Today, we celebrate the birth of the man, the myth, the musical juggernaut – Ludwig van Beethoven, born December 17, 1770 in Bonn.  The OG of symphonic swagger would be turning 253 today, and frankly, the music world is still catching up to him.  LVB has been an outsized inspiration for me.  When I was 3, I used to occasionally come out of my room in the morning and announce that I was Beethoven that day, and made everybody call me Ludwig and stuff.  I was a weird little kid.  Anyway, to me, Beethoven has always been The Man.

The first song I learned to play on the piano was the Ode to Joy, which, if you don’t know, is the 4th movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and shall forever remain the most divine noise to ever fall upon the ears of man.  I followed that up by learning his Moonlight Sonata, which, while perfectly encapsulating that haunting, heartbreakingly beautiful “staring out a rainy window with unresolved feelings vibe.” Then, of course, there is Symphony No. 5, whose four opening notes can still make the most nonchalant music critic sit up straight.

Of course I loved (and still love) his entire body of work.  But what I’ve really gotten from Beethoven was the attitude.  Uncle Ludwig embodied Romanticism – this has nothing to do with being romantic and giving flowers and bad poetry to the object of your desire.  No…this sort of Romanticism says that art is not for the kissing of your patron’s ass.  Art is how mankind argues with fate and with God.  If God throws a lightning bolt at you, grab it and chuck it right back at Him while shouting boasts and challenges to the heavens.

The man lived larger than his circumstances.  Losing one’s hearing would have sent most composers spiraling into obscurity, but not Beethoven.  He seemed to say, “Fine, I’ll write music so monumental it’ll shake the world without me even being able to hear them.”  And then he did.  By the time he premiered his Ninth Symphony – deaf as a brick – audiences were on their feet, absolutely losing it, while someone had to turn him around so he could even see their applause.

But Ludwig’s defiance wasn’t just with fate – it was with the entire music establishment.  He flipped a massive middle-finger to decorum, shifting music from aristocratic background noise to something brimming with fire, fury, and liberation.  His compositions weren’t polite; they were bold, raw, full of tension, and completely unapologetic.

For every rule he shattered, he paved the way for modern music to become an experience.  Without the risks Beethoven took, half the artists you love today likely wouldn’t even exist.  From movie scores to rock to jazz, his fingerprints are everywhere.

So on this day, were raise our whiskey to the eternal maestro, a man who turned his personal tragedy into global treasure.  Cheers, Uncle Ludwig!

N.P.: “Beethoven” – Trans-Siberian Orchestra