BEETHOVEN, LUDWIG (1770-1827), German Composer

Beethoven's musical training began at the age of five, when his talent became apparent. He was encouraged by his father, an unstable alcoholic who saw the profit potential of having a son who was a child prodigy. Despite the pressures of this situation, the talents of the young Beethoven flourished. When he was seventeen, he greatly impressed Mozart with his skills, and a few years later, he began a period of study under Haydn. Despite a hearing loss, which began in his late twenties, Beethoven produced nine symphonies, two ballets, and dozens of other works. Throughout his life, Beethoven developed a reputation for boorish behavior, which was only worsen by his embarrassment about his deafness. There is no evidence that he was ever in a relationship with a woman; his sexual energy seems, rather, to have been focused on a young nephew named Karl, who did not return the affection and may have attempted to blackmail Beethoven by threatening to publicize his homosexuality.