【精英翻譯】的部落格

精英翻譯轉自https://paper.udn.com/papers.php?pname=POH0054

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. His father, Johann Beethoven, was also a musician and wanted his son to be a child prodigy. Consequently, he motivated Ludwig to develop his musical talents.

Johann's resolution to make his son into a successful musician was so extreme that he would pull poor Ludwig out of bed in the middle of the night and force the young boy to practice piano until the early hours of the morning.

路德維希‧ 范‧ 貝多芬於1770 年12 月17日生於德國波昂，同為音樂家的父親約翰‧ 貝多芬希望他成為一位神童，因此不斷鞭策他培養音樂方面的才華。

約翰堅決栽培兒子成為傑出的音樂家，甚至會在深夜把可憐的貝多芬從床上拉起來，督促還是小男孩的他練琴直至清晨。

At the age of 11, Ludwig received professional piano and composition training in Bonn under the royal court's organist, and by the mid-1790s he had made a reputation for himself as a master pianist in Vienna, the musical capital of the age. By the end of the century, he was becoming known as the most important composer of his generation.

A huge turning point in Beethoven’s life occurred in 1798, when his hearing started to become impaired. He was plagued by a constant ringing in his ears, which made it difficult for him to hear music. This caused him to shun company and become depressed. He even contemplated suicide.

貝多芬11 歲時，在波昂跟隨宮廷裡的琴師，接受專業的鋼琴和作曲訓練。到了1790 年代中期，貝多芬以精湛的琴藝，在當時的音樂之都維也納小有名氣。18 世紀末時，他已成為當代最重要的作曲家。

貝多芬一生中最大的轉捩點發生在1798 年，當時他的聽力開始退化，持續性的耳鳴讓他飽受折磨，連音樂也聽不清楚。他因此開始迴避朋友、意志消沈，甚至有過自殺的念頭。

Battling both depression and his loss of hearing, Beethoven continued to produce music with a special adaptation to his piano. By attaching a rod to the soundboard of his piano and biting the rod, he was able to detect vibrations of sound. The music that he created during this period expressed heroism and struggle and went on to become some of his most famous compositions.

The battle against deafness began to take its toll on the brilliant composer. After the performance of his Ninth Symphony, he turned around to see the ecstatic applause of the audience but broke down in tears when he realized that he couldn’t hear them.

貝多芬一邊對抗著憂鬱和聽力喪失，一邊使用特別改造過的鋼琴繼續創作。他用棍子連接鋼琴的音板，並且咬著棍子感受聲音的振動。而他此時期的創作以表達英雄氣慨與奮鬥為主，日後也成為他的名作。

然而這位傑出的作曲家終究還是不敵失聰之苦，當他演奏完《第九號交響曲》之後，轉過身發現全場觀眾正如癡如狂地為他鼓掌，而他竟然絲毫聽不見，不禁潸然淚下。

After a long illness, Beethoven died at the age of 56 on March 26, 1827. The true cause of his death was unknown for a long time, but later analysis of his hair and skeleton suggests that he was accidentally poisoned by his doctors, who prescribed excessive doses of lead-based medicine. Whatever the cause, the death of the great man shocked Vienna. Twenty thousand people attended his funeral procession, paying their respects to a true musical genius of their time.

久病一場之後，貝多芬於1827 年3 月26 日辭世，享年56 歲。他的真正死因長期不明，後來有人分析他的頭髮與骨骼，認為應該是醫師開了過量的含鉛藥物，意外造成他鉛中毒而死。不論原因為何，一代樂聖之死震撼了維也納。一共有2萬人加入他的送葬隊伍，向當代真正的音樂天才致敬。