Description |
xix, 604 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [559]-578) and indexes. |
Contents |
Prologue. Youth, maturity, old age : three letters -- pt. 1. The early years 1770-1792. Beginnings -- Music of the Bonn years -- pt. 2. The first maturity 1792-1802. The first years in Vienna -- Music of the first Vienna years -- Years of crisis -- Music for and with piano -- Music for orchestra and the first quartets -- The first maturity : an overview -- pt. 3. The second maturity 1802-1812. Beethoven in the New Age -- New symphonic ideals -- The mature concertos -- Music for the stage -- Vocal music -- Beethoven at the keyboard -- String quartets -- pt. 4. The final maturity 1813-1827. The "Fallow" years -- Beethoven's inner and outer worlds -- Bringing the past into the present -- Late piano music -- The celestial and the human -- Timeless music : the last quartets -- Notes -- Chronology -- Bibliography -- Classified index of Beethoven's works -- Index of Beethoven's works by Opus number. |
Summary |
In this portrayal of the world's most famous composer, Lewis Lockwood interweaves his subject's musical and biographical dimensions and places them in their historical and artistic contexts. Written for the lay reader, the book describes the special problems Beethoven faced as a highly gifted artist who fulfilled his destiny as Mozart's main successor while remaining a true, rebellious original. It sketches the turbulent personal, historical, political, and cultural frameworks in which Beethoven worked and demonstrates their effects on his music. Finally, it turns to the composer in his last years, with great achievements behind him, surmounting the crisis of finding still further artistic paths by which to continue. Also, by providing glimpses into the composer's sketchbooks and autograph manuscripts, Lockwood allows us to gain substantial insights into Beethoven's compositional methods. |
Subject |
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827.
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Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827 -- Criticism and interpretation.
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Composers -- Austria -- Biography.
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ISBN |
0393050815 |
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