Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph by Jan SwaffordRequirements: .MP3 reader, 934.8 MBOverview: Jan Swafford’s biographies have established him as a revered music historian, capable of bringing his subjects vibrantly to life. His magnificent new biography of Ludwig van Beethoven peels away layers of legend to get to the living, breathing human being who composed some of […]
Beethoven’s Shadow by Jonathan BissRequirements: .M4A/.M4B reader, 26.52 MBOverview: The American pianist Jonathan Biss is known to audiences throughout the world for his artistry, musical intelligence and deeply felt interpretations. What is less known until now is that Jonathan Biss writes about music in a most compelling and engaging way. For anyone who has ever […]
The Beethoven Syndrome by Mark Evan BondsRequirements: .ePUB reader, 3.5MBOverview: The “Beethoven Syndrome” is the inclination of listeners to hear music as the projection of a composer’s inner self. This was a radically new way of listening that emerged only after Beethoven’s death. Beethoven’s music was a catalyst for this change, but only in retrospect, […]
Mr Beethoven by Paul GriffithsRequirements: .ePUB reader, 152kbOverview: Shortlisted for the 2020 Goldsmiths Prize Based on the German composer’s own correspondence, this inventive, counterfactual work of historical fiction imagines Beethoven traveling to America to write an oratorio based on the Book of Job. It is a matter of historical record that in 1823 the Handel […]
Beethoven: The String Quartets by David Vernon Requirements: .ePUB reader, 1.8 MbOverview: Beethoven’s string quartets have long been held up as the pinnacle of chamber music: their fertility, complexity, depth and range mark them out as amongst the greatest of all musical creations. Yet they are also elusive, slippery works of art. In his new […]