Beethoven Biography

[BP]

What I want to know is:
is it a good biography? Is it reliable?

BP

[This message has been edited by BP (edited 09-16-2000).]

[Suzie]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by BP:
[B]
Does anyone know of a Beethoven Biography by George Marek?

"Beethoven: Biography of a Genius"
George R. Marek, New York, 1969
Haven't read it though.

[Peter]

While we're on the topic of Beethoven biographies, I wonder if anyone has any really good new books they can recommend. I haven't bought a B biography for many years - the last was H.C Robbins-Landon.

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'Man know thyself'

[Michael]

I could recommend a couple but they are not absolutely bang up to date.
There is a very good one by Denis Matthews, the concert pianist, in the Master Musician’s series, published 1985 by J.M. Dent and available in paperback. It is simply titled “Beethoven” and the first half of the book deals with B’s life, the second with his music.
A book I can’t recommend to highly is “Beethoven – The Last Decade” by Martin Cooper, published 1970 by the Oxford University Press. As the title indicates, it deals only with the period 1817 to 1827 and, like the previously mentioned book, devotes half to biography and half to musical analysis, beginning with the cello sonatas, Opus 102, which are generally considered to be the first works of the so-called “third period”.
A real curiosity and probably out of print, is “Beethoven – His Spiritual Development” by J.W.N. Sullivan, published in 1927. Not at all the type of book to be written today, it deals more with metaphysics than music but is none the worse for that. I picked up a copy years ago and have re-read it many times. It makes a change from the rather clinical analysis that seems to prevail nowadays.
Michael

[Suzie]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Michael:
[B]I could recommend a couple but they are not absolutely bang up to date.
There is a very good one by Denis Matthews, the concert pianist, in the Master Musician’s series, published 1985 by J.M. Dent and available in paperback. It is simply titled “Beethoven” and the first half of the book deals with B’s life, the second with his music.
A book I can’t recommend to highly is “Beethoven – The Last Decade” by Martin Cooper, published 1970 by the Oxford University Press. As the title indicates, it deals only with the period 1817 to 1827 and, like the previously mentioned book, devotes half to biography and half to musical analysis, beginning with the cello sonatas, Opus 102, which are generally considered to be the first works of the so-called “third period”.
A real curiosity and probably out of print, is “Beethoven – His Spiritual Development” by J.W.N. Sullivan, published in 1927. Not at all the type of book to be written today, it deals more with metaphysics than music but is none the worse for that. I picked up a copy years ago and have re-read it many times. It makes a change from the rather clinical analysis that seems to prevail nowadays.
Michael

I believe I bought 'Spiritual Development' new a few months ago. I found it to be rather heaped full of psychoanalysis and overall negative, interesting but depressing. I don't know but I would suspect Maynard Solomon 'borrowed' a bit from this one.

[Serge]

Two great books about Beethoven: Beethoven, by Maynard Solomon. This is THE book you want if you want an original look at the personal history of the composer and how it affecting his music. It is marvelous.
2ndly, an oversized book published in 1970 for the bicentennial of his birth, simply titled Beethoven, as well, is a beautiful overview of his life, character and music. Please, not, it is an overview ONLY! You don't want this book to read about in-depth ruminations about the op. 132.