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Beethoven (Revised Edition) (Paperback)

by Maynard Solomon (Author) "LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN WAS BORN INTO A FAMILY of court musicians at the electorate of Cologne, one of the ecclesiastical principalities of the Holy Roman..." (more)
Key Phrases: Immortal Beloved, Ninth Symphony, Antonie Brentano (more...)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product 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.

About the Author
Maynard Solomon is a leading authority on Beethoven, winner of the Otto Kinkeldey Award for "Beethoven Essays" and the author of Mozart: A Life.

Product Details

Paperback: 554 pages
Publisher: Schirmer Trade Books; 2 Revised edition (October 1, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0825672686
ISBN-13: 978-0825672682
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #117,494 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#7 in Books > Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Beethoven
#21 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Composers & Musicians > Classical

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN WAS BORN INTO A FAMILY of court musicians at the electorate of Cologne, one of the ecclesiastical principalities of the Holy Roman Empire, whose court was situated in Bonn. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Immortal Beloved, Ninth Symphony, Antonie Brentano, Caspar Carl, Missa Solemnis, Eroica Symphony, Nikolaus Johann, Family Romance, Conversation Book, Johann van Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Maria Magdalena, Archduke Rudolph, Grosse Fuge, Stephan von Breuning, Heiligenstadt Testament, Seventh Symphony, Therese Malfatti, Fifth Symphony, Prince Lobkowitz, Ferdinand Ries, Wellingtons Sieg, Choral Fantasia, Frau Streicher, Giulietta Guicciardi

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 100 books:

Beethoven Essays by Maynard Solomon on 21 pages
The Beethoven Quartets by Joseph Kerman on 7 pages
Beethoven and His Nine Symphonies by George Grove on 6 pages
Beethoven Forum, Volume 1 by Beethoven Forum on 6 pages
Beethoven and the Creative Process (Clarendon Paperbacks) by Barry Cooper on 6 pages

See all 100 books this book cites

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

All Music Guide to Classical Music by Chris Woodstra

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Beethoven by Lewis Lockwood

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Beethoven by Barry Cooper

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Beethoven and the Creative Process by Barry Cooper

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	79% buy the item featured on this page: Beethoven (Revised Edition) 3.5 out of 5 stars (21) $13.57
	7% buy Beethoven: The Music and the Life 4.2 out of 5 stars (12) $14.93
	5% buy Beethoven: The Universal Composer (Eminent Lives) 4.1 out of 5 stars (25) $17.15
	4% buy Beethoven (Master Musicians) 4.8 out of 5 stars (5) $22.45

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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not definitive, June 12, 2002

By A Customer

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.

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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE IMMORTAL COMPOSER, September 11, 2000

By	Robin Friedman (Washington, D.C. United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Beethoven (Hardcover)

This is the second edition of Solomon's biography of Beethoven and it is an improvement in terms of both analysis and lucidity.

The book is written from a psychoanalytic point of view that all may not find convincing. However, the rudiments of Mr. Solomon's analysis, in terms of tracing Beethoven's life problems, his difficulties with women, with peers, and with himself to his childhood experiences probably transcends any specific psychological dogma and is insightful.

The book is a biography rather than an attempt at technical musical analysis. Even so, it elucidates the music well and with an obvious love for it. I found the discussion of Beethoven's final period works, and of his sometimes neglected vocal writings, particularly good.

The sections on Beethoven's relationship with Haydn, on his testament written upon the discovery of his impending deafness on the immortal beloved, and on his relationship with his nephew are all thoughtful and helped me better understand Beethoven.

A wonderful book for anybody who loves this composer or wants to learn more about why other people love him.

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35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As exciting and interesting as the subject and his music!, August 23, 2000

By	Mark A. Ritchie "sirin1" (san jose, ca, usa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Beethoven (Hardcover)

I found this book impossible to put down! I'm neither a musicologist nor a professional musician and this book was still enjoyable as well as readable (didn't have to refer to other books for further elucidation of terminology). I found Mr. Solomon's style quite pleasant and his analysis insightful. Being a Psychiatrist, I easily become disinterested in amateur journalistic psychoanalysis. Mr. Solomon presented multiple theories to help explain a complex personality and his behavior. His reasoning is on target. This is a wonderful book, a story well told about a personality riveting from before his birth till after his death.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Unreadable and boring
I found this book unreadable and extremely boring. It was so dense with meaningless detail that the narrative flow virtually ceased - the endless inclusion of irrelevant detail... Read more

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2.0 out of 5 stars Not Really
Not really a biography, more a lengthy attempt to psychoanalyze the composer. Surprisingly little about his actual life. Read more

Published on November 26, 2006 by C. H. Patterson

5.0 out of 5 stars The DEFINITIVE Beethoven biography.
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... Read more

Published on August 13, 2006 by Chicagoland Dan

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive biography.
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... Read more

Published on June 5, 2006 by Ramesh Gopal

2.0 out of 5 stars So-so psychological portrait; wayyy too Freudian
I generally like psychologically profiling biographies (see my review of Rousseau: Restless Genius). Read more

Published on January 19, 2006 by Stephen J. Snyder

2.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more

Published on May 30, 2004 by Steve Kessell

4.0 out of 5 stars 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. Read more

Published on May 5, 2004 by Edward

4.0 out of 5 stars so, you say you have issues with your father...
I like the psychoanalytic approach even if it is an anachronism here. Nice to know those of us who had issues with our fathers are in good company. Read more

Published on January 22, 2004 by Daniel McCauley

5.0 out of 5 stars As much a masterpiece as Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
This incredibly well-written volume provides profuse information and reads like a novel. I could not get enough of it. Read more

Published on June 14, 2003 by Gordon J Potter

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