Beethoven

American  

[bey-toh-vuhn, beyt-hoh-fuhn] / ˈbeɪ toʊ vən, ˈbeɪt hoʊ fən /

noun

1. Ludwig van 1770–1827, German composer.

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Beethoven British  

/ ˈbeɪtˌhəʊvən /

noun

1. Ludwig van (ˈluːtvɪç fan). 1770–1827, German composer, who greatly extended the form and scope of symphonic and chamber music, bridging the classical and romantic traditions. His works include nine symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, five piano concertos, a violin concerto, two masses, the opera Fidelio (1805), and choral music

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Other Word Forms

• Beethovenian adjective
• Beethovian adjective

Example Sentences

“Human beings are free wherever Wagner and Beethoven are played,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Rosenzweig was born in Kassel in 1886, into a German-Jewish bourgeoisie for which Beethoven, Goethe and the Frankfurter Zeitung newspaper were as formative as the Torah had once been.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

Gustavo Dudamel, who has been conducting Beethoven since he was a teen, waited until he passed his 45th birthday last month.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

Here, too, Beethoven serves as a musical, spiritual and political touchstone.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

That Saturday night he took the chain off the piano strings and played something he had been remembering and practicing in the morning, something called “Moonlight,” a piece by Beethoven, Cotton Eye thought.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck