106 (Hammerklavier), a work of unprecedented length and difficulty that left behind the accomplished amateur performer once and for all.
The works of Beethoven's last period, rather than being composed in sets or even in pairs, are each marked by an individuality that later composers could admire but scarcely emulate. In the Ninth Symphony and the Missa solemnis he gave expression to an all-embracing view of idealized humanity more rooted in the Enlightenment than in Roman Catholic doctrine, and more compelling than the equally lofty ideals portrayed a decade earlier in his only opera, Fidelio (1814).
The dominant private dimension of Beethoven's late style gave rise to the five string quartets of 1824-26, the last two of which were written without commissions. In these works Beethoven achieved an ideal synthesis between popular and learned styles, between the humorous and the sublime. Judged inaccessible in their time, the string quartets have become—as has so much of his music—yardsticks against which all other musical achievements are measured.
Beethoven's lifelong habit of sketching musical compositions as he worked them out became even more important as he grew older. The more than 7000 pages of drafts entered outdoors on scraps of paper or in small notebooks, as well as the more extensive notebooks he filled up indoors, form one of Western music's most enduring monuments to musical creativity.
Influence
Beethoven towered over the 19th century, embodying the heroic ideal and the romantic image of the artist; yet his explicit musical influence was limited. For some composers—such as Johannes Brahms, who produced no symphony until his 40s—Beethoven's presence was paralyzing. The German composer Richard Wagner invoked Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, particularly its choral finale, as support for his own vision of the music drama. Not until the late romantic symphonies of the German composer Anton Bruckner and, especially, those of the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler was Beethoven's symphonic ideal carried to what many regard as its final stage of development. Today Beethoven's works form the backbone of orchestral and chamber music repertoires the world over.