good Beethoven book?

[mdzebar]

Can anyone recommend a good book about
beethoven. Im looking for something that really gives me some insight about the kind of person he really was and about his relationships with other people and himself. I would really like to read more about him than when he wrote certain pieces of music.

[Beyond Within]

The Maynard Solomon Book. He does a little too much psychoanalysis near the beginning, but you can tell he researched.

[Peter]

Originally posted by Beyond Within:
The Maynard Solomon Book. He does a little too much psychoanalysis near the beginning, but you can tell he researched.

I think you have to be very wary of his psychologist approach - some of his conclusions I find silly, not least his case for the Immortal beloved. I think you are better off with Beethoven and the Creative Process, Barry Cooper. Oxford University Press. 1992. ISBN 0198163533 (paperback).

The letters are also well worth reading and maybe Beethoven: His Life, Work and World, H.C. Robbins Landon, H. C. Robbins Landom. Thames & Hudson. 1993. ISBN 0500015406 (hardcover) which I haven't read but Robbins-Landon is certainly factual, interesting and enthusiastic.


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'Man know thyself'

[mdzebar]

Thanks a lot...I'll check all of it out. Im basically just looking for a book by someone that is excited and passionate about Beethoven. factual and informative but also include querky trivial information that will help me understand what kind of a person he was. Thanks for replying so quickly!

[Tegan]

Well, I'm reading "Beethoven: The Music and the Life", by Lewis Lockwood. I've read part of the Maynard Solomon biography, but I couldn't stand it. It was very annoying. Lockwood is a better biographer, but he does include a great deal about Beethoven's compositions.

[spaceray]

I can recomend Thayers life of Beethoven.

[Peter]

Originally posted by spaceray:
I can recomend Thayers life of Beethoven.

Yes Thayer's Life of Beethoven but in the edition edited by Elliot Forbes as the original 5 vols contains some factual errors. However it is the classic biography and highly detailed. Princeton University Press. 1991. ISBN 0691027196 (paperback), 0691027021 (paperback)


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'Man know thyself'

[Joy]

I have Thayer's Life of Beethoven in the edition edited by Elliot Forbes and find it very helpful and informative indeed. Also the above mentioned Beethoven's Letters with explainatory notes by Dr. A.C. Kalischer gives you a good deal of insight into his personal and private goings on throughout his life. Also Beethoven's Hair by Russell Martin is a good book if you're interested in learning about Beethoven's many ailments and his subsequent hearing loss.

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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Peter]

Originally posted by Joy:
I have Thayer's Life of Beethoven in the edition edited by Elliot Forbes and find it very helpful and informative indeed. Also the above mentioned Beethoven's Letters with explainatory notes by Dr. A.C. Kalischer gives you a good deal of insight into his personal and private goings on throughout his life. Also Beethoven's Hair by Russell Martin is a good book if you're interested in learning about Beethoven's many ailments and his subsequent hearing loss.

The Kalischer is quite out of date (1909 I think) so you have to be careful with his editing, for example he dates the Immortal beloved letters as 1801 and the recipient as Countess Guicciardi - I have this book as well as selected letters translated by Anderson which is very informative, but again dating rather - both these do not take into account the discrediting of Schindler in the 1970's.

Of greater value would be these two which I do not as yet possess:

Beethoven Letters Journals and Conversations, Michael Hamburger (Editor), Ludwig Van Beethoven. Thames & Hudson. 1992. ISBN 0500273243 (paperback)

The Letters of Beethoven. Theodore Albrecht, ed. Letters to Beethoven , 3 vols. (Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1996).
The first collection of all of the letters known to have been written to Beethoven. This is a very reliable and fact-filled source that is a fascinating read. It also contains translations of over 70 letters of Beethoven which are not included in Anderson.

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'Man know thyself'

[heidi]

Originally posted by mdzebar:
Can anyone recommend a good book about
beethoven. Im looking for something that really gives me some insight about the kind of person he really was and about his relationships with other people and himself. I would really like to read more about him than when he wrote certain pieces of music.

It might be a little out dated but I like George Merek 'Beethoven-Biography of a Genius'. It was the first biography I read on Beethoven. I have Thayer's Life of Beethoven and Solomon too. The best books to read on him are ones by his close friends, except Schindlers. I have several but on I love best is by Gerhard von Bruening who was a child when he knew Beethoven. His father, Stephen, was a lifelong friend of Beethoven but Gerhard has some very fun recolections of him.

[spaceray]

A book that both Joy and I have mentioned before is "Beethoven,Impressions By His Contemporaries" I have a Dover Paperback edition that includes remembrances of Grillparzer ,Weber,Liszt, Breuning ,Friedrich Wieck,Louis Spohr and many others.Very interesting indeed.

[Peter]

Originally posted by heidi:
It might be a little out dated but I like George Merek 'Beethoven-Biography of a Genius'. It was the first biography I read on Beethoven. I have Thayer's Life of Beethoven and Solomon too. The best books to read on him are ones by his close friends, except Schindlers. I have several but on I love best is by Gerhard von Bruening who was a child when he knew Beethoven. His father, Stephen, was a lifelong friend of Beethoven but Gerhard has some very fun recolections of him.

Yes I have Breuning's 'Aus dem Scwarzspanierhaus' and it is a good read and very interesting, but again caution is needed I'm afraid because Breuning was heavily influenced by Schindler.

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'Man know thyself'

[Joy]

Originally posted by Peter:
The Kalischer is quite out of date (1909 I think) so you have to be careful with his editing, for example he dates the Immortal beloved letters as 1801 and the recipient as Countess Guicciardi - I have this book as well as selected letters translated by Anderson which is very informative, but again dating rather - both these do not take into account the discrediting of Schindler in the 1970's.

Of greater value would be these two which I do not as yet possess:

Beethoven Letters Journals and Conversations, Michael Hamburger (Editor), Ludwig Van Beethoven. Thames & Hudson. 1992. ISBN 0500273243 (paperback)

The Letters of Beethoven. Theodore Albrecht, ed. Letters to Beethoven , 3 vols. (Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1996).
The first collection of all of the letters known to have been written to Beethoven. This is a very reliable and fact-filled source that is a fascinating read. It also contains translations of over 70 letters of Beethoven which are not included in Anderson.

Thank you for alerting me about the Kalischer letters. I will take that into considering when reading it. I shall also look into your other recommendations regarding the Letters to Beethoven book. Sounds very interesting. Thanks again!
How are your views on the Beethoven's Hair book? I know you've read it. Do you think it sticks to the facts for the most part??



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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Joy]

Originally posted by heidi:
It might be a little out dated but I like George Merek 'Beethoven-Biography of a Genius'. It was the first biography I read on Beethoven. I have Thayer's Life of Beethoven and Solomon too. The best books to read on him are ones by his close friends, except Schindlers. I have several but on I love best is by Gerhard von Bruening who was a child when he knew Beethoven. His father, Stephen, was a lifelong friend of Beethoven but Gerhard has some very fun recolections of him.

I enjoyed this book as well (Gerhard von Breuning). It was very interesting to get a 'hands on' type of perspective about Beethoven from someone who knew him and spent time with him towards the end of his life. Like with everything else I suppose we must exercise caution, however, when reading just about anything on Beethoven as it might be construed wrong or influenced by someone who may not be so accurate. Proceed with caution!



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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Peter]

Originally posted by Joy:
Thank you for alerting me about the Kalischer letters. I will take that into considering when reading it. I shall also look into your other recommendations regarding the Letters to Beethoven book. Sounds very interesting. Thanks again!
How are your views on the Beethoven's Hair book? I know you've read it. Do you think it sticks to the facts for the most part??

It's a while back now but I seem to recall yes its factual but goes a bit off track - hard to make a book out of hair even if it's Beethoven's!

It was in the 1970's that the full extent of Schindler's blatant distortions was revealed so biographies before the 80's tend to rely on him too heavily.

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'Man know thyself'