santelli 31).

Although the particular example here of Bob Dylan mostly showed real passion to deliver the pacifist messages, the rest of music industry had little success in real passion. After realizing that Dylan’s pacifist songs “sell,” and antiwar movement had become a trend, the music industry began to produce a mass number of songs with antiwar messages, mostly aimed to bring money to the company (Richards). As a result, the whole business of pacifist music became pretentious.

The antiwar and participatory democracy movements of the Sixties and the Seventies brought changes to the society. However, it is true that some aspects of the society remained the same while they needed change. Furthermore, the lack of point and shallowness of the participants make it easy to doubt if they truly understood what they were doing and had any passion for it. From the approach that is employed in this paper, it can be concluded that the social movements mostly derived from the surplus energy and the tendency of violence of the youth.

Works Cited

Bender, David L., and William Dudley, eds. The 1960s: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1997.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. “Let’s Close Ranks on the Home Front.” Reader’s Digest April 1968.
Kristol, Irving. “What’s Bugging the Students?” Atlantic Monthly November 1965.
Herman, Judith Lewis. Trauma and Recovery. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992.
King, Martin Luther Jr. “Declaration of Independence from the War in Vietnam.” Sermon. Ricerside Church, New York City, New York. 4 April 1967.
Reagan, Ronald. “From Free Speech to Filthy Speech.” Radio address on sudent demonstrators. 1968.
Richards, Ron, Ray Barrera and Kevin Hayes. Protest Music of the 1960’s. 03 May 2006. San Diego State University. 15 January 2009.
Santelli, Robert. The Bob Dylan Scrapbook: 1956-1966. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.
U.S. Census Press Releases. 3 January 2006. U.S. Census Bureau. 1 February 2009
Forrest Gump. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Tom Hanks, Robin Wright Penn, and Gary Sinise. Paramount Pictures, 1994.

Who Killed Lolita Blaze?

He heard the disturbing noise of the dry hinge of the door of his bright office, hot and filled with strangling afternoon sunshine. It was stuffy in the office. Hopefully, this would be the last counselee of the day. He had tried to turn up the air conditioning, but it was broken. The air conditioner was emitting a slight breeze of cool air, but it didn’t go up. It was better than in the winter, however, because the machine had been that way all year. It gave off cool air in the winter, making his pointy nose red and numb. He had to drink a lot of hot tea to keep himself warm. He didn’t like coffee.

“Hi, Martin.”

It was a girl. He didn’t recognize her at first. He pretended to pull out her counseling card and looked up the schedule for the day. It said “5:45pm—Lolita Blaze.” He looked up at her and recognized her. The girl had been counseled a few times before. Man, he thought, she has problems. She claimed that her friends “alienated” her for “unknown” reasons when she first came. Martin had tried to ask her questions and figure out why her friends would alienate her. Then her other problem was revealed, the anger problem. She got into a rage and stormed out of the office. The next time she came, Martin tried to tell her about her anger problem. She swore that was not it. “Observe me, Martin.” She said. “Observe me and tell me what the problem is the next time I come, okay?” He agreed. For the next three weeks, he completely forgot about that promise hanging out with his own friends. Two additional meetings ended with Lolita screaming at Martin and running out of the office. The last time she had come, she had tried to break a window. Martin had stopped her barely on time.

“Hi, Dolores.”

The first thing that came into his mind when she asked to find out why her friends would hate her was her name. Obviously, Lolita was not the kind of name the best parents would give to their daughter. Everyone called her Dolores or Lo instead of Lolita. Lolita was one of the very rare names which get teased more as the owner gets older. However, Martin eliminated the possibility quickly because the chances that enough people at school have read Lolita to be able to make fun of the name was so slight.

“Did you observe me, Martin? Did you figure out why I’m hated?”

“Yeah, I’ve actually done that. But I honestly do not see any reason you would be hated except that anger problem. Now, don’t…”

“It’s not the anger problem. How many times do I have to tell you it’s not?”

“I really think you have to figure it out yourself. You can’t expect your counselor to find out your problems for you, Dolores.”

“Then what’s a counselor for?”

“To… Advise you of the way you can solve your problems. Look, I have my own life. I’m… I’m not like a professional counselor, you know, I have my own life apart from counseling. That’s probably why I’m called a peer counselor.”

Lolita was silent for a while. She didn’t move a cell on her face. She was completely still for a second or two. Then she spoke again.

“Do you see me around?”

“Of course I see you around. You told me you had the same lunch period as me, didn’t you?”

“You’re assuming that you see me around.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

She was right because Martin, in fact, did not see her around.

“Okay, I don’t, satisfied?”

Great, she’s going to have that anger stroke again, Martin thought. Lolita was calm, unlike his predictions. She was, actually, rather indifferent than calm.

“Martin, why doesn’t anyone call me Lolita?”

“Er… Because Lolita is supposed to be sexual and all, I guess.”

“But that’s like saying I don’t deserve to be called the name of such a nymphet.”

“I didn’t say that! God, Dolores, I feel just funny calling anyone Lolita.”

He felt his lies once again. He was surprised at himself not feeling guilty about lying to her. She, again, sat there with the cold indifference. Martin wondered if she was getting treatment for her anger problem. This was usually the point she started screaming. He suddenly realized that he hardly knew her. Yet he would be one of the people who knew her the most. He wondered what she was good at.

“I like you very much, Martin. I really do.” She told him blankly as she rummaged through her bookbag.

“Um, thanks.”

“Oh, joy.”

Then the maddest thing happened. Lolita was holding a gun all of a sudden. She smiled very broadly then screamed: “Help! He’s going to kill me!” Before he could stop her, she put the gun on her forehead and triggered. When she fell, Martin realized that he loved her, that she was the only one he had loved in the world.

* * *

He never recalled that moment clearly; he just remembered that she wasn’t that fast and he could stop her if he did. When the security guard ran into the counselor’s office, he thought both Martin and Lolita were dead because Martin was stunned on the floor, pale as dead, soaked in Lolita’s blood.




I feel like such a fucking emo for writing this.

Headmaster's Dinner

Being alone is the most awful situation one can possibly be in, I tell you. As if it was not enough to be the only one not surrounded by parents and crazy knitter aunts, they even refused to let me find a place for myself to sit by politely saying “That’s my daughter’s seat.” I hate to imagine what would have happened if I did not arrive fairly timely and managed to steal myself a chair to join a group of other girls of the same circumstances. There were about two of those tables. We familyless peeps occupied two big tables and quietly finished eating before any event had even started. The guests were busy walking about getting food and socializing with their children’s teachers, with that dreaded hypocritical smile on their faces. It was a disgustingly transparent sight to watch. What made it worse was that everyone in the room was a highly motivated parent of elite students. What a dreadful sight! The level of my depression had ascended that I could stand up and yell at all of them. My facial expression must have exposed the state of my mind, but it was exactly the point. I wanted them to see me and realize what appalling hypocrisy they were committing. Even our location was a depressing one. The table was located right outside the door that separates the banquet room and the dining hall. It gave an impression that we were trying to blend into the banquet room, but weren’t accepted and had to stay outside. It is quite true, I must say. The headmaster did not even go outside the door: he had to socialize. I was expecting all this. What other event would be such a great chance to make the headmaster write your child’s college recommendation or get your unqualified child into the National Honor Society? I highly doubt that this will work, though. Their meaningless attempts were such filthy ones, but I simply did not want to go to the Grill and have leftover hamburger from lunch. Oh yes, food does speak.

Beethoven, His Music, and the World

Melissa Lee
Mr. Inman
Modern World History
10-25-08

Beethoven, His Music, and the World

The era of Ludwig van Beethoven—the 18th and 19th centuries—seems to be the height of classical music. It was the golden age of music when popular music consisted of classical music performed by orchestras and choruses in theatres. It was one era Bach met and influenced young Mozart, Haydn taught Beethoven, and Shubert came to Beethoven’s deathbed. Beethoven, among all the composers mentioned, although they all are extremely famous, would deserve the title of the greatest composer of all time. The intro of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is probably the most known piece of music in the history of music. However, not only did he make music, he also was very interested in politics, as European politics at the time was the most intense of the world. As a result, the musical genius’s work is sometimes not only purely artistic, but also influenced by and influential on politics.

Before Beethoven, instrumental music was considered the lower form of music. The higher form was vocal music with the popularity of a capella, which was not even one of the high forms of art. Music in general was considered to be inferior to other forms of arts, for instance, painting and literature. Today, instrumental music has become one of the highest form of the art, which is a striking change. What is more striking is that Beethoven, who is just one individual, was largely responsible for this change. While Mozart worked with voices mostly, Beethoven concentrated more on instrumental performances. Also, his influence on piano music was great. Being a piano player himself, Beethoven appreciated the sound of piano. The piano was still in the early stage of development at Beethoven’s time. He accepted the limitations of the piano, and transformed them into a greater effect. His piano improvisation was also described to be extremely brilliant that it made every single person in the audience tear. Clearly seen here is Beethoven’s brilliance in improvisational techniques that play an important role in his style for piano pieces. Beethoven’s piano pieces mostly consisted of sonatas. During the First Period, which extends from the Three Trios to the First Symphony, Beethoven’s piano sonatas show traces of improvisation, for example, sudden changes in accents or rhythms. They also show sudden major changes in dynamics such as crescendos leading to a sudden piano. In contrast, Beethoven started using more codas and repetitions during the Second Period, which is from the Moonlight Sonata to the Piano Sonata in E Minor. The Third Period piano pieces were mixtures of various forms of music such as dance, sonata, and march. By merging numerous forms and improvisational techniques in piano music, Beethoven enriched the texture of the sound. Also, his technique of inserting a solo part before the whole orchestra parts would cause struggling of later composers in attempt to reproduce.

Beethoven’s most famous pieces include the nine symphonies, piano sonatas, concerti, and chamber music. As he was taught by Haydn, Haydn’s influence lies largely in Beethoven’s works. Haydn is often called “the Father of Symphony,” and clearly Beethoven’s symphonies inherit their style from Haydn. The Second and Third periods’ magnificent style is most likely from Haydn. Dance rhythms and folk music influences also affected his music as they did other composers of the time. The great preceding composer, Mozart, was heavily influential on Beethoven’s work. Mozart was already well-known in Europe as a musical genius by the time Beethoven started composing music—in fact, the reason Beethoven’s father offered him musical education was the hope that young Ludwig might become a musical prodigy like Mozart. Beethoven’s earliest works bear a lot of resemblance with Mozart’s sonatas with use of the same key, same tempo, and even some lines sounding like variations of Mozart’s themes. Moreover, Beethoven’s earliest works also suggest that he learned how to use some wind instruments from Mozart.

One of the most well-known facts about Beethoven is that he was deaf. Modern medical science suspects typhoid fever in the youth to be responsible for his loss of hearing. According to the first violinist of the first performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Josef Böhm, although there was a great flood of applause and cheers, Beethoven could not hear it, and the alto soloist had to turn him towards the crowd to show what was going on. With a strong willpower, Beethoven managed to imagine the sound of music for a few years, but he soon became incapable of hearing any music. Although he remembered the sounds of instruments and was capable of imagining how the music would sound, he was not always right and could not judge his own work sometimes, which had a critical effect on the quality of the compositions . When he was conducting, the members of the orchestra could not play according to him. They had to look at the assistant conductor. As his memory of sound faded, his works got stranger and pulled sorrow and pity out of people who had appreciated his works. Beethoven himself was so discouraged by deafness that some critics even said the negative change in his works were due not to the illness, but depression followed by the thought that he could not write good music anymore and could not even conduct his own earlier works. On the other hand, in spite of the bad reputation of Beethoven’s later works at the period, some critics of later years appreciated the later style.

Beethoven lived in the age of revolution. French Revolution broke out when he was nineteen, and people at the time were generally mesmerized by the ideas of Enlightenment—freedom and equality. Even after French Revolution ended, Napoleon swept Europe with blood. Austria, where Beethoven lived, was one of the most powerful nations in Europe at the time. Austria formed a coalition with three other countries to fight Napoleon. The Austrians were defeated by Napoleon, but they attempted to fight Napoleon again by offering assistance to Russia, which did not help the Russians. The Third Symphony, also known as the Eroica Symphony, is considered one of the most political works of Beethoven. The symphony was first performed in 1804 and was written in the height of Napoleon’s reign. Napoleon Bonaparte had been “a man of Revolution” until that point. However, he crowned himself the Emperor of the French. The Eroica Symphony was originally to be named the Bonaparte Symphony in honour of Napoleon. Beethoven refused to dedicate his work to a hypocrite. He did note that the piece was “composed to celebrate the memory of a great man”, but he dedicated it to Joseph Lobkowitz, his patron. Napoleon and all the national heroes of France and other European nations were responsible for the “heroic” style that can be found on works of the Second Period. This style includes dramatic developments that later mark Beethoven’s style. The Eroica Symphony is a turning point in Beethoven’s musical career, getting away from the melancholy melodies of the First Period. Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, has a political story as well. It involves a prisoner who is arrested solely out of the governor’s will, which is related to the Enlightenment idea of people’s equality before the law. His choral works were largely political in terms of lyrics. At the end of the Ninth Symphony, the chorus sing that “all men will become brothers beneath joy’s gentle wing”, extracted straight from the Enlightenment idea of brotherhood.

Ferruccio Busoni, a great pianist and composer, said about Beethoven, “With Beethoven, humanity enters into music for the first time.” The honour has its reasons. Beethoven did bring a huge change into music. As Schubert said, “Who can do anything after Beethoven?”