Beethoven. La vita, l'opera, il romanzo familiare

I liked this biography far less than that of Jan Swafford. I found it a bit dry in style and sometimes bogged down in musical scores. It is highly revered I believe but for the non-musician, it is not always easy to follow or fun to read. I did not find that it provided me more insight than Swafford Leggi tutto

Note: My first online review, posted on Amazon, September 11, 2000. I have been revisiting my Beethoven reviews for the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth. The Immortal Composer This is the second edition of Solomon's biography of Beethoven and it is an improvement in terms Leggi tutto

If you wish to preserve your view of Beethoven, the genius who lived a perfect - trouble free life, do not read this book. The struggle .... Was real.

I'd give this biography 3 and a half stars for it's insight into Beethoven's behavior and character. Beethoven was a musical genius. He has an important role in classicism and romanticism in Germany. His music is revolutionary. I like Beethoven's late string quartets and his piano concertos. The com Leggi tutto

One of the best biographies of a musician ever written. Solomon's solution of the "Immortal Beloved" puzzle is a brilliant piece of detective work.

Una biografía humana y muy centrada en la vida de Beethoven (y no tanto en su obra). En especial incide en las motivaciones psicológicas del genio de Bonn y en tratar de explicar su comportamiento anormal, sus frustraciones y anhelos más íntimos, en un ejercicio de especulación musicológica que no s Leggi tutto

This is about as complete a biography of Beethoven as you are going to get. Unless you have a degree in music some of it will probably go in one ear and out the other, but that's not the end of the world. (Honestly, though, it did get boring at times.) The author offers up a plethora of information, Leggi tutto

Firstly an admission, I have no prior knowledge of Beethoven other than I enjoy listening to his music. That said I enjoyed this book although I had problems getting around some of the technical details in regards to his music. I bought this book some time ago but only got around to reading it after Leggi tutto