Beethoven: a life
Description
The authoritative Beethoven biography, endorsed by and produced in close collaboration with the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, is timed for the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. With unprecedented access to the archives at the Beethoven House in Bonn, renowned Beethoven conductor and scholar Jan Caeyers expertly weaves together a deeply human and complex image of Beethoven—his troubled youth, his unpredictable mood swings, his desires, relationships, and conflicts with family and friends, the mysteries surrounding his affair with the “immortal beloved,” and the dramatic tale of his deafness. Caeyers also offers new insights into Beethoven’s music and its gradual transformation from the work of a skilled craftsman into that of a consummate artist. Demonstrating an impressive command of the vast scholarship on this iconic composer, Caeyers brings Beethoven’s world alive with elegant prose, memorable musical descriptions, and vivid depictions of Bonn and Vienna—the cities where Beethoven produced and performed his works. Caeyers explores how Beethoven’s career was impacted by the historical and philosophical shifts taking place in the music world, and conversely, how his own trajectory changed the course of the music industry. Equal parts absorbing cultural history and lively biography, Beethoven, A Life paints a complex portrait of the musical genius who redefined the musical style of his day and went on to become one of the great pillars of Western art music.
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Published Reviews
Choice Review
This English translation of a title published originally in Dutch in 2009 will be useful to English-speaking music scholars and advanced students as a bridge to recent Central European scholarship on Beethoven. An expert on Beethhoven, Caeyers (KU Leuven Univ., Belgium) intends the book to be a comprehensive guide to Beethoven's life and to his body of work, which have of course been studied extensively. Given that, the book does not add to Beethoven research, but rather synthesizes what Beethoven scholars know already. However, the book fills in background on Beethoven in some detail, and this will be helpful to nonspecialists--in particular North Americans who are not familiar with Beethoven's European world. With its comprehensive framework, Caeyer's book continues the long tradition of Beethoven biographies, starting with Alexander Wheelock Thayer. But comprehensiveness comes at the cost of depth, in this case the sacrifice of some very recent work. In the end the book is best suited to those already immersed in Beethoven's work--e.g., amateur and professional musicians, radio announcers, concert reviewers, et al. who would like to know more about the context of Beethoven's life and work. The ideal reader is a professional or amateur who has made of Beethoven a kind of calling. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers. --Phillip Murray Dineen, University of Ottawa, School of Music
Library Journal Review
As part of BTHVN2020, a yearlong celebration (which has been extended to September 2021) of the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth, the University of California Press, in close cooperation with Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, is publishing this first English translation of Belgian conductor and musicologist Caeyers's 2009 biography. Over the years, a number of legends and misconceptions about Beethoven have often been taken for fact, and this perceptive work puts them to rest in no uncertain terms. Caeyers covers Beethoven's personal and professional life as well as that of his contemporaries, including friends, family, patrons, and fellow musicians, all set in rich historical context. Beethoven's own life was often tempestuous, and the times in which he lived were no less turbulent. Includes an extensive bibliography and two helpful indexes, one of works and one of people. VERDICT Detailed and engaging, this fitting tribute to the iconic composer will enrich anyone's enjoyment and appreciation of his great music.--Carolyn M. Mulac, Chicago
Library Journal Reviews
As part of BTHVN2020, a yearlong celebration (which has been extended to September 2021) of the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth, the University of California Press, in close cooperation with Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, is publishing this first English translation of Belgian conductor and musicologist Caeyers's 2009 biography. Over the years, a number of legends and misconceptions about Beethoven have often been taken for fact, and this perceptive work puts them to rest in no uncertain terms. Caeyers covers Beethoven's personal and professional life as well as that of his contemporaries, including friends, family, patrons, and fellow musicians, all set in rich historical context. Beethoven's own life was often tempestuous, and the times in which he lived were no less turbulent. Includes an extensive bibliography and two helpful indexes, one of works and one of people. VERDICT Detailed and engaging, this fitting tribute to the iconic composer will enrich anyone's enjoyment and appreciation of his great music.—Carolyn M. Mulac, Chicago
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