Introducing Beethoven (Famous Composers) [Library Binding]

Roland Vernon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Famous Composers

Examines the composer and the influences and historical events that shaped his life.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

- Roland Vernon is a great lover of the music and the arts. His love and extensive knowledge of classical music has lead him to write several books on famous composers including Caruso and Tetrazzinni and Ruffo and Galli Curci. Introducing composers is his attempt to spread appreciation of classical music to a younger audience. He lives in Somerset --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Silver Burdett Pr (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0382391543
• ISBN-13: 978-0382391545
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,396,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More about the live and times of Beethoven than the music, February 4, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Introducing Beethoven (IC) (Introducing Composers) (Library Binding)

This is a very pretty looking book that introduces young readers to the world of Ludwig Van Beethoven. The idea of this series is to look at the influences and historical events that shaped the lives of great composers. Roland Vernon describes how Beethoven was born into a changing world of revolutions that transformed America and France, and shows how Beethoven's music mirrored those turbulent times. But Vernon also explores how Beethoven's music reflected a deeply personal exploration of human nature and emphasizes how the composer profoundly changed every form of music in which he work. The book has sidebars devoted to Beethoven's musical contemporaries like Mozart, revolutionary thinkers like Thomas Paine, instruments like the harpsichord, and events like the fall of Napoleon. As I said above, the book is illustrated quite impressively, with historic paintings and artifacts. Vernon focuses most on the details of Beethoven's life and the history of the time, somewhat at the expense of his music, which matters here because the thesis is that Beethoven is a musical revolutionary. That is difficult to do in a book, granted, but if that is the contract with the reader then it needs to be followed up on more explicitly. Other titles in the series introduce young readers to Bach, Chopin, Gershwin, Mozart, Starvinsky, Verdi, and Vivaldi.