Ludwig van Beethoven Quotes

20,000 at the Funeral

Beethoven died on March 26, 1827, at age 56. An estimated 20,000 people lined the streets of Vienna for his funeral procession. Franz Schubert was among the torchbearers. In his final years, nearly deaf and often ill, Beethoven composed the late string quartets, works so advanced that musicians of his time could not fully understand them. Today they are considered among the greatest music ever written. He left behind 722 works, nine symphonies, and a world that would never hear music the same way again.