Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), was a monumental German composer and pianist. Bridging the Classical and Romantic eras, he transformed Western music, elevating instrumental compositions to a high art. Despite his fame, he battled a tragic and progressive hearing loss. Born into a musical family, his father, Johann, forced the boy to practice for long hours. Beethoven gave his first public performance at age 7. He later moved to Vienna to study under Joseph Haydn where he quickly established himself as a virtuoso pianist and daring improviser. Beethoven's personality was a complex web of contradictions: profoundly passionate, deeply sensitive, and fiercely idealistic. All these traits led patrons and those who commissioned his works to call him "explosive" and unreliable. Around age 28, Beethoven began experiencing severe tinnitus (ringing in the ears). By 1802, he became deeply depressed by his failing hearing and his social isolation. Then by 1816, he was entirely deaf, yet he composed many of his most celebrated masterworks - including the Ninth Symphony and the Missa Solemnis - without ever being able to hear them played.