An authoritative work offering a fresh look at Beethovenrsquo;s life; career; and milieu. ldquo;Magisterialrdquo; mdash;New York Review of Books.This brilliant portrayal weaves Beethovens musical and biographical stories into their historical and artistic contexts. Lewis Lockwood sketches the turbulent personal; historical; political; and cultural frameworks in which Beethoven worked and examines their effects on his music. "The result is that rarest of achievements; a profoundly humane work of scholarship that willmdash;or at least shouldmdash;appeal to specialists and generalists in equal measure" (Terry Teachout; Commentary). Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. "Lewis Lockwood has written a biography of Beethoven in which the hours that Beethoven spent writing musicmdash;that is; his methods of working; his interest in contemporary and past composers; the development of his musical intentions and ideals; his inner musical life; in shortmdash;have been properly integrated with the external events of his career. The book is invaluable." mdash;Charles Rosen "Lockwood writes with poetry and claritymdash;a rare combination. I especially enjoyed the connection that he makes between the works of Beethoven and the social and political context of their creationmdash;we feel closer to Beethoven the man without losing our wonder at his genius." mdash;Emanuel Ax "The magnum opus of an illustrious Beethoven scholar. From now on; we will all turn to Lockwoods Beethoven: The Music and the Life for insight and instruction." mdash;Maynard Solomon "This is truly the Beethoven biography for the intelligent reader. Lewis Lockwood speaks in his preface of writing on Beethovens works at a highly accessible descriptive level. But he goes beyond that. His discussion of the music; based on a deep knowledge of its context and the composition processes behind it; explains; elucidates; and is not afraid to evaluate; while the biographical chapters; clearly and unfussily written; and taking full account of the newest thinking on Beethoven; align closely with the musical discussion. The result is a deeply perceptive book that comes as close as can be to presenting the man and the music as a unity."mdash;Stanley Sadie; editor; The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians "Impressive for both its scholarship and its fresh insights; this landmark workmdash;fully accessible to the interested amateurmdash;immediately takes its place among the essential references on this composer and his music."mdash;Bob Goldfarb; KUSC-FM 91.5 "Lockwood writes like an angel: lucid; enthusiastic; stirring and enlightening. Beethoven has found his ablest interpreter."mdash;Jonathan Keates; The Spectator "There is no better survey of Beethovens compositions for a wide audience."mdash;Michael Kimmelman; The New York Times Book Review
#1848003 in eBooks 2006-03-01 2006-03-01File Name: B00C1QVB0Y
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Drews PlaceGood print0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good start for christmas jazz!!By Ernesto Tapia Garciacute;aVery nice to use and friendly reading for beginners. Really good music CD performance. Id like each track has a music intro; because it forces you a little to play from bar 1!! In overall terms; I really aprecciate this book.