Beethoven, a German composer and pianist, took composition lessons from Haydn and many other teachers. He began playing at a very young age, but because of his declining hearing, he was forced to retire from piano performance and turned to composition full time. Beethoven is such an important composer, because he was the bridge between the Classic and Romantic periods. People usually know him for his piano piece Fur Elise, 5th Symphony in C minor characterized by the short short short long rhythm, or his 9th Symphony which includes the theme to Ode to Joy. Rondo in C Major Opus 51, No. 1 is not as popular as the previous pieces, but still beautiful. The first performance of the Rondo in C was in 1783. The piece is very elegant and charming. It is very expressive, but also showy with numerous 16th and 32nd note runs.