Why did Beethoven write so few symphonies compared to Mozart?

[image via BEETHOVEN vs MOZART - d_laurentis] > [...] writing music, whilst great and of equal quality to Mozart, didn't come easy with Beethoven. read more

Beethoven wrote fewer symphonies mainly because the average Beethoven symphony is a much "bigger deal," so to speak, than the average Mozart or Haydn symphony. To be fair to the others, Beethoven's expansive and altogether more serious conception of the genre did not emerge from a vacuum. read more

Which is why a few Beethoven symphonies are performed and cherished more than all of Haydn's and most of Mozart's. And which is why a few great novels by un-prolific writers (Catch-22, To Kill A Mockingbird, Brave New World, The Razor's Edge, etc.) are more respected, more read, more cherished than the multitudes of forgettable works by most prolific writers. read more