Reviews (4)

Excellent Handbook
This book is an excellent resource for researching the life and works of Beethoven. The sections regarding compositions are broken down by ensemble and type, and provide important information such as performance dates, key signatures, time signatures, and movement headings. Almost all topics, including such things as Beethoven's handwriting, favorite literature, philosophies, thoughts on other composers, are covered. Very handy for reference, as well as a guide to starting Beethoven research. Well worth it at twice the price!

Unparalleled Structure
Undoubtedly thousands of books have been written about Beethoven, but what sets this one apart from the others is its well-organized and exhaustive structure. Perhaps the best way to highlight this for the prospective buyer is to list the actual sections contained in this book. 1. Calendar of Beethoven's life, works and related events 2. Beethoven's family tree 3. Who's who of Beethoven's contemporaries 4. Historical background 5. Musical background 6. Beethoven as an individual 7. Beethoven's beliefs and opinions. Following section 7 are several more sections dedicated solely to his music. As you can see, this book offers several aspects that many others neglect to include. This structure also affords one the opportunity to go directly to an area of interest without having to wade through myriad pages. Also included are eight pages of paintings, sculptures and sketches of the maestro. This book is equally at home in the bathroom, on the coffee table, or in the study. It is an invaluable source of information for anyone desiring to learn more about this amazing genius.

Fascinating and Wonderfully Complete!
This book offers chapter after chapter of information on every aspect of Beethoven. I find that every time I pick this book up, I can find something interesting to read about. Obviously the music as catalogued and described. Beyond that, details of the great composer's personality, writing style, health difficulties, as well as his known views on a variety of topics provide endless hours of fascinating reading. I am impressed by the thoroughness of this book. Listings of people who Beethoven knew or interacted with, his influences and those he influenced, pictures and descriptions of his handwriting and manuscripts, the historical perspective on the times he lived in, all clearly described. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about this great master, and to anyone who is interested in the life and times of one of the most influential artists to ever live. In summary I have found it accurate and complete and always interesting. It is an indispensable reference.

Everything to do with Beethoven!
This book has the biography, the politics of the times, the pictures of, the letters of, the thoughts of others about him, deciphering of each piece of music, a list of his contemporaries, patrons, loves, friends, family tree... everything you could ever want to know about Beethoven's life and times! I love this book ... Read more

Book Description

Many biographies of the composer Beethoven have been distorted by misunderstandings, misinterpretations and even falsehoods. This book takes a fresh look at Beethoven's romantic relationships, including the evidence for his Immortal Beloved. It puts quotes back into the historical and literary contexts from which they have been taken, untangles misconceptions and mistranslations, and using common sense and a sense of humor presents a highly readable biography focusing on Beethoven's much-maligned life and love life. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

touching!
This book has touched me well, actually beethoven,... what interest me in this book was that I played piano and I have always like beethoven,.... His music has a deeper feeling that compare to mozart to me,... mozart always has lighter tone in his,... Anyway,...that is why I found this book and the history about his life really touchy and it is correct that this book has information that I have never known about beethoven,... overall, I think it is a great story and I think if you want to know about beethoven this is a great book,... I play and hear his music in a different way now,...

Enlightening!
This book is excellent. Ms. Altman deals only with the facts and does a great job digging in to show why her information is correct. The other aulthors have done a lot of embellishing, but Ms. Altman obviously worked hard to find the truth. It's well worth the money. You'll learn things about this composer that you never knew before. Thank you for bringing a fresh new concept to nonfiction, Gail -- TRUTH! ... Read more

Book Description

Softcover edition of this national bestseller!Hailed as a masterpiece for its original interpretations of Beethoven's life and music.This edition takes into account the latest information and literature.Includes a 30-page bibliographical essay, numerous illustrations and a full-color pictorial biography of the composer. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Good but not definitive
How to describe Solomon's very good book on Beethoven? It is part psychohistory, which is always a perilous operation for a writer. I am one of those people who actually like Freud, but sometimes Solomon's psychoanalysis irritated me, and I was always glad when he left the couch and went back to more or less solid facts. There is a huge chapter on the Immortal Beloved that bored me after a couple of dozen pages, but those particularly interested in this aspect of Beethoven's life are in for a real treat! I'd like to have seen more discussion of B's politics and social views; Solomon's discussion of these is, overall, pretty thin.

But Solomon's weaknesses (and that is my judgment) do not ouweigh his great strengths. He has certainly done his homework on B's life, and he is a skilled writer and a patient, tireless researcher. He knows his Thayer as well, and he isn't above questioning long-held assumptions about this flawed but very great man. Solomon's discussion of B's music is sufficient for a biography (those who want a lot of details on the music should go elsewhere), and he does a great job of showing how the composer followed the classical models and broke away toward romanticism. He does well in showing the man's great genuis without ever worshipping him (the way 19th century music lovers did). No doubt about it, Beethoven was a real crumb in a lot of ways, and Solomon makes this clear.

As good as this book is, I wouldn't call it definitive. I imagine some bright peson coming along some day who has a deep understanding of the Enlightenment, of early romanticism, of music, and of German and Viennese society who will give a truer picture of the man in his full context. It is very difficult to describe music in words, but my imaginary writer will be adept at this as well. Until this person comes along (and we're talking about a reincarnation of Samuel Johnson or Shakespeare), Solomon will do just fine.

Not really a biography
I have spent over half of my life researching the life of Beethoven. Like many people, I was excited to learn of the new edition. However, I found it as disappointing as the original. If you are SERIOUS about Beethoven research, stick with Thayer. Unlike Solomon's biography, Thayer's reads as if it were a diary. Solomon provides too much analysis, which should be left to some of the fine articles and papers he has written in the past. This book would serve well as a supplement instead of a cornerstone. Thayer provides facts, and very little opinions. It is important to remember that Solomon is not the first person to do extensive Beethoven research. Many other authors and researchers have come before him with richer results. Take his finding as that of only one of a hundred authors on Beethoven. Check his facts with others and decide for yourself. If you are just interested in reading one or two books on Beethoven, please select another biography. Solomon's is not completely acceptable.

Too much pseudo-psychoanalysis
A generally interesting, and presumably authoritative, narrative of Beethoven's life and music is too often de-railed by whole chapters of amateurish, armchair Freudian psychoanalysis. It is further side-tracked by the long-winded pursuit or trivia [for example, an entire chapter (40 pages) of stuffy prose evaluates alternative theories on "who was his 'immortal beloved'" -- who cares? her identity is irrelevant].

The New York Times Book Review may think this is "a landmark of Beethovian scholarship and interpretation", but in my view, the narrative frequently suffers from a rather pompous style of pseudo-academic writing. A good edit is clearly warranted. Not really recommended.

An ode to genius
Maynard Solomon's 1977 biography "Beethoven" is divided into four main sections, "movements" so to speak, and every section is filled with themes and variations. Each section ends with an essay titled simply "The Music", in which is described the works Beethoven composed during the period under discussion. The interpretations are acute but easily understood by the non-musician. In fact, it could be that Solomon's book is the most reader-friendly of Beethoven biographies. (There are dozens.) Some of Solomon's revelations are surprising. For instance, the average reader does not think of Beethoven as a composer for voice, outside of "Fidelio" and the Ode to Joy, but Solomon states that "half of his 600 works are vocal". (Among other things, Solomon's description of "Fidelio"'s plot is fascinating.) Solomon also discusses how Beethoven's later works threatened to become travesties of his Herioc Style. In fact, "Wellington's Victory" was considered by professionals "a stupendous musical joke". Beethoven's difficult nature is legend, and Solomon deals with it frankly. Some of his irascibility was undoubtedly due to his deafness, which exacerbated after 1812. What caused the deafness is a little mysterious. The composer himself, in a rather weird anecdote, attributed it to an "excitement of rage", but the cause may have been more medically sound. Beethoven never married, and his "open" sex life consisted of flirtations with married women. (In fact, the 30-page account of the Immortal Beloved theorizes that she was a pretty Viennese matron whose affair with Beethoven eventually became an "exalted friendship".) His "secret" sex life, however, was his employment of prostitutes; and in his youth he was treated for syphilis. Did the contraction cause the deafness? Solomon doesn't go there, but he does indicate that Beethoven's morose treatment of other people was aggravated by the deafness. His brothers, for instance: the omission of Nikolaus Johann in the Heiligenstadt Testament and the shabby treatment of Kaspar Carl's widow and her son. Beethoven's gall could be incredible. Although he enjoyed "Il Barbiere di Siviglia", he warned Rossini not to attempt serious opera because it "ill suited the Italians. You do not possess sufficient musical knowledge to deal with real drama". Well, so much for Verdi (who was a child at the time). Of course, now, nearly 180 years after Beethoven's death, it's the music that matters. Even so, such a productive life can be appreciated on a literary level, and it's that experience that Maynard Solomon provides in this superlative biography.

I love Beethoven!
This is a well researched, delightfully written book about one of the world's greatest composers of classical music. If you read it, you'll know a whole lot more about the man, his family, his friends and colleagues, his music and his times.
Beethoven was born and raised in Bonn, Germany (1770-1827), but as soon as he could he gravitated to Vienna (Austria), because that was the capital of the Empire (Austro-Hungarian) and that's where the greatest musicians lived and where the greatest opportunities in music were. Beethoven showed some musical promise early in life (though he was no child prodigy like Mozart) and by age 15 he was already composing and performing in public. He eventually learned to play a number of instruments, but by 15 he was already a virtuoso on the piano and in his prime he was the best pianist in Vienna.
Beethoven enrolled at the University of Bonn in his teens but soon withdrew because he preferred to study independently - by reading the classics and the other greats of the day (Kant, Goethe, Schiller, etc.) and through tutoring in musical composition and performing. He eventually studied in Vienna with one of his 'music heroes' - Franz Joseph Haydn. (His other 'music heroes' included Mozart, Haendel, Glueck, and Cherubini).
Beethoven's life was filled with numerous successes, achievements, rewards, etc., he eventually composed some 600 pieces of music of all kinds, and he knew at the end of his life that he'd won the only kind of immortality in which he himself believed - that which man could earn personally through his own efforts here on Earth. But his life was not all 'milk and honey'. Beethoven also encountered much adversity in life that caused him great mental anguish, sorrows and disappointments. He was disappointed, for example, in his family (all commoners!) - and especially in his two brothers (non-achievers!). He was mainly unsuccessful with women: he could rarely find a suitable candidate - and when he did, he would always opt in favor of his career over a wife. He was unhappy with Vienna and it's noble class: both were slow to recognize his genius and reluctant to properly reward him for his accomplishments - with money or with a permanent position. He also had problems with music publishers (Beethoven was, basically, a free lance composer-businessman), and he was greatly disappointed when Napoleon decided to crown himself Emperor of France. In the end these adversities wore Beethoven down, and as he aged his behavior and manners became increasingly course and rude and his appearance, sometimes unkempt and bizarre. He experienced various health problems throughout his life and his hearing was gone completely by the age of 47. Nevertheless, Beethoven, never ceased working and creating new masterpieces. He almost always maintained his disciplined work ethic and he always carried a notebook in which he could record fresh ideas about music that he was always contemplating in his mind. He'd jump out of bed in the night to record music he was hearing in his dreams.
This book contains useful, interesting facts and information from a variety of sources - including the 'conversation books' that Beethoven used to exchange thoughts with his friends after his hearing no longer permitted him to converse aloud. We know from these materials that Beethoven thought the choice of certain musical keys was important in creating certain sentiments, atmosphere, and emotions in programmed music. We learn his thoughts on music critics and the nobility. We also learn what his last words were: "Schade! Schade! Zu Spaet! ("Pity! Pity! Too late!") - that he uttered on his death bed when he saw some of his favorite wine being delivered.
In conclusion: if you love classical music, you'll love this book! ... Read more

Book Description

This book is an examination of artistic greatness through a unique and fascinating look at the lives, times, and works of three of mankind's greatest artists--Michelangelo Buonarroti, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Claude Monet. Artistic Greatness has four main sections. The first three are biographies that bring a fresh perspective to the times, lives, and works of these three artists. The fourth section is "Observations and Conclusions"; it draws all the material together in an unusual manner and deals with the overall subject of artistic greatness.

Artistic Greatness will enable you to increase your knowledge, understanding, and enjoyment of art. The interested lay person can gain a general understanding of artistic creativity, and the reader's knowledge of the arts will be enhanced through examining the lives and works of three great artists, providing meaningful perspective on a number of artistic eras and offering insights into the basic techniques of several art forms. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

This Book Offers a Broad Spectrum of Appeal
Throughout his book, McBurney provides excellent contextual and personal information on three of the world's greatest artists, chosen primarily for of their pivotal positions in their areas of expertise. Especially with Claude Monet, it is as if the author followed the artist throughout his life, reporting on the facts occurring simultaneously with his writing, as did Boswell with Samuel Johnson.

But more importantly, this book is not only for lovers of great art. It has relevance for every reader who has aspirations toward greatness. Michelangelo, Beethoven, and Monet are among the many great people around whom we would profit from modeling our own lives. Readers can place themselves in the position of the artist to find out how they compare and what is needed if they are to succeed, as these artists certainly did.

In reporting the salient facts of the lives of his chosen artists, McBurney displays a grasp of the qualities that make for artistic greatness that belie his credentials as a businessman. It became apparent to this reader that the essential characteristics that the author concludes to be the requisites of great artists apply to other, perhaps even all, areas of endeavor, including business, which is, after all, the 'business of America'. For example, just as with great artists, business leaders require the physical and emotional stamina necessary to overcome hurtles and obstacles that stand in their way. Read the book to discover other traits, how the artists under the author's scrutiny applied them, and how you might apply them to achieve success, and perhaps even greatness, in your life. ... Read more

Book Description

Combining musical insight and the most recent research,WilliamKinderman's Beethoven is both a richly drawn portrait of the man and aguide tohis music. Kinderman traces the composer's intellectual and musicaldevelopmentfrom the early works written in Bonn to the Ninth Symphony and the latequartets. Throughout, he looks at compositions from different andoriginalperspectives that show Beethoven's art as a union of sensuous andrational, ofexpression and structure. In analyses of individual pieces, Kindermanshows thatthe deepening of Beethoven's musical thought was a continuous processoverdecades of his life. Works discussed include the Joseph Cantata, many of the piano sonatasandvariations, selected songs and other vocal pieces, Fidelio, the Missasolemnis,and the main chamber and symphonic music. Certain works, such as thesong cycleAn die ferne Geliebte, are illuminated in relation to Beethoven'spersonal life,and his response to the political and philosophical currents of his timecan beseen in some of his greatest masterpieces. Rather than the conventional image of a heroic and tormented figure,whatemerges here is a more complex, more fully rounded account of thecomposer.Although Beethoven's deafness and his other personal crises areaddressed,together with his ever-increasing commitment to his art, so too are thelighteraspects of his personality: his humor, his love of puns, his greatdelight injuxtaposing the exalted and the commonplace. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A fresh look at Beethoven.

This unhackneyed, interesting book surveys Beethoven's music via representative, sometimes little known works, arrayed in a loose biographical framework. Kinderman concentrates on Beethoven's characteristic traits, many of which are clearly audible already in the composer's childhood and teenage works. The book is aimed at a general audience, though a little familiarity with Beethoven's music and basic musical terminogy is useful (sonata, recapitulation, key).

The book conveys an idea of some of Beethoven's compositional techniques (the analyses are relatively brief, and often only cover aspects of given works, but many are extremely insightful). In more descriptive passages, Kinderman hones in on the essential in the music, without wasting time with the usual sturm+drang+fate baggage too often equated with Beethoven. Typical Beethovenish features, such as the mischievous sense of humor, and the sensory and emotional effects achieved without a trace of sentimentality, get their due too.

To be sure, there are some flaws. The segments on certain philosophical tendencies of the time were not interesting (for me), but Kinderman does clearly label these optional. Fortunately, the reader can easily separate out subjective interpretations from the first rate analyses, since Kinderman doesn't disguise his views in pretend academic authority. I do somewhat cringe at the musicological cliche of calling Beethoven's middle period "heroic". To me, this baffling label puts a false programmatic spin on what is really extremely varied music. In the same vein, the one composition really nicknamed "heroic" may get the only really overblown interpretation in the book (what is known about Beethoven's original sketch plans for the Eroica doesn't to me seem to support Kinderman's view). Fortunately, I never got the feeling that Kinderman tried to cram his views down anyone else's throat.

Otherwise, the book remains on solid ground. I upgraded my original four stars to five, since I think this book is very useful to those who love the music and want to understand some of it a little better. Currently nothing else (that's in print and easily available) does the job as well as Kinderman. ... Read more

Book Description

This series of biographies presents the great composers against the background of their times. Each draws on personal letters and recollections, engravings, paintings and, when they exist, photographs, to present a complete picture of the composer’s life. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The story of Beethoven's music in the context of his world
One of the inherent problems with juvenile biographies of famous composers like Ludwig van Beethoven is that you only get to read about great music, you do not get to listen to it unless you happen to have a CD handy of the composer's greatest hits (although I am sure there are some books out there that come with their own CD that is cued to the text, which, it goes without saying, is a great idea). Wendy Thompson finds a way of dealing with this problem by including extracts from some of Beethoven's most famous works--the Third, Fifth, and Ninth symphonies, the "Emperor" piano concerto, and the "Moonlight" sonata--in simple keyboard arrangements. Of course, you need to have a piano nearby instead of a CD player, but you still have to appreciate the effort.

Thompson not only tells the biographical details of Beethoven's life, but she puts his music in historical context as well, presenting it as reflecting the Age of Revolution with its violence, passion, struggle, and upheaval, as well as the quest for personal and spiritual fulfillment, of those times. This explains why the inside front cover has a map of the Napoleonic Wars. The book is also illustrated with lots of historic etching and paintings. But the more important part is that Thompson takes pains to talk about the uniqueness and importance of Beethoven's key musical pieces. This is important to me because beyond the biographical details of where he lived, and what he wrote, and who he ticked off, I am most interested in being able to better appreciation Beethoven's music. Therefore I like an above average dose of music appreciation in such books. This Thompson provides, all within the context of Beethoven's world. This book is for students age 12 and up and is certainly one of the more analytical juvenile biographies of Beethoven out there. ... Read more

Book Description

The "Easy Biographies" series focuses on the childhood and young-adult years of famous men and women who overcame obstacles to achieve greatness. Inspirational and informative reading for students with big dreams. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent introductory book on Beethoven
This book is a wonderful way to introduce your child to one of the great composers. As the book lays open, there is usually one very large picture and then writing in large print. The whole book is probably a 20 minute read. It does give some detail of Beethoven's rather horrid childhood, but this detail allows the child to understand the composer's work better. I followed this book with Beethoven by Reba Paeff Mirsky, a long chapter book. After my 6 year old and I completed this sequence with both Mozart and Beethoven, she said "Mommy you can hear Beethoven's childhood problems in his music. Mozarts is so calm and sweet. His childhood was easy." I kid you not! Putting a bunch of cds on shuffle, she used this to figure out correctly which songs were by which composer. One mistake she made was Beethoven music modified to make people sleep - in other words Beethoven's music played the way he never intended it to be played. Slight details of the misery of his childhood are key to understanding the beauty he made from his pain. ... Read more

Book Description

Beethoven composed far more folksong settings than any other type of composition. Yet Beethoven's settings, commissioned by George Thomson of Edinburgh, have been neglected by performers and scholars alike, and nearly all accounts of them are both superficial and startlingly inaccurate.This book is based on a very elaborate study of a wide range of sources, and dispels the many myths that have been circulating about this music.Every one of the 179 settings is dated to within a few weeks and an account is given of the souces of the melodies and texts, the difficulties of sending the music across Europe during the Napoleonic Wars (smugglers were even called upon to assist!), the fees Beethoven received, and when and how the texts were added.By comparing Beethoven's settings with those of his predecessors Pleyel, Haydn and Kozeluch, the author demonstrates that Beethoven comprehensively transcended the bounds of convention, producing settings of extraordinary quality and originality. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Great Primer!
The New Grove Beethoven is one of a series of biographies on great composers. The text was originally written in the 1970's.

I used this book during an upper division class on Beethoven at UCLA, and I loved it. Why? Because I knew nothing about music, but I loved Beethoven's music. What is refreshing about this book is that it will provide a background on the life of Beethoven that is wholly understandable even if you don't have a music background.

This book is a little over 150 pages of text. The remainder is notes etc. It reads very quick. The book is largely broken up into chronoligical sections and ends with a quick breakdown of Beethoven's music and his impact on music.

The New Grove Beethoven does a great job of delving into Beethoven's frustration with the onset of deafness and how he felt estranged from society as a result. It also treats Beethoven's deep desire to be respected as this desire continually butted up against his dislike for preferential treatment to nobility as "superiors." In short, he wanted to be like them, loved like them but his attitude estranged him from them.

If you are looking for a quick primer on Beethoven that is readable and quite enjoyable, pick up the New Grove Beethoven!

Most Historically Accurate Info
This book is being used in my music class at Dartmouth College that's focusing on Beethoven. It contains very accurate information about the Maestro himself and does not add to the myths about the composer as other books do. It's very easy to read and there's a lot of satisfaction and knowledge that a Beethoven admirer can gain from this magnificent biography. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Well-written psychoanalysis of Beethoven's life and works.
After having read Solomon's work regarding Mozart, I was interested to see his work about Beethoven. Interestingly, although his _Beethoven_ was shorter, I found his theories much more convincing and interesting in the latter. The work synthesized multiple facts about the composer, including the near-psychotic attacks on his sister-in-law, Johanna, and a chapter regarding the Immortal Beloved, who, I am now convinced, was Antoine Brentano. This chapter was allthewhile extremely moving--it nearly brought me to tears. At the same time, although I was treated to a brief overview of Beethoven's life, I feel that there are large gaps in the biography that were simply glossed over, since they were not critical to Solomon's psychoanalytic theses. As a result, I am now tempted to find Thayer-Forbes biography to fill in these holes. Yet, in all, it was an extremely enjoyable read. ... Read more