By 1815 he realised he was losing his hearing and had to give up concert work.

His deafness accentuated existing eccentricities in his character and gave him a reputation as a Menschenhasser, a "misanthropist", but he was nevertheless patiently tolerated by a number of rich patrons and his royal pupil the Archduke Rudolph.

The length and complexity of Beethoven’s compositions as he explored new fields of music made heavy demands on his listeners and his works often sounded strange to the ears of his contempories.

This escape opera, for which there was precedent in contemporary France, ends with the defeat of the evil prison governor and the rescue of Florestan, testimony to the love and constancy of his wife Leonora.

Beethoven contemplated other operas, but eventually only wrote the one, first staged in 1805 and mounted again in a revised performance in 1814, under more favourable circumstances.

The ballet "The Creatures of Prometheus" was staged in Vienna in 1801, and he wrote incidental music for various other dramatic productions, including Goethe's "Egmont".

Beethoven's monumental choral work "Missa Solemnis" gave new character to religious music. It was written for the enthronement of his pupil Archduke Rudolph as Archbishop of Olmutz, but was finished too late for that occasion. An earlier work, the oratorio "The Mount of Olives", is less well known.

In common with other composers, he wrote a number of songs: among these the best known are probably the settings of Goethe, which did little to impress the venerable poet and writer, who ignored their existence, and the cycle of six songs known as "An die ferne Geliebte" ("To the Distant Beloved"). The song Adelaide is challenging but not infrequently heard.

Beethoven completed nine symphonies that influenced the whole future of music by the expansion of the traditional classical form. The best known ones are the Eroica (No. 3), originally dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte; the Fate (No. 5); the Pastoral (No. 6), and the Choral symphony (No. 9).

The less satisfactory Battle Symphony celebrates the earlier military victories of the Duke of Wellington.

Beethoven wrote a number of overtures for the theatre and various other occasions, including four for his opera, Fidelio, one under that name and the others under the name of the heroine, Leonora.

Other Overtures include "Egmont", "Coriolan", "Prometheus", "The Consecration of the House" and "The Ruins of Athens".

Beethoven wrote a number of sets of Minuets, German Dances and Contredanses, ending with the so-called Moedlinger Dances, written for performers at a neighbouring inn during a summer holiday outside Vienna.

- MIDI FILE - Octet for Wind Instruments (7'26'')

Beethoven completed one violin concerto and five piano concertos, as well as a triple concerto for violin, cello and piano, and a curious "Choral Fantasia for solo piano, chorus and orchestra". The piano concertos were for the composer's own use in concert performance. The Fifth, the so-called "Emperor" Concerto, is probably the most impressive.

- MIDI FILE - from 5th Piano Concerto: Allegro (18'50'')

The single Violin Concerto is part of the standard repertoire, with two Romances, possible slow movements for an unwritten violin concerto.

Beethoven wrote ten sonatas for violin and piano, of which the "Spring" and the "Kreutzer" are particular favourites with audiences.

He extended the possibilities of the string quartet considerably, even with his first, Opus 18 set of quartets, but probably the group of three dedicated to Prince Razumovsky, and therefore known as the Razumovsky Quartets, Opus 59, are the best known.

- MIDI FILE - Stringquartet op.132, 1th Mov. (9'31'')

The later string quartets offer great challenges to both players and audience, and include the remarkable "Grosse Fuge" ("Great Fugue") a gigantic work, discarded as the final movement of the String Quartet, Opus 130, and published separately.

Other chamber music includes a number of Trios for violin, cello and piano, in particular the "Archduke" Trio and the "Ghost" Trio.

- MIDI FILE - Trio op.70 No.2, 1th Mov. (9'09'')

The Cello Sonatas and sets of Variations for cello and piano, including one set based on Handel's "See here the conquering hero comes" and others on operatic themes from Mozart, are a valuable part of any cellist's repertoire.

Chamber music with wind instruments and piano include a Quintet, Op. 16, for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon.

Beethoven composed 32 piano sonatas which make full use of the developing form of piano, with its wider range and possibilities of dynamic contrast.

- MIDI FILE - from "Moonlight Sonate" op.27 n.2: 1th mov. (5'47'')

There are also interesting sets of variations, including a set based on "God save the King" and another on Rule Britannia, variations on a theme from the Eroica Symphony and a major work based on a theme by the publisher Diabelli. The best known are the "Pathetique", Op. 13, "Moonlight", Op. 27/2, "Waldstein", Op. 53, "Appassionata", Op. 57, "Les Adieux", Op. 81a, and the "Hammerklavier", Op. 106.

- MIDI FILE - Piano Sonata "Waldstein" (complete) (21'52'')

There are also interesting sets of variations, including a set based on "God save the King" and another on Rule Britannia, variations on a theme from the Eroica Symphony and a major work based on a theme by the publisher Diabelli.