Beethoven came at the tale end of the Classical era, and represented a shift into the Romantic ideals. His music was, unlike any composer before, played over and over again, and he was extremely popular as a public figure and known composer.

His composition style reflected this social change, by the end of his career his music was much more emotive, exact, and scrupulous than before, and his aim was secure himself a lasting legacy in the annuals of public consciousness. the works composed in this final stage of his career include some of the most performed and revered of his works.

Time is fleeting; the wiser ones have long known it. Unimaginable things have happened; the world has suffered great transformations calmly and mostly, in the gentle passing of days as well as during the hurricanes and volcanoes of revolutions.”

Ideas such as 'genius artists', 'absolute music', 'high art' and the importance given to the composer and their intentions- especially in regard to the resulting restrictions placed on performers- became stable and foundational ideas of the Western Classical Canon, which had large future impact on other composers and performers.

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Johann Sebastian Bach

Igor Stravinsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Franz Schubert

Johannes Brahms

Dmitri Shostakovich

These are composers who are recognisable in public perception and knowledge of Western classical composers. This prominence in the public conciousness is due to the longevity of their works and popularity. Some of which for the composers in the canon compared to others who are less known is due to the influence of the Classical Canon in the narrative of western music history.

Beethoven

Lizst

Shostakovich

Each of these examples will show an important aspect of the Classical Canon, and showcase the creation and shaping of the narrative on which it is based. From its origins in the 1800's to the stigma it has created today that both contemporary composers, performers and musicologists must tackle.

By the 19th century, the term was a more derogatory one, being used to describe a performer whose talent was 'merely' technical, and whose stage presence was cheaply crowd-pleasing, overly excessive or flashy.

In other words, the most important factor of the music was the serious and 'true' intentions of the composer. This philosophy did not view the more flashy and bombastic virtuosic playing as respectful or 'true' music

This has resulted in several instances of classical composers who have had aspects of their life and history ignored, buried, smeared or simply re-written.

The idea that Shostakovich was secretly against the Soviet regime better allowed his music to be appreciated by Western (particularly American) audiences. It made him as a person more palatable to western culture, and so was an idea that still permeates today.