Beethoven: His Life & Music

by Jeremy Siepmann

Overview

Beethoven bestrides the history of music like no other. Without him it would have been a very different story. This biographical portrait reveals a titanic personality, both vulnerable and belligerent, comic and tragic, and above all heroic, as he comes to grips with perhaps the greatest disability a musician can suffer. No man's music is more universal; few men's lives are more inspiring. Yet almost every work was the result of passionate struggle. In every sense but one - his modest height - he was a giant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781843792543
Publisher:	Naxos Of America
Publication date:	01/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	770 KB

About the Author

Jeremy Siepmann is an internationally acclaimed writer, musician, teacher and broadcaster, and the editor of Piano magazine. He has contributed articles, reviews and interviews to numerous journals and reference works, including The New Statesman, The Musical Times, Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine and The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. His previous books include a widely praised biography of Chopin, two volumes on the history and literature of the piano, and biographies of Brahms and Beethoven.
www.jeremysiepmann.com

Table of Contents

Contents

Website
Preface
Prologue: Beethoven in his Time
Chapter 1: The Ascendancy
Interlude I: Beethoven and the Piano
Chapter 2: Crisis
Interlude II: Chamber Music (1): Mixed Families
Chapter 3: The Hero
Interlude III: Beethoven and the Human Voice
Chapter 4: The Immortal Beloved
Interlude IV: Beethoven and the Orchestra
Chapter 5: Kidnapped
Interlude V: Beethoven in the Theatre
Chapter 6: The Master
Interlude VI: Chamber Music (2): Strings Alone
Chapter 7: Finale
Epilogue: The Truly Immortal Beloved
The Eighteenth-Century Background
The Nineteenth-Century Foreground
Personalities
Selected Bibliography
Glossary
Annotations of CD Tracks
Index

Editorial Reviews

Sourcebooks MediaFusion and Naxos's "Life and Music" series perfectly reflects the Naxos philosophy: high-quality products at budget prices. These books are not to be confused with Naxos Educational's "Life and Works" series (by Siepmann and other authors), which combines dramatized narration with recorded excerpts. The present series joins conventional biographical material with two audio CDs of selected examples discussed in the text and access to an exclusive link on the Naxos web site that provides additional extended musical examples and biographical information. Siepmann (Companion to Brahms; editor, Piano magazine), a well-respected British pianist, teacher, broadcaster, and musical biographer, writes intelligently and engagingly. In both volumes, he alternates biographical material with so-called "Interludes," in which he discusses each composer's contributions to various genres, e.g., opera, concerto, and chamber music. The CDs supply examples to illuminate the text (though they are unfortunately not referenced within the body of the text, but in an appendix). The web site is a valuable addition: complete works, not just single movements, are available, as well as music by the composers' contemporaries; a time line of their works in the context of historical events and other achievements in the world of culture and the arts; and thought-provoking special features on selected topics (e.g., Mozart's muses, Beethoven and humor). Even without the CDs and web site access, the books alone would be worth the price, since Siepmann has the rare ability to cover essential information and provide historical and intellectual background as economically as possible, all with a charming and inclusive writing style. Highly recommended for all collections.-Larry Lipkis, Moravian Coll., Bethlehem, PA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Siepmann begins each biography by introducing the musician and describes the social and political climate in which the man lived. Seven or eight chapters follow, each separated by a five-page interlude tying the texts to the CDs. Primary-source material is included (quotations, letters, writings, journals), which makes these volumes valuable for study and research. Each book ends with the same chapter, "Eighteenth-Century Background," looking in detail at politics and cultural milieus; Beethoven also has a chapter looking ahead to what the 19th century would bring. "Personalities" offers 10 pages of mini-biographies of family and colleagues. Though these volumes are not glitzy or bold in design, they are readable and very thorough additions to music shelves.-Linda Beck, Indian Valley Public Library, Telford, PA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal