He established the
precedent, which Wagner acted on later, of employing the human voice as
a tool, an instrument, to be used in the exigencies of his art, as if it
were a part of the orchestra.
Beethoven's birthplace, Bonn, no doubt proved a favorable soil for the
propagation of the new ideas. The unrest pervading all classes, an
outcome of the Revolution, showed itself among the more serious-minded
in increased intellectuality, and a reaching after higher things. This
_Zeitgeist_ is clearly reflected in his compositions, in particular the
symphonies and sonatas. "Under the lead of Italian vocalism," said
Wagner, speaking of the period just preceding the time of which we
write, "music had become an art of sheer agreeableness." The beautiful
in music had been sufficiently exploited by Mozart and Haydn. Beethoven
demonstrated that music has a higher function than that of mere beauty,
or the simple act of giving pleasure. The beautiful in literature is not
its best part. To the earnest thinker, the seeker after truth, the
student who looks for illumination on life's problem, beauty in itself
is insufficient.
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