Ludwig van Beethoven was influenced by the operatic reforms and musical principles of Christoph Willibald Gluck. Gluck’s innovations in opera, including the subordination of musical elements to dramatic expression and the creation of a classical type of musical drama, contributed to the artistic foundations upon which Beethoven built elements of his own style.
Christoph von Gluck → Ludwig van Beethoven
Developed the ideas of
Connected Figures
Christoph von Gluck
2026–1778
Ludwig van Beethoven
1770–2026