Ludwig Van Beethoven

(December 16, 1770 – March 26, 1827) was a German composer and virtuoso pianist. He was an important figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.He was born in Bonn, then in the Electorate of Cologne (now in modern Germany), he moved to Vienna in Austria, in his early twenties and settled there, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly earning a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. Beethoven's hearing gradually got worse beginning in his twenties, but despite this, he continued to compose and to conduct and perform, even after he was completely deaf.