Ludwig van Beethoven lived in Germany from 1770 until 1827. His difficult childhood gave him a bad temper, and he had a hard time keeping friends. He began to lose his hearing in his late 20's and after many years he became completely deaf. He didn't let his disability stop him, though. Some of his greatest pieces of music were written AFTER he couldn't hear anymore.
This video tells the story of Beethoven's life.
In this video, an orchestra gives everyone on the street a nice surprise by playing the last part of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for a quarter!
Here's an animation of the first part of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
This is one of Beethoven's best-known pieces of music. It's known as The Moonlight Sonata, although he didn't make up that title. It's made up of three parts (each part is called a "movement").
This next piece is one of my favourites. It's the second movement of a sonata called "Appassionata".
I also love this one, written for a piano, cello, and violin. It's the second movement of a piece called "The Ghost".