New biography

[Chaszz]

A tabloid-style biography. Concentrates on the life rather than the music, and perhaps with too much hyperbole. As to the music, applies that dangerous description 'Romantic' to his later work...

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articl...html?nopager=1

[Peter]

Hello Chaszz - good to see you here again and I hope you are well. Ah I see it's by John Suchet who I think supports the Brentano theory for the Immortal beloved. He has written a semi-fictional trilogy in the past which I didn't bother with, but I think provided you're aware of the facts he might just offer a different and interesting perspective in this new book. Thanks for pointing it out.

[AeolianHarp]

Indeed, Beethoven’s erratic behavior and fiery temperament are front and center in Suchet’s volume, which is organized into 20 chapters, each addressing a sensational episode in the composer’s career: “My Poor Hearing Haunts Me (But there is ‘a dear charming girl who loves me’)”; “Two Pistols and Gunpowder (An invitation to get away from it all)”; and so forth. The result is a narrative that reads much like a highly charged exposé from People, and it is easy to imagine its transformation into a screenplay, perhaps for a film directed by Bernard Rose and starring Gary Oldman in the lead role. We have before us the potential script for Immortal Beloved II.


Oh good grief why does this guy have to keep doing this to dear Beethoven? If one reads his letters and diary entries it is clear to say he hated gossip and sensationalism, so to put his life to such treatment is wrong. Suchet makes money out of writing stuff that is an insult to this esteemed man.


But that is not necessarily a bad or inappropriate thing, for Beethoven’s eccentric personality lends itself well to such an approach. Immortal Beloved (1994) may have embellished the story of his life here and there, but it was great fun. So is Suchet’s biography.


That proves my point- it is "fun" to insult Beethoven this way?! Suchet is using Beethoven to make money- shame on him!

In the case of Eleonore von Breuning, or “Lorchen,” the personable young daughter of the von Breuning family to whom Beethoven gave piano lessons in Bonn, Suchet proposes not only that Beethoven fell in love with his pupil soon after commencing instruction (she was only 16 at the time) but that he attempted to put his feelings into action with an unwanted kiss. This she rejected, Suchet reasons, causing Beethoven to write her later from Vienna, apologizing for the earlier offense. The letter, containing a reference to a disagreement, exists; the physical attraction and attempted caress are pure hypothesis. “I imagine he made an ungainly lunge at her, which she rejected and which left her seriously upset,” Suchet writes, after warning us at the start that “we are in the realm of conjecture now, but I make no apologies for what follows.”

Imagine you did Suchet and shame on you for writing such nasty nonsense. I cannot fathom why if he purports to admire Beethoven so much he writes such nonsense. Money is his motive I reckon- no it is not enough to stick to the facts, promote the wonderful music, one has to invent salacious titbits.
A product of the disgusting mass media.

Rigorous Beethoven scholarship this is not. Yet, somehow, we forgive Suchet, for if he is shameless, he is also sincere. He has most of the facts right, and he alerts us to the fabrications along the way. This is not just Beethoven revealed, but Beethoven hyped—the great anecdotes related and embellished by an enthusiastic, engaging raconteur.

He is about as sincere as a snake.

How does one reconcile the composer of such radiant pieces as the middle movements of the Emperor Piano Concerto and the Pathétique Piano Sonata with the vengeful, slandering uncle who emerges during this ugly affair?

They have clearly not read Beethoven's diary entries and letters which give the reasons why he felt he had to get guardianship of Karl. It wasn't something he took lightly.

Suchet also presents ongoing reports regarding Beethoven’s gastrointestinal issues, which run through the book like an idée fixe.

Leaves nothing alone does he.

[Michael]

This book has been available for quite some time. I was given a present of it last year and I began it without much enthusiasm, but I quickly began to enjoy it very much. It is beautifully presented and illustrated and I would not hesitate to recommend it to someone who wanted to know more about Beethoven.

I have read several biographies, including the massive Thayer, but this book had a few surprises for me, mainly due to the fact that John Suchet, who is fluent in German, had access to many documents that have never been translated into English.

Aeolian, I don't know what you have against poor John Suchet. He must be the biggest Beethoven fan on the planet and all he does is tell the truth about the man.

[AeolianHarp]

John Suchet, who is fluent in German, had access to many documents that have never been translated into English.

Aeolian, I don't know what you have against poor John Suchet. He must be the biggest Beethoven fan on the planet and all he does is tell the truth about the man.

Well well well if he is fluent in German then he has even less excuse to make up stories and embellish facts!!! He doesn't tell the truth, he bends it! We have an old thread on here about the gross things he has put in his novels. I know novels are fiction but if one novelises a real person's life they still ought to stick to the facts and not make things up that were not likely to have happened ( and are very disrespectful) and are out of character.

[Michael]

Well well well if he is fluent in German then he has even less excuse to make up stories and embellish facts!!! He doesn't tell the truth, he bends it! We have an old thread on here about the gross things he has put in his novels. I know novels are fiction but if one novelises a real person's life they still ought to stick to the facts and not make things up that were not likely to have happened ( and are very disrespectful) and are out of character.

Well, he doesn't pretend that the Beethoven novels are biography. A huge amount of it is speculative fiction but Suchet has maintained that he tried to ensure that the books contained, in his own words, "nothing that could NOT have happened".

[AeolianHarp]

Well, he doesn't pretend that the Beethoven novels are biography. A huge amount of it is speculative fiction but Suchet has maintained that he tried to ensure that the books contained, in his own words, "nothing that could NOT have happened".

Well he didn't try very hard- he purposely wrote filth.

[Fredrika]

^I'm glad at least someone has liked the book, because my first thought when I heard of this was "another biography of Beethoven--- seriously?" and thought it's just a waste of trees...sorry to be so blunt. But if the book has provided interesting information to some, then good. I haven't read it myself, I have a Swedish biography that is my "bible" in what it comes to Beethoven. It concentrates more on the compositions than in his intimate life, as the complete list of works and their details was the main reason I bought it.

Suchet is popularizing classical music, making Beethoven like a character in some soap opera, which is good on one hand, on the other, I'm not sure how scientific it is. To my knowledge he is not a musicologist but a (and I am quoting his interview now) "failed musician". Now, when I was a kid and still dreaming about becoming a musician, a book written by a failed musician simply would not interest me. I needed the source to be a) academic b) musician and Suchet is neither of the two.

But, Beethoven, as all giant figures in the history of mankind, is of course an essential part of common knowledge and it's important to have biographies from all perspectives to reach all audiences. The only thing I'm worried about with Suchet is that he seems to have more than a genuine interest in Beethoven, it's more like an obsession. And since he has written this semi-biographical trilogy too, I think he might have a very strong "model" of Beethoven as a person in his mind which, obviously, has to be fictive. That doesn't make Suchet the most reliable of a source in my opinion when one wishes to learn about the great composer.

I also need to add that I'd love to see a book written by Suchet that was about some other composer. For me it's sometimes hard to catch the picture of Beethoven he hopes to transmit, and I think this is because he has dug his way "too deep" in this one certain composer and mixes fact with fiction. It could do good to change the record for once...don't you think?

[Peter]

Suchet is essentially a journalist - he knows that he can't compete with a musicological study of Beethoven and in order to write a book that will sell, he's got to fictionalise. I'm sure it is well written and an entertaining read and that is what a lot of people want. One does wonder though why bother, especially after his trilogy which served pretty much that purpose? Unless some startling new facts come to light, do we really need any more Beethoven biographies anyway? Enough fiction has been peddled about Beethoven - the films 'Copying Beethoven' and 'Immortal beloved' are prime examples and both were unsuccessful. The facts are far more interesting!

[AeolianHarp]

Enough fiction has been peddled about Beethoven - the films 'Copying Beethoven' and 'Immortal beloved' are prime examples and both were unsuccessful. The facts are far more interesting!

Exactly. He is fascinating enough without making up rubbish about him!
Such films and novels are trying to turn him into a stereotype which I hate. He is far far above that.

[Decrepit Poster]

I bought and read Suchet's 'Beethoven: The Man Revealed' only last month. Like Michael I rather enjoyed it. I find absolutely nothing overly objectionable in his presentation. Yes, he occasionally puts forth scenarios based on supposition. But in those cases he comes right out and lets us know he's doing so, and that we should treat such passages accordingly.

As to the Immortal Beloved, he devotes a chapter to the debate, confining himself largely to the main contenders. He gives convincing pros and cons for each, and wisely doesn't settle on any one candidate (mentioning that for all we know further evidence might one day point to some as yet unsuspected women). (He mentions one thing in Josephine's favor I had not heard or thought of before.)

BTW, I'm currently reading Jan Swafford's newly published 'Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph'. I'm only to the writing of the Eroica, but tend to prefer it to Suchet. At well over twice the length, it's certainly more thorough, and in my opinion quite well written.

[Megan]

If I may interject here, and say that I have never understood why books about Beethoven always seem to include reams and reams of who B's Immortal Beloved was, it's a turn off for me.

Same with the so called dark lady in Shakespeare's Sonnets. Such a lot is made of this largely manufactured conundrum. I find it boring anyway.

[grace65]

I just wanted to quickly say that John Suchet was the one who reintroduced me to Beethoven. I bought The last Master Vol 1 at a second hand shop. John Suchet clearly states that the book is a fictional biography of Beethoven and so that's how I read it. The only criticism I have to make on the trilogy was that there was too much wine drinking. Anyway, apart from that I enjoyed it so much that I had to buy the next two volumes on the internet. John Suchet got me wanting to know and learn more about Beethoven, that's when I started reading books from Wegeler, Ries, Gerhard Von Breunning, Thayer etc. (I also have Beethoven, the man revealed). I admire John Suchet's passion and enthusiasm and really believe that he writes about Beethoven, not so much for the money but because he wants Beethoven's music and name to live on for future generations.

[EternaLisa]

[I]

Oh good grief why does this guy have to keep doing this to dear Beethoven? If one reads his letters and diary entries it is clear to say he hated gossip and sensationalism, so to put his life to such treatment is wrong. Suchet makes money out of writing stuff that is an insult to this esteemed man.


But that is not necessarily a bad or inappropriate thing, for Beethoven’s eccentric personality lends itself well to such an approach. Immortal Beloved (1994) may have embellished the story of his life here and there, but it was great fun. So is Suchet’s biography.


That proves my point- it is "fun" to insult Beethoven this way?! Suchet is using Beethoven to make money- shame on him!

He is about as sincere as a snake.




(

oh puleeeze (cough).....he's not the first, and won't be the last-it is not possible to insult Beethoven now--he's most likely too busy doing "dead people' things-stop moaning LOL

[AeolianHarp]

If I may interject here, and say that I have never understood why books about Beethoven always seem to include reams and reams of who B's Immortal Beloved was, it's a turn off for me.

Same with the so called dark lady in Shakespeare's Sonnets. Such a lot is made of this largely manufactured conundrum. I find it boring anyway.

I know what you mean Megan- tends to bring the weirdos out; seen on some other forums odd ball attention seekers posting about "twin flames", remote viewing and being the IB. It is quite obvious Josephine Deym was the IB, no more need to make up silly theories. His music and spirituality are far more interesting.

Have you seen Beethoven Lives Upstairs? it's a "children's film", but by no means of a child's level. The best and most accurate portrayal of all the films made, despite the family Beethoven lodges with are fictional. Beethoven throws a lot of things at the housekeeper lol! They have lots of "fights", but she likes him really. She calls him names yet goes to great trouble to wash and whiten his shirt for a concert! I think the inspiration for the boy Christoph might be Gerhard von Breuning. The boy actor is very cute. Neil Monroe played Beethoven.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6skXE1qYxg8