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Beethoven`s Piano Sonatas: A Short Companion

Average customer rating:

con brio
New Testament for pianists
Valuable guide to some of the best piano music ever written
Not top-drawer Rosen, but a useful guide
Music of a Lifetime

Beethoven`s Piano Sonatas: A Short Companion
Charles Rosen
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Playing the Beethoven Piano Sonatas
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ASIN: 0300090706

Book Description

Beethoven's piano sonatas form one of the most important collections of works in the whole history of music. Spanning several decades of his life as a composer, the sonatas soon came to be seen as the first body of substantial serious works for piano suited to performance in large concert halls seating hundreds of people. In this comprehensive and authoritative guide, Charles Rosen places the works in context and provides an understanding of the formal principles involved in interpreting and performing this unique repertoire, covering such aspects as sonata form, phrasing, and tempo, as well as the use of pedal and trills. In the second part of his book, he looks at the sonatas individually, from the earliest works of the 1790s through the sonatas of Beethoven's youthful popularity of the early 1800s, the subsequent years of mastery, the years of stress (1812-1817), and the last three sonatas of the 1820s. Composed as much for private music-making as public recital, Beethoven's sonatas have long formed a bridge between the worlds of the salon and the concert hall. For today's audience, Rosen has written a guide that brings out the gravity, passion, and humor of these works and will enrich the appreciation of a wide range of readers, whether listeners, amateur musicians, or professional pianists.

Customer Reviews:

con brio.......2007-03-09

This is a nice read for hard-core Beethoven-heads. It'll change the way you approach playing the pieces, or at the least change the way you listen to them. There's nothing wrong with just listening to the music and absorbing it, not worrying about why a particular change is brilliant or why it should affect you. It's like watching a movie and just letting the movie touch you however it does, not worrying about why the director chose a particular camera angle or what some set detail might be referencing. But it is hard for modern listeners to realize just how much some of Beethoven's compositions broke against the assumptions of the time. When the harmonies pivot on thirds, for example, modulating through a series of keys before landing where the ear expects it, it doesn't necessarily hold the same tension to modern ears. Wagner, as well as every composer of cinematic background music, have now manipulated Beethoven's techniques to the point of emotional burlesque. But you get extra credit for being the first, and still the best, to do it.

But the best parts of reading Rosen- a scholar whose words are mostly measured- are those brief moments when he gushes. When he expands on the revolutionary character of the music. When he stops intellectualizing about music and briefly speaks as an admirer in awe. Compositional theory can only go so far, after all. Eventually you give yourself over to the sheer transcendence of this brilliant music.

It reminds me of a calculus teacher I had once. He was just about the slowest, driest lecturer I had ever had. But one day, when discussing the fact that the derivative of sine is cosine, his gaze softened. His voice choked for a moment, "this is when math becomes something more than logic, something more beautiful. There is nothing in the Universe that says the derivative of a sine wave will be a cosine wave. It didn't have to be..." I nice little warble of emotion broke through and I briefly cared about calculus.

New Testament for pianists.......2006-02-24

Any pianist, amateur or professional, who is serious about playing the piano, particularly the Beethoven sontats, must not only have this book but also devour it. Charles Rosen has willingly shared his incredible intellect, musicianship, research and pianistic knowledge and understanding. To have someone of his stature and accomplishments willing to share a lifetime of performing experience with us is truly remarkable. A MUST HAVE for all pianists.

Valuable guide to some of the best piano music ever written.......2004-10-06

There are a number of well-known books about Beethoven's piano sonatas. If one simply likes listening to the sonatas but has no intention of playing them, I wouldn't recommend this book, nor the ones by Tovey or Drake. I'd suggest reading about them in a book about Beethoven's life, or maybe the chapter on them in Kentner's book on the piano. But if you enjoy playing any or all of these sonatas, yes, you'll enjoy this book, with its emphasis on simplicity of style (which Rosen explains to us is the advice of Proust's grandmother).

While there's good advice on phrasing, pedaling, and trills, the most interesting part of any book on the Beethoven sonatas is going to be about tempos. This one is no exception. The author points out that it is not illegal to play a piece of music at the wrong tempo. One won't get a speeding ticket or a fine or a jail sentence for doing so. Still, even if a tempo seems comfortable to us, it may not be anything like what Beethoven had in mind, so it is useful to see what the correct tempos appear to be. I like the fact that Rosen tries to discover what those who read Beethoven's tempo descriptions would have concluded at the time they were written, as opposed to relying on what Czerny, Moscheles, Schindler, or others might have said long afterwards.

Rosen's comments are backed up with excerpts on an accompanying CD (played by Giulio Ricci). I think these add substantially to the value of this book.

And of course, if you play the piano but haven't tried the Beethoven sonatas, you are missing something truly special.

Not top-drawer Rosen, but a useful guide.......2004-05-12

Charles Rosen by now is one of the foremost writers on music, especially piano music, of the Classic and Romantic eras. His books _The Classical Style_ and _The Romantic Generation_ are classics of their kind.

Inevitably, given Rosen's prolific output and its specialization, there is a slight feeling of deja vu about this volume on Beethoven's sonatas for piano. Rosen is laboring under the shade of such great writers on Beethoven as Donald Tovey. Nevertheless, the book offers fresh perspectives and many stimulating new ideas in its opening section, which views the sonatas through general topics such as "Phrasing" and "Tempo." The second section, consisting of commentaries on the individual works, more clearly apes Tovey and here, considered word for word, the older writer probably offers more detailed and practical insights for the serious piano student into the actual performance of these great works than Rosen. Nevertheless, this book is a valuable addition to any collection of writings on music.

Music of a Lifetime.......2002-07-20

Beethoven's 32 sonatas are the glory of music written for the piano. They are music of Beethoven's lifetime in that their composition spans the period from his early days in Vienna to near the end of his life. In another sense, Beethoven's piano sonatas are the music of my lifetime. I first was exposed to them as an early adolescent through concerts, records, and my own early attempts at playing the easier of them. Today, all too many years later (I am 55), I still try to play the sonatas and I go to recitals. I listen to them on CDs now instead of records. And I read about them, particularly Charles' Rosen's edudite and eloquent study. With short periods away, Beethoven's piano sonatas are probably the most lasting interest I have had in my life.

Rosen was inspired to write this book by giving a performance of the sonata cycle and to lecture on Beethoven at a summer music festival and school. The book is, on one level, a continuation of Rosen's study, "The Classical Style" with application to the Beethoven sonatas. The book is marked by its wide-ranging references. There is a great deal of specific discussion of Beethoven's piano sonatas, of course, but the book is enriched immeasurably by examples from and discussions Mozart, Haydn, and Schubert, as their works are compared and contrasted with Beethoven's.

The book is divided into two Parts. Part I, "The Tradition" begins with a discussion of the nature and development of the sonata form. Rosen describes well how Beethoven's sonatas have, until very recent years, been a bridge from the world of performance of classical music in the home to its appreciation in the concert hall. This was certainly the case with me.

The book discusses various ways in which the sonatas have been interpreted over the years and attempts to find that elusive quarry -- the manner in which the composer would have interpreted the sonatas. Rosen devotes a great deal of attention to questions of tempo and questions of phrasing, with examples from Beethoven's predecessors. He concludes that modern performers place more emphasis on a smooth legato style than would have been the case in Beethoven's day and that Beethoven's tempos would be somewhat different from those at which we now hear the music. In some cases, tempos would have been faster, but I get the impression that in the main tempos were taken at a slower pace. The book comes with a CD recorded by Guiilio Caesare Ricci which illustrates helpfully many of Rosen's musical examples. Rosen stresses that there is no single way of performing these complex, wonderful pieces of music. His discussion of performance practices still is highly useful in understanding the sonatas and in listening to them.

The second part of the book consists of a chronological discussion of each of the 32 sonatas. The discussion is arranged in five parts: a)the early 18th Century sonatas (the sonatas from opus 2 to opus 22); b) the sonatas of Beethoven growing in popularity and independent style (the sonatas from opus 26 to opus 28) c) the sonatas in which Beethoven attained mastery (the sonatas from opus 31 through opus 81a) d). the sonatas composed during Beethoven's years of stress and personal difficulty (the opus 90 and opus 101 sonatas and the "Hammerklavier" sonata, opus 106 ); and e)the last sonatas (opus 109. 110,111)

In each instance Rosen offers some general comments on the character of each sonata followed by detailed thematic, harmonic and pianistic discussions.

I found it useful in this section of the book to read first Rosen's discussion of the sonatas with which I was most familiar, either by attempting to play them or by repeated hearings over the years. Thus I began with Rosen's discussion of the opus 26 sonata and followed it the the "Waldstein", the "Pathetique" and the opus 90 sonata. I then went through Rosen's discussion work by work as it appeared in the book. There is much to be learned, and Rosen's discussion will be useful in listening to the sonatas and following along with the score or with Rosen's discussion.

It is worth noting that Rosen spends a great deal of time on sonatas which are relatively little performed, particularly the opus 54 (which is given in full on the CD that comes with the book) and with the opus 31 no. 1 sonata. His discussion of these work illuminates them and illuminates Beethoven's output. He also gives thorough discussions of more familiar works particularly the "Moonlight" sonata and the Hammerklavier -- with respect to the latter, he follows-up upon the lengthy analysis of this work in The Classical Style.

Beethoven's piano sonatas are indeed music of a lifetime. If you love them, by playing or by hearing them, you will love this book. If you want to learn about them, this book will be an outstanding guide.

Average customer rating:

TMaynard Solomon Biography of Mozart
Not Really
The DEFINITIVE Beethoven biography.
The definitive biography.
So-so psychological portrait; wayyy too Freudian

Beethoven (Revised Edition)
Maynard Solomon
Manufacturer: Schirmer Trade Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0825672686
Release Date: 2001-10-01

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.

Customer Reviews:

TMaynard Solomon Biography of Mozart.......2007-01-29

Considered to be the latest authoritative biography of Mozart having reviewed all past biographies of the composer.

Not Really.......2006-11-27

Not really a biography, more a lengthy attempt to psychoanalyze the composer. Surprisingly little about his actual life. BUT such things as a whole chapter about Solomon's guess (all "Beethoven Scholars" have one) as to the identity of the Immortal Beloved, to whom Beethoven wrote (but may not have mailed) an ardent love letter -- then no real attempt to make this supposed relationship relevant to the man's life and work. More fuzzy stuff about Beethoven's attempt to become guardian of his nephew. Spare me.

If this is the "definative biography of Beethoven," lord help us.

The DEFINITIVE Beethoven biography........2006-08-14

The title of my review encapsulates how I feel about this book. While honesty compells me to report that I have not completed reading this book, I have finished Edmund Morris's biography "Beethoven, the Universal Composer," and that book owes a lot to Solomon's book. Solomon goes into much greater detail and in fact expounds on psychological themes and possible motivations for Ludwig. He also delves deeply into the alcoholism that permeated his father's family, including Ludwig's grandmother on his father's side, and his father who often berated him and beat him. I truly feel a kinship with Ludwig as it pertains to the alcoholism in the family...truly, it did not stop Beethoven from becoming the greatest composer the world has ever known. If you truly want a detailed, focused, fascinating account of the composer and the man, attain this book. You will not be sorry. Has a greater piece of music other then Beethoven's 9th symphony, with the "Ode to Joy" chorus ever been written? I think not.

The definitive biography........2006-06-05

Thousands of books have been written about Beethoven, but this is the DEFINITIVE biography. Readers interested in the man behind the music will find a wealth of information and those with a deep understanding of his music will appreciate the chapters devoted to works composed during each phase of Beethoven's life. Finally, if you have ever heard of the Heiligenstadt Testament or the Immortal Beloved and would like to learn more, the chapters devoted to these subjects are the best. And no, the Immortal Beloved was NOT who the movie with Gary Oldman would have us believe.

So-so psychological portrait; wayyy too Freudian.......2006-01-20

I generally like psychologically profiling biographies (see my review of Rousseau: Restless Genius). BUT, that's conditional on the psychological analysis being done right.

Unfortunately, too often that is not the case in this book.

First, Solomon seems unaware that Freud has long been dethroned from being the king of psycholanalytic psychology, let alone psychology in general. Solomon could have made reference to many other ideas, themes and language from family systems therapy without referencing Freudian thought once.

Second, sometimes psychologizing can become overpsychologizing. This especially seems to be the case in dealing with Beethoven's relationship with nephew Karl.

Even worse, this can play out in putting much of that psychology through a sexual prism. Again, the Ludwig-Karl relationship, as analyzed by Solomon. To inject ideas of Ludwig's homoeroticism into this is rubbish.

It's stuff like that that gives psychoanalysis in general such a bad name, especially when practiced literarily.

I was first going to give this three stars, then backed off. I do think there's enough in it to merit two stars, but no more.

My First Book of Classical Music: 29 Themes by Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and Other Great Composers in Easy Piano Arrangements

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Great Supplement!
My daughter likes it!
My first Book of Classical Music: 29 themes by Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and other Great composers in Easy Piano Arrangements
Another adult reteaching themself the piano
NOT EASY PIANO

My First Book of Classical Music: 29 Themes by Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and Other Great Composers in Easy Piano Arrangements
Bergerac
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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My First Book of Christmas Songs: 20 Favorite Songs in Easy Piano Arrangements
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Teaching Little Fingers to Play: A Book for the Earliest Beginner (John Thompsons Modern Course for The Piano)

ASIN: 0486410927

Book Description

Fun-to-play, pedagogically sound piano arrangements include themes from Beethoven's "Pathétique" Sonata and Haydn's Surprise Symphony, along with such favorites as Schumann's "Träumerei," Brahms's "Lullaby," Chopin's "Prelude," Tchaikovsky's "Marche Slave," Moussorgsky's "Promenade" (from Pictures at an Exhibition), and many more. Includes 20 piano arrangements.

Customer Reviews:

Great Supplement!.......2007-05-12

I purchased this book some time ago as a "promise" to my little girl that she would one day have piano lessons. We now have a wonderful piano teacher who encourages us to explore other pieces besides what she assigns us and was happily surprised when we showed her this book that she hadn't seen before. The title is a little misleading; our teacher says that it's more appropriate for a level 3 child student, but it works well for us (a teenager and her middle-aged mom in their 2nd year of study.) What I really appreciate is the way that the pieces can dovetail with the material that we're studying. For example, while I was working on the 1st inversion of the C Major chords, I serendipitously found in this book "Beautiful Dreamer", an arrangement that utilizes the very chords I was studying. Our teacher calls this "an excellent little book" and I recommend it to those who would like to play something more than the pieces found in their lesson books.

My daughter likes it!.......2007-03-30

My daughter is a beginner -- but she loves classical music. This book is probably a bit advanced for her but she is already playing Fur Elise and Ode to Joy...

My first Book of Classical Music: 29 themes by Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and other Great composers in Easy Piano Arrangements.......2006-08-28

I would have preferred a sample page of the music to preview prior to purchase. The pieces are too simple for me.

Another adult reteaching themself the piano.......2006-07-17

I'm another adult who had piano lessons as a child and am now trying to relearn the piano with my own 10 year old. As advertised this book has a lot of familiar tunes that are easy for a novice player. I like the notes about the composer and song that preface each of the pieces. Almost all of the pieces are written in either the key of C or F which was much appreciated by me. Both hands are used in all pieces but in many the left hand simply plays chords while the right carries the melody.

NOT EASY PIANO.......2006-04-23

My child has an excellent teacher and is doing very well in piano, but when I showed this "easy piano" book to the teacher, she said it was too hard for now. Maybe, by the end of the summer. Maybe, "easy" should be better defined as to what level you would have to be at in order to play this "easy" book.

The Norton Recordings: Gregorian Chant to Beethoven (Norton Recordings for the Norton Scores & Enjoyment of Music)

Average customer rating:

Good, but older editions are better.....
Buying the Book Online
Response to "a reader" and "music teacher"
Excellent History of Music!!!
Responding to "a reader"

The Norton Recordings: Gregorian Chant to Beethoven (Norton Recordings for the Norton Scores & Enjoyment of Music)
Kristine Forney , and Joseph Machlis
Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Inc (Np)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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The Norton Scores: A Study Anthology, Ninth Edition, Volume 1: Gregorian Chant to Beethoven
The Enjoyment of Music: An Introduction to Perspective Listening
The Norton Scores: A Study Anthology, Ninth Edition, Volume 2: Schubert to the Present
Study Guide for the Enjoyment of Music
What to Listen for in Music

ASIN: 0393104974

Book Description

With nearly three million copies sold over eight editions, The Enjoyment of Music is the best-selling music appreciation text of all time. Spanning the Middle Ages through the twenty-first century, the text offers a thorough introduction to the elements of music, a broad overview of the history of musical styles, and fascinating cultural contexts and perspectives. The Ninth Edition of this classic text features a stunning new design, exciting new repertory, and an unmatched ancillary and media package.

Customer Reviews:

Good, but older editions are better............2007-05-06

I really appreciated the older editions of this book and thought the language was clear and understandable. I still think these aspects of the book are good, however, I am disappointed at the content. I agree with other reviewers who have suggested that the work should be broken into two books -- one on modern music and another on classic music. It just doesn't make any sense to skip major composers and I feel this one size fits all approach misses the mark in this regard.

On the other hand, the book is well-written and has been well-received over its many years and editions. Some reviewers point to an overly politically correct stance, which I believe has some validity. Including minor women composers at the expense of major male composers is not politically correct, it is an inexcusable error. On the other hand, excluding women's contribution to the musical literature completely or leaving out a major woman composer is also an error. I am guessing that a chapter on the cultural issues around women and music with an overview of women composers that are largely unknown or underrated would have better served the target audience.

Textbooks are EXTREMELY expensive and after so many editions, I think this one should be a homerun. Unfortunately, it is now good, but not great. If you don't like this one, you may want to try Music: An Appreciation w/ Multimedia Companion 4.5 CD-ROM. This is done by a concert pianist and does justice to the major composers.

While I am not currently a professional musician, I was for 11 years and I continue to take lessons from a concert pianist. I play a variety of instruments and I've been studying music since before I could read. As such, I think I am in a good position to evaluate the merits of this text. It is still very worthwhile, but I hope they do better in the next edition. Another book worth considering is What to Listen for in Music and Music, The Brain, And Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination. The former book, gives you an inside look at music through the eyes of a composer and the second is a wonderful and entertaining journey through understanding sound and how music produces pleasure from a psychological and biological viewpoint. Both books are very readable by non-musicians and laypersons without a background of any type. The second book is one that I read in two sittings.... AWESOME! I have reviewed both, if you want more details.

If you are also looking to understand some music theory, try Harmony and Theory: A Comprehensive Source for All Musicians (Essential Concepts (Musicians Institute).). This is a great short introduction to music theory and harmony as it relates to modern music. If you are musical at all, you will find that this covers a lot of ground in a short space.

Buying the Book Online.......2007-02-07

This isn't a review about the work of the book but about ordering it online for people who might be nervous about buying this product online. I bought it for a college course. The bookstore wanted to charge me $50 downtown. I bought it online for about $25, including standard shipping. I was nervous that the book wouldn't make it here on time and I also wondered if it really would be the correct book. The book was shipping in 3 business days (5 days) which was faster than I thought. It was more than a great price, it was said to be in "good condition" and it was in great condition and it was the correct book!

The book itself is easy to understand and follow. I enjoy reading it and it has a lot of up to date information that makes it all the more interesting.

Response to "a reader" and "music teacher".......2006-07-20

After having gone through nine editions, this text bears little resemblence to the original work published in 1955. That text, and the next few editions, were solid and informative. With the addition of co-author Kristine Forney, the work has definitely taken on a more modern perspective at the unfortunate expense of truly great composers.

Having been a serious student of music in earlier life, and a constant listener since birth, I have an avid appreciation of most genres of music. Having said that, I firmly believe the study of music appreciation should remain somewhat "high-brow". By this I mean that it should limit itself to what is considered, in common parlance, as "classical" or "orchestral" music.

Modern genres of music do display moments of true musical genius and originality. But, for the most part, the majority of the material is borrowed, ultimately from the "classical." Most popular musicians have little knowledge of musical composition, or even how to record their works in musical notation. Rap and electronic are the ultimate in this area, many times outright recording a piece of someone else's music and blending the cuts together to produce their own "song."

If one seriously wants to develop an appreciation of music, a solid exposure to and understanding of the "classical" composers is a must. Otherwise, as is the case with most modern and post-modern (whatever that means) teaching materials, a true understanding of the origins, history, and development of the subject is lost. Herbie Hancock and Michael Jackson may be interesting and enjoyable, but they are hardly groundbreaking from a musical perspective.

The authors should separate the "classical" from the "modern" into two texts. Both studies would greatly benefit. After all, with the proliferation of college students downloading music and playing it on every device that can produce a sound, does anyone really think students do not have an appreciation of "modern" music?

Excellent History of Music!!!.......2006-05-12

This is an excellent book to read and study music from. It lays out the history of music in a very understandable manner for an average person. The timeline of music consisting of such musical eras as the medieval, renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, post-romantic, impressionism, early twentieth century and later twentieth century is very enlightening. It's all there from folk to jazz to ragtime and swing. The great composers would have loved to read this one. By the way, poets, make your feast on the history of the Troubadours, Trobairitz, Trouveres and Minnesingers poet-musicians from the middle ages from France and Germany. This is really an interesting book to read regarding music. It's truly educational. Also check "Trilogy Moments for the Miond, Body and Soul" with a new selection of Epulaeryu poems.

Responding to "a reader".......2006-04-09

In response to "a reader's" review, Holst and Orff did not contribute to the larger schema of music history. Although a work like "Carmina Burana" is significant only because it's been rehashed over in dramatic parts of a film, it has little value in terms of delineating trends in music. I only partially agree with his/her assessment of J.-de-la-Guerre because her work is used more to show a common example of highly ornamented French harpsichord music, rather than the composer herself. This is a well-organized book, giving a survey (keyword: SURVEY) of Western music, which means that if you want to learn about Elgar, read a book on him.

Average customer rating:

Changing Image of Beethoven
Alessandra Comini
Manufacturer: Rizzoli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved

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Wonderful Book
The Real Story about Beethoven and his deafness
Good Content, With One Stylistic Problem
A thrilling biography of a clump of hair...
This book gave me goosebumps

Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved
Russell Martin
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 076790351X
Release Date: 2001-10-09

Amazon.com

A well-publicized 1994 Sotheby's auction listed, among other musical artifacts and ephemera on the block, a lock of Beethoven's hair. The high-bidders of the hair, two Beethoven enthusiasts, were easy enough to identify by their oddball names: one was a doctor named Che Guevara, the other a retired real estate developer named Ira Brilliant. But the real story, as author Russell Martin attempts to explain in this book, is how did the lock end up on the auction block? More important, can we learn anything from a 175-year-old snippet of hair? Somehow, author Russell Martin attempts to weave biographical information about Beethoven's life with scientific findings about his hair (the two buyers had the lock DNA-tested), as well as trace the path the hair took, from the great composer's head right into the present.

It's a tall order and one at which Martin partially succeeds. His facts about Beethoven and Ferdinand Hiller (the original keeper of the lock) are solid, but he hypothesizes at length about how the hair ended up in a small port town in Denmark during the Nazi occupation. Likewise, he spends nearly the entire second half of the book describing the lives of Guevara and Brilliant, occasionally sounding more like a press agent than a journalist. Subtitled "An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Musical Mystery Solved," Beethoven's Hair doesn't truly solve any musical mysteries, but it is a fascinating, original read for Beethoven-philes who want to learn a little bit more about their favorite composer. --Jason Verlinde

Book Description

Ludwig van Beethoven lay dying in 1827, a young musician named Ferdinand Hiller came to pay his respects to the great composer. In those days, it was customary to snip a lock of hair as a keepsake, and this Hiller did a day after Beethoven's death. By the time he was buried, Beethoven's head had been nearly shorn by the many people who similarly had wanted a lasting memento of the great man. Such was his powerful effect on all those who had heard his music.

For a century, the lock of hair was a treasured Hiller family relic, and perhaps was destined to end up sequestered in a bank vault, until it somehow found its way to the town of Gilleleje, in Nazi-occupied Denmark, during the darkest days of the Second World War. There, it was given to a local doctor, Kay Fremming, who was deeply involved in the effort to help save hundreds of hunted and frightened Jews. Who gave him the hair, and why? And what was the fate of those refugees, holed up in the attic of Gilleleje's church?

After Fremming's death, his daughter assumed ownership of the lock, and eventually consigned it for sale at Sotheby's, where two American Beethoven enthusiasts, Ira Brilliant and Che Guevara, purchased it in 1994. Subsequently, they and others instituted a series of complex forensic tests in the hope of finding the probable causes of the composer's chronically bad health, his deafness, and the final demise that Ferdinand Hiller had witnessed all those years ago. The results, revealed for the first time here, are startling, and are the most compelling explanation yet offered for why one of the foremost musicians the world has ever known was forced to spend much of his life in silence.

In Beethoven's Hair, Russell Martin has created a rich historical treasure hunt, an Indiana Jones-like tale of false leads, amazing breakthroughs, and incredible revelations. This unique and fascinating book is a moving testament to the power of music, the lure of relics, the heroism of the Resistance movement, and the brilliance of molecular science.

An astonishing tale of one lock of hair and its amazing travels--from nineteenth-century Vienna to twenty-first-century America.

Download Description

An adventure story starring a lock of Beethoven's hair, this irresistible true tale mixes history, music and science into a compelling narrative. Beginning in 1827, when 582 strands of the great composer's hair were cut from his scalp, the author traces the history of the lock right up to the present day.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Book.......2007-05-25

Purchased the book for my daughter, who is a music student. Loved the book, it is more interesting and accessible than expected.

The Real Story about Beethoven and his deafness.......2007-01-10

This book was fascinating from the start. A mixture of World War II intrigue and Classical Music history. The book was well written and kept me involved to the end. I have used what I learned from it to help with my teaching in Music Connections in Middle School.

Good Content, With One Stylistic Problem.......2006-10-25

Let me say first - and I say it with enthusiasm - that I enjoyed the content and - unlike some - the layout of the book. However, there was one - and only one as far as I can figure - drawback to the book. It seemed at times like it happened on almost every page - this drawback - that Martin used extremely long hypenated sentences - like these, which, after a while could cause you to lose track of what the sentence started out to say - that caused me to have to read them three times to make sense of them. Okay, the point is made. That problem aside, I found the content of the book very riveting and exciting. I thought it was a nice creative touch to alternate between the history of Beethoven's lock of hair and the modern-day events surrounding its acquisition and scientific evaluation. The book even suggests a possible cause of Beethoven's deafness based on the study. I recommend the book. And now that it is in paperback, the price is right, too.

A thrilling biography of a clump of hair..........2006-08-11

A lock of hair, not a famous composer, plays the lead role in this forensic thriller. The story of how this lock found its way from Beethoven's head to the city of Cologne, to the port city of Gilleleje, to Sotheby's in New York City, and finally to the Beethoven Center in California makes for a breathtaking and page turning tale. And, along the way, a very likely explanation for the ravaging illnesses that plagued Beethoven throughout his life emerges. Not only that, it even played a part in saving Jews from Nazi terror. Quite an accomplishment for a clump of hair.

This book demonstrates the facility with which science and history can synergize. A simple wooden and glass locket states in antiquated writing that the hair within came from Ludwig Van Beethoven. But did it? As the item was passed for over a century through numerous hands in Germany, many may have harbored suspicions of its authenticity. After all, how does one prove that the hairs once sprouted from one of western civilization's key figures? And the stories of numerous fradulent relics, notably those of Saints, rings loud in european history. But modern science can unravel such questions, and, as the purchasers of the hair realized, many other surprising things.

In 1827, the hair in question did make its way from the scalp of Beethoven into the hands of young Ferdinand Hiller, who then made quite a name for himself in Cologne. Amongst his friends he could count Felix Mendlessohn, Franz Liszt, and Frederick Chopin. And throughout his fascinating life he met other luminaries such as Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, Hector Berlioz, and Goethe. He garnered a reputation as a composer and music critic, and achieved renown in his day. But his fame eventually faded, and he passed the locket on to his son, Paul, as a treasured family heirloom. The locket received some restoration work in 1911, and remained in the care of the Hiller family until the precarious era of Nazi Germany split apart families and cities. Somehow it ended up in the small city of Gilleleje in northern Denmark. The book explores various theories as to its arrival there. At the time the city was heroically transporting Jews to Sweden to keep them from the maw of the Nazis. A modest physician named Kay Fremming received the locket from one of the Jews hidden in the town church the very night the Gestapo stormed it and hauled away a hundred or so refugees. Fremming kept the locket in his office drawer for two decades. The Fremming's adopted daughter (she literally sat on their step one day and claimed them as her family when they arrived home) was shown the locket by Kay's wife, Marta. As time passed and Kay and his wife passed away, the locket came into the daughter's hands. Rough times later descended, and she decided to put the locket up for sale. Sotheby's showed an interest, and the some two hundred year old item appeared in the 1994 catalog. Ravenous Beethoven fans on the American continent bid on the piece, won it, and trasported it to the Beethoven Center in San Jose, California (where it remains). They had the idea to have some of the hair analyzed to help determine the cause of Beethoven's death, a wish that Beethoven had explicitly expressed in his letters. The analysis revealed the now old news that Beethoven had significant levels of lead in his body, and that lead poisoning likely hastened his death. That theory remains the accepted explanation. Then, to put the final piece in order, bone analysis linked the hair to Beethoven almost indubitably.

Weaving throughout the story of the locket is a cursory biography of Beethoven himself. Those familiar with his life will likely learn nothing new from these interposed sections. Regardless, they help elucidate Beethoven's health issues, and help point the book towards its ultimate goal. But the travails of the snipped hair remain the focus of the book.

A summary of the twisted plot leaves out the rich nuances and details that provide the book's real fascination. Not to mention the numerous people that came together to help solve the puzzle. This story has a curious parallel in the fictional movie "The Red Violin", in that the life of an object through phases of the human world receives elucidation. Fans of that movie will likely appreciate the intentions at work in "Beethoven's Hair". Perhaps the most astonishing fact is that a simple hair cutting led, two hundred years later, to the unveiling of a historical quandry. Which goes to show that very small human actions can lead inexorably to momentous consequences.

This book gave me goosebumps.......2006-04-13

I LOVE this book. I have been wanting to read it since it came out but was unable to until now, I am so glad I finally did. This book managed to be creative, informative, illustrative and emotive all at once.

This is not a straight up biography of (my favorite) composer, although there is biographical information given. It is more a history of his hair, specifically one lock of his hair. A reader has to take that into mind when reading this. Take any object in history and follow its path through the world, the people it was with and touch, how it affected their lives and how they in turn affected its future course in the world. That is what this book is about.

It is about how Beethoven's hair possibly traveled through historical moments of human strength and weakness, and how his music also reflects that same ripple effect on history always there as the hair travels forward in time, accompanying it somewhere else in the world. It is proof that Beethoven's passion lives on.

Not every page in this book is about Beethoven, which I could see dissapointing someone, but I wasn't. It gave me a lesson in history, they certainly didn't teach me about small Danish fishing villages in my general world history classes. They should have. The story of the village is amazing, and it makes me proud to be a member of the same species as those people. The book is a testament to the power of compassion.

I can't reccomend this book highly enough. I don't know if it helped me or not, having already read an extensive Beethoven biography, I don't think knowing gobs about his life is necessary to appreciate this book--though being able to feel the passion of his music certainly won't hurt.

Ludwig Van Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas Volume 1 (Nos. 1-15)

Average customer rating:

Awesome Edition For the Cheap Price
Most bang for the buck
Has stood the test of time
Great edition
Cheap, Well-Printed, Good Fingerings, Schenker's Footnotes

Ludwig Van Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas Volume 1 (Nos. 1-15)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486231348

Book Description

Volume 1 of authoritative Schenker edition includes Op. 2, Nos. 1-3; Op. 7, Op. 10, Nos. 1-3; Op. 13, op. 14, Nos. 1-2; Op. 22; Op. 26; Op. 27, Nos. 1-2; Op. 28.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome Edition For the Cheap Price.......2006-09-15

I'm a piano major in college and I know several people who own this edition and have in soem cases for years and they're all still in very good condition for their age. Surprisingly, it holds up well over time and the pieces are excellently presented...I've never heard any editing complaints.

I myself own the Henley Urtext edition of the volume 2, but own teh Dover for the volume 1. If you're strapped for cash in your music shopping *which I have been many times*, this is a great choice!

Most bang for the buck.......2006-08-18

I might be biased because I almost exclusively buy Dover editions of piano music, but the LVB Sonata volumes are one of the better ones.

Firstly, it's clear that you can't Dover on value. It'd cost more to photocopy the entire book than to buy it. I like the binding of the books, as they are well-made. I do have some trouble keeping the pages open in the thicker books (esp. the Scriabin Etudes book), but I can't complain.

Secondly, the notes are printed as a good size, and notation/fingering is good. I like Heinrich Schenker's notation and commentary, and I feel that it's very helpful for the amateur pianist for suggestions. There are some fingerings that I don't necessarily agree with, but it's unobstrusive enough to not bother me. I'd rather have some suggestion than none at all.

For Beethoven Sonatas, Dover is a good choice, unless you'd prefer Henle Urtext, which is at least 2x or 3x the price of this. I would avoid the Schirmer editions, as they butcher the markings.

Has stood the test of time.......2006-01-29

As the other reviewers have noted, this book is printed with very high quality and attention to detail. I've owned mine for almost 20 years -- over that time, it has the the most-used and best-wearing piano book I've owned. As others have noted, it also lies flat, the print is very clear, and it's a total bargain.

Great edition.......2005-11-20

To be quite honest, perhaps I would give it a 4.5 star rather than 5 stars. First off, I'd like to praise the accuracy this volumn presents. Though, it isn't an Urtext edition, but I've compared some to an Urtext and surprise, surprise, even the padeling isn't much deterred from one. Also, it isn't heavily edited, and to me, the little editing that it has, actually is helpful. Now on to the reason why I subtracted a .5 star off is because though the fingerings are there, but some of them are quite horrible and if anything, complicated the flow of the piece, that, if one isn't attentive to the peice might just ruin it. The worst is, a mere change of fingering can probably correct the problem. So my advice is to have your teacher check the fingerings and make corrections. Of course, those kind of mistakes aren't abundant, but here I should give an example of bad fingering for Sonata no.17 "Tempest". When one plays the triplets, instead of playing along what the book suggests, just play all triplets with your right hand and have your left hand cross over. This alternative fingering isn't a secret, many people know it and find it better. I wonder why doesn't the book at least give alternative fingerings?

But it is jaw-breakingly cheap and accurate. If I were to make a choice to buy it again, I certainly would.

By the way, I find all Dover bindings to be on the horrible side. This book, along with my many other Dover scores are already broken in half (hey, it's like having two books with a price of one! I kid, it's like a book broken in half that's not suppose to be.) So just be prepared to see this great Dover edition break... and you can't do anything about it.

Cheap, Well-Printed, Good Fingerings, Schenker's Footnotes.......2005-02-01

This is a reprint of one volume of the two volume set of the legendary 1923 Universal Editions set of all 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas in Heinrich Schenker's scrupulous edition, complete with his footnotes and an explanatory introduction. Physically the book (and its companion comprising the rest of the sonatas) is well done. It lies flat, the binding doesn't crack (or at least mine hasn't in several years' usage), the printing is legible, the fingerings are easy to read and generally pretty apt. This book and its companion have had a lot of use and they're still in pretty good shape. And, of course, they provide many hours of pleasure at the piano.

Perhaps best of all is that Dover's price won't break anyone's bank. I don't know how Dover does it, but I have bought many of their scores--not just Beethoven--with general satisfaction.

Gustav Klimt: The Beethoven Frieze and the Controversy over the Freedom of Art

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Gustav Klimt: The Beethoven Frieze and the Controversy over the Freedom of Art

Manufacturer: Prestel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3791337572

Book Description

Focusing on Gustav Klimt's famous mural, this book reveals the story behind the Beethoven Frieze and the role it played in Vienna's cultural heyday.

Created by Klimt for the XIV Exhibition of the Secession in 1902--also known as the Beethoven Exhibition--the Beethoven Frieze remains one of the most important examples of Vienna Art Nouveau, and one of the highlights of Klimt's career. Based on Richard Wagner's interpretation of Beethoven's ninth symphony, it displays Klimt's artistic opinions, passions and impressions. As a vehicle through which Klimt struggled to express the spiritual in terms of the visual, its elaborate decoration and frank eroticism reflect the debate between tradition and modernism that was raging in fin de siÃ¨cle Vienna. In this book, more than 200 images in color and duotone offer close-up details of the frieze's panels and give an overall perspective of the grandiose work. Stephan Koja discusses the Beethoven exhibition as a collective work of art, while other essays describe the techniques Klimt used to create the frieze and those employed to preserve it, its place in Klimt's oeuvre, and its importance as a symbol of Vienna's artistic community.

Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Full Score

Average customer rating:

Let the BUYER BEWARE!!!
Very good quality editions for study and listening - will last for years
Worth Having
student's companion

Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Full Score
Ludwig van Beethoven
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 048626033X

Book Description

Superb authoritative German editions (Henry Litolff's Verlag) of Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21; Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36; Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major ("Eroica"), Op. 55; and Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60. Finest inexpensive full-score editions. Lists of instruments.

Customer Reviews:

Let the BUYER BEWARE!!!.......2006-10-28

While Dover's many scores represent an amazing value across the musical repertoire, their collection and reprint of the Litolff Edition of the Beethoven Symphonies was a mistake. For the casual buyer they are workable, but not for serious use in performance, as they are riddled with editorial mistakes and problems. Purchaser would be better advised to find a set of the miniature (octavo-sized) Bärenreiter critical scores. They are bound just as nicely and the paper is of excellent quality. I use the full-size Bärenreiter set when I conduct my orchestra.

Very good quality editions for study and listening - will last for years.......2006-01-24

I appreciate the Dover edition of these works because the large format makes for easier reading and provides room for making notes while you are studying. For example, you might want to make something special or unique to one recording so that when you listen to another you can compare the two.

And if you don't read music very well, these symphonies are a good place to start. You can listen to the music and what the shapes go by. And eventually you will get used to the link between the sound and what you see. These scores are not as dense as, say Mahler or Strauss or works with huge orchestras. So, the classics make a great way to get into the pool, so to speak. Honestly, even if you can't read the notes, you will notice things after a few listenings that you had not heard before because you see the `shape' in the score.

The Dover editions are also very durable and will last for many years of use. These editions are nice and clear and easy on the eyes because the contrast between the dark ink and light paper is very good, but not blinding.

Recommended. Expand your horizons!

Worth Having.......2001-12-29

These scores (as well as those of the other symphonies) are worth having. Serious students of music can take invaluable lessons from Beethoven's knowledge of counterpoint, orchestration, dynamics, melody, harmony, and form. Additionally these are great listening aids, pointing out "Nebenstimmen" ("secondary voices") that might not be noticed at first listen. This way one can learn to enjoy Beethoven (and other music) as many melodies intertwining into a larger fabric.

student's companion.......2000-06-19

This edition of the first four symphonies followed me through my conservatory training, including some extremely frightening conducting lessons in front of a bored orchestra. There are no errors in the score that I have ever found, and the music is clear and easy to read. The best edition of a necessary score for any orchestral musician.

Beethoven: The Universal Composer (Eminent Lives)

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Beethoven Over All
Highly readable
short but sweet
fascinating
The Universal Composer

Beethoven: The Universal Composer (Eminent Lives)
Edmund Morris
Manufacturer: Eminent Lives
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060759747
Release Date: 2005-10-04

Book Description

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a genius so universal that his popularity, extraordinary even during his lifetime, has never ceased to grow. It now encircles the globe: Beethoven's most famous works are as beloved in Beijing as they are in Boston.

Edmund Morris, the author of three bestselling presidential biographies and a lifelong devotee of Beethoven, brings the great composer to life as a man of astonishing complexity and overpowering intelligence. A gigantic, compulsively creative personality unable to tolerate constraints, he was not so much a social rebel as an astute manipulator of the most powerful and privileged aristocrats in Germany and Austria, at a time when their world was threatened by the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.

But Beethoven's achievement rests in his immortal music. Struggling against progressive, incurable deafness (which he desperately tried to keep secret), he nonetheless produced towering masterpieces, such as his iconic Fifth and Ninth symphonies. With sensitivity and insight, Edmund Morris illuminates Beethoven's life, including his interactions with the women he privately lusted for but held at bay, and his work, whose grandeur and beauty were conceived "on the other side of silence."

Customer Reviews:

Beethoven Over All .......2007-02-27

I read Thayer's Life of Beethoven many years ago and I wanted to revisit the life of Beethoven. My interest was for something dealing closely with Beethoven's personality and this short book by Edmund Morris seemed ideal. There is a lot of information that makes this short study interesting but I ultimately did not find this book very satisfying. A danger in writing a biography is that the author can fall under the spell of his subject and cease to be objective. I found this to be the case with Mr. Morris especially in his first chapter where he addresses his subject as "Ludwig" and seems eager to explain his life rather than objectively relate events.

Mr. Morris' lack of objectivity was also made clear in the opening Prologue where he denigrates other composers; he points out that "Brahms has never gone down well in France" and that "Sibelius, who once seemed sure of a seat on Parnassus, has been replaced by the masturbatory Mahler." At one time, radio audiences in America voted Sibelius as the most popular composer, even over Beethoven, and it should also be noted that Beethoven's symphonies were not played in France until after his death where in some circles they, indeed, did not go down well either. And as for Mahler, I found such comments by Mr. Morris' to be extremely uncharitable and a turn off.

There were other comments that I found irksome and a few doubtful. An example: "It is hard to think of any contemporary classical-music radio station or website that does not attempt to beat to death, on a daily basis, the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the "Emperor" Concerto, the Coriolan and Leonore I Overtures and the Choral Fantasy - while fortunately neglecting such other masterpieces as the Cello Sonata, Op. 69, the "Ghost" and E-flat major Trios, Op. 70, and the little known, tranquilly lovely Mass in C major." This seems quite an exaggeration, and my advice for Mr. Morris is to listen to WFMT, but not on December 16.

I found myself skimming the book particularly from Mr. Morris' pedantic style of writing. His overuse of foreign words was a bit much and while in some cases the use of foreign phrases is interesting and even a necessity there were many times in this book when they were unnecessary. An example, "Max Franz was receptive to the Count [Ferdinand Waldstein] - who quickly became a court favorite - but showed no interest in favoring Ludwig over any of the other musici." Can't we simply refer to them as musicians?

Beethoven's music is covered, for the most part, succinctly by Mr. Morris, as I would have expected in a book of this length and events in the composer's life are well-presented - particularly Beethoven's relationship with this nephew Karl. Regrettably, Mr. Morris says nothing of Beethoven's interest in Schubert's music that happened during his final illness. Schubert was among his visitors and the dying Beethoven asked to see him before other friends who were present. As it is, Mr. Morris relates that Schubert was a torchbearer during Beethoven's funeral and notes that Schubert was buried near Beethoven and continued to be dominated by him.

Unfortunately, I cannot say that Mr. Morris provided the well-rounded portrait of Beethoven that I was seeking, and I plan to turn to a longer biography of the composer. I came away from reading this book that I needed another point of view concerning Beethoven.

Highly readable.......2007-01-23

I thoroughly enjoyed this compact and informative biography -- it is the perfect amount of information for someone who would like a reasonably comprehensive picture of Beethoven's life (and the fascinating historical context) without wading through reams of minutiae. Beethoven, despite some less-than-attractive personal traits, is a truly inspirational figure in the purity of his musical genius and dedication to his art in the face of deafness and many other obstacles. But perhaps the most pleasantly surprising revelation of the book was the author's uncanny ability to describe Beethoven's music with metaphors that give it a physical reality -- this is a special gift of Mr. Morris perhaps attributable to his own musical background. It made the music come alive on the page with a sort of synaesthesia rare, in my experience, in any genre of artistic criticism.

short but sweet.......2007-01-18

This slender volume is no substitute for the likes of Maynard Solomon's 500-page Beethoven (1977, revised in 1998), but that is not its purpose. Rather, this "Eminent Lives" series publishes biographies on "canonical figures" by distinguished contemporary authors. Edmund Morris, for example, is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (1979) and, more recently, Theodore Rex (2002), although I notice that the book jacket also describes him as a pianist and "private scholar of music" who has "studied Beethoven for a half century." The result is an accessible book geared for a general readership about one of the greatest composers ever to live.

Compared to Mozart who astonished regal courts at age six or seven, Beethoven (1770-1827) got a comparatively late start, although by his teenage years he was an acknowledged genius. The first written comparison to Mozart is when Beethoven was thirteen. He was also well-known for his multitude of eccentricities--his ugly looks, poor social skills, inability to perform simple math, slovenly personal habits and squalid living conditions despite his wealth, deep loneliness, a volcanic temper, depression, unimaginably manipulative and vindictive behavior towards those closest to him, greed, lying and cheating, and, of course, his deafness that descended upon him at the age of thirty-one. After meeting together four times in the summer of 1812, Goethe described Beethoven as "an utterly untamed personality."

But his music, so full of "contrast and conflict," is simply some of the most beautiful and sublime ever to emerge from a mortal. With quick strokes Morris takes us through Beethoven's aborted lessons with Mozart (he returned after two weeks for his mother's funeral), and then his move at the age of twenty-two to study with Haydn in Vienna, where he lived for the rest of his life. At the ripe age of twenty-four he had what amounted to his public debut, after which history took its course. His final public performance was in 1814, a dozen years before he died.

Beethoven's ambition and prodigious capacity for work made him a wealthy celebrity and the darling of both royalty and aristocracy. But he was hounded his entire life by deep loneliness, chronic ill health, and social alienation due to his eccentricities. But by himself he instigated a revolution in music: "The age of Affekt, of familiar sounds in rationalized patterns designed to evoke specific emotions, was over. The age Argument had begun: music that actually fought with itself, with the composer struggling to balance its contrary dynamics, and the performer struggling to master its difficulties--while the listener, caught up in the struggle, too, wondered which force was going to prevail" (145).

fascinating.......2007-01-03

The Eminent Lives Series is excellent, as is Morris. Much new here (for me) about the more human Beethoven. 'Eminently readable' as they say.

The Universal Composer.......2007-01-03

For most listeners, myself included Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 -- 1827) remains the greatest of composers. Edmund Morris's highly readable brief biography, "Beethoven: The Universal Composer" tries, in a straighforward way, to explain the sources of the inspiration that listeners have found and continue to find in Beethoven's music. Morris's book is part of a series. titled "Eminent Lives" of short biographies of famous people written for nonspecialist readers. Morris has written biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, but he is, enviably, also a pianist and an amateur music scholar.

What is the source of Beethoven's appeal? An answer that Morris offers at the outset is that Beethoven, in many of his works, did not compose only for people with great musical knowledge or sophistication. He wrote, for the most part, as Morris says, "for the human community he embraced as 'Freunde' [friends] in the last movement of his Ninth Symphony." Referring to the people from all over the world who make pilgrimmages to see Beethoven's residences in Vienna, Morris observes further: "[w]hat draws them is Beethoven's universality, his ability to embrace the whole range of human emotion, from dread of death to love of life -- and to the metaphysics beyond -- reconciling all doubts and conflicts in a catharsis of sound." (p.3) Later, in his book, Morris discusses the tension and contrasts that pervade Beethoven's music: "he fought for a balance -- often precarious yet always managed -- between the rush of ideas and the constraints of intellect, between hyperactivity and ill health, gregariousness and misanthropy, ethics and mendacity, humor and depression, and other absolutes of character or fate. His very music ... consisted of a clash of opposites ... all was tension, everything had to be resolved." (pp 80-81) Even Bach and Mozart, the composers most often considered on the same level as Beethoven, lack Beethoven's stylistic variety, and emotional depth and range.

Morris's book focuses on Beethoven's life rather than on a detailed discussion of the music. He does not consider all Beethoven's important works, but what he says is frequently fresh and insightful. Even those who know Beethoven's music well may read this book with pleasure. Morris gives considerable discussion to Beethoven's youthful "Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II". He names a chapter after Beethoven's infrequently-heard ballet "The Creatures of Prometheus", and he offers short but good insights on the song-cycle "An die Ferne Geliebte", the Razomovsky quartets, the "Les Adieux" piano sonata and many other works. He also considers Beethoven's failures -- including "Wellington's Victory" and the cantata "The Glorious Moment." The musical discussion rekindled my desire to rehear Beethoven.

In considering the life, Morris finds that "Beethoven struggled against epic odds and prevailed with enormous courage." (p.5) The two chief obstacles Beethoven faced, for Morris, were his ill-health, including his ultimate deafness and many other ailments, and his loneliness. In particular, Morris describes Beethoven's lifelong sexual frustration and failure to marry. As do most biographers, Morris focuses on two extraordinary testaments Beethoven wrote that were discovered only after his death: the first written in 1802 the "Heilingestadt Testament" in which Beethoven expresses his intention to persevere upon discovering his growing deafness, and the 1812 letter to his "Immortal Beloved". Maynard Solomon has identified a married woman, Antonie Bretano, as Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved, and this conclusion has been generally accepted.

Beethoven was a difficult man, and Morris stays far from the hero-worship of some of the literature on Beethoven. He describes in detail Beethoven's pettyness, manipulativeness and propensity to violence. He devotes great space to Beethoven's relationship with his nephew Karl and to his struggle for custody of Karl of many years with his sister-in-law. Beethoven's behavior verged on the psychotic in his later years. But while Morris is not a hero-worshipper, he avoids the equally unjustified modern tendency to deflate. Beethoven emerges as a larger-than-life highly troubled person who composed sublime music.

Morris's short biography is obviously indebted to larger and more recent scholarly studies, including books by Solomon, Cooper, and Lockwood, as well as the standard biography by Thayer. But it would be unfair to consider Morris's book as purely derivative. He writes well and to the point and offers a valuable perspective on Beethoven in his own right. Beethoven's music and life are broad enough to encompass many approaches and points of view.

This book has much to offer to those who know a great deal about Beethoven. But its primary appeal will be to the new listener or to readers who want a short introduction to this great, universal composer. Whatever your prior knowledge of Beethoven, I hope this book will inspire you to delve more deeply into his music.

Robin Friedman

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