Comparison for the Ages

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Jonathan Iosim

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7-29-02

A Comparison for the Ages

        Throughout the course of time, music has changed in various aspects.  From the day of yore, when music was listened to almost only at church, to the present where music is hear from anywhere to church, your car, or even an elevator.  The actual music texture has changed as well.  In a day when music was listened to through a chanting melody, to now where bubble gum pop hits the top of the charts week in and week out.  During the many time periods of music over the ages, their have been music composers of all sorts, that in their own uniqueness have contributed a bit to society that no other artist has.  The ground left uncovered currently in the music world is not yet known.  Music has expanded over generations and generations, and music itself is like time in that it is always changing.  Two time periods stick out in the minds of the common contemporary: the time known as the Classical era ranging back hundreds of years ago to the era just experiences in the second half of the twentieth century known as the Classic Rock period.  Both era’s and generations yielded some of the finest musicians known in mankind.  Among some of the famous musicians of these time periods are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Lennon,and . Another two men of these two vast and different era’s, while completely different in music style, have a great amount of similarities between them.  Ludwig Von Beethoven and James(a.k.a Jimi) Hendrix both unleashes a massive arsenal of aggression as well as loveliness in both their works.  The two men are a mere image of music personalities, one in the time of the pianoforte and the other in the guitar age.

        Child prodigy, Ludwig Von Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770.  His father acted very aggressive towards him, and some felt he exploited his son’s gift and potential by forcing him to practice for many hours each and every day. Whenever young Ludwig made a mistake in playing it is said that his father would thrash him amongst his ears causing sever pain.  Even with his abusive father, Beethoven simply loved music too much to give it up for any reason.  Beethoven was fluent in playing the violin, organ, and the pianoforte.  Beethoven read many books on music, and even the smallest things seemed to interest him in ways they did not for anyone around his age.  Very much like his often compared to counterpart Mozart, Beethoven began playing professionally at the tender age of six years old, as well as starting to tour full time at the young age of thirteen years old.  When he turned eighteen years of age, Beethoven’s father died.  Beethoven took upon the responsibility of taking care of his two younger brothers.  He played a Viola in a local orchestra to provide enough money to feed his family.  Soon thereafter Joseph Haydn was passing through town and introduced himself to Beethoven and imply insisted that he go with him to Vienna, the music capital of the world.  There he studied with Haydn as well as Bach, and performed all across town. Beethoven made enough money to support himself as well as send money back to his brothers in Bonn.  In his late twenties, Beethoven began to experience lapses in his hearing. As he sat at his piano, he heard the notes but then felt that they faded.  It is said that at times Beethoven pounded on the piano so hard and so often, that the piano lost sound and he would have to buy a new one.  In very likelihood the deafness came from his fathers thrashing of his ears, and may have created tumor the over time grew to being quite big and possibly blocked out his hearing.  Beethoven died at the age of 56 after complications from a cold. His music is forever remembered as well as forever played.  Perhaps the most famous symphony that he composed was his fifth, and almost everyone recognizes it after the very first bar.

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        James Marshal Hendrix was born in Seattle, Washington, on November 27, 1942. Hendrix was of   African American, European, Cherokee Indian and Mexican descent. An unsettled home environment made Hendrix spend much of his early years staying with his grandmother, a full-blooded Cherokee Indian, in Canada.  His mother died when he was twelve years of age.  After his mother’s death he became very interested in music and got his first electric guitar.  The electric guitar would be the instrument that would change Hendrix for the rest of his life. In High School at the age of sixteen he was allegedly ...

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