Mr O Broin's Class Website

Each classroom in St. Cronan's is linked to an Artist and a Composer.

Our classroom is "Seomra Da Vinci agus Beethoven".

This year we are learning lots about these two great men.

Learn More about Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. As a child, he showed great potential as a musician, and his family nurtured his talents. He moved to Vienna, Austria in 1792. At the time this was the music capital of Europe. There he studied under some of the finest musicians of the time, most notably Franz Joseph Haydn. Beethoven quickly established himself as a remarkable keyboard-player and original composer.

Unfortunately, Beethoven was growing more and more deaf with age. This was incredibly sad for a man whose life was based around listening to, playing and composing music. The only way he was able to hear was to bang a tuning fork and hold it to the bone behind his ear. The tuning fork would resonate, and he was able to hear the note in his head.

One of Mr Beethoven's most famous compositions was his 9th Symphony, which he completed in 1824. However, Ludwig van Beethoven had gone completely deaf before his 9th Symphony was ever performed, so he never got to hear his most famous piece of music 'Ode to Joy'.

In January 1972, the Council of European Ministers announced that "Ode To Joy" was to be adopted as the anthem of the European Union.

Self Portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci
(1452-1519)

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was born in Vinci, a region of Florence in 1452. His father was Piero da Vinci and his mother was a peasant girl called Caterina. He was a painter, scientist, mathematician, engineer, anatomist, painter, architect, botanist, and a writer.

Some of his most famous works of art can be seen here. He is best remembered for having painted the Mona Lisa.

The Mona Lisa (La Gioconda)
The Louvre Museum in Paris

Learn more about Da Vinci