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A portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820Ludwig van Beethoven (pronounced /ˈlʊdvɪɡ væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən/ (US) or /ˈbeɪt.hoʊvən/ (UK); German: [ˈluːtvɪç fan ˈbeːt.hoːfn̩] ( listen); baptised 17 December 1770[1] – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is considered to have been the most crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in present-day...