A Beethoven biography book recommendation
Jan Swafford’s biography of Beethoven is not ‘just another book’ on the great master. He manages to be as complete as possible without being too academic or ruining the intimate tone of the book. The author covers a historical period of a lifetime including the Enlightenment, the Napoleonic wars, the peace treaty followed by, and how all these events formed everyday life and thinking of the nations affected by the developments. Understanding Beethoven is not possible, without understanding the period of history he lived in.
Swafford is not only an author of books and teacher of music history, theory, and composition at the Boston Conservatory, but an award-winning composer himself. As such, he knows the craftsmanship of music making and this he puts to good use when he tells not just the story of the man, but also some interesting insights into Beethoven’s music. These technical analyses he does in such a way as to help understanding even among those with rudimentary knowledge of musical theory.
Here are some stellar reviews of this book:
“Swafford’s craftsmanship shines…The book is two books: a biography and a series of journeys through the music, a travelogue with an excitable professor. Readers will want to have a recording playing so they can match metaphors to sounds. I found myself engaged by his imagery, sometimes delighted and surprised.” –Jeremy Denk, New York Times Book Review
“Impassioned and informed…Swafford’s exuberance is infectious, prompting the reader to revisit works both famous and obscure.” –The New Yorker
“The stately rhythm, carefully etched detailing and oceanic sweep of this ambitious book mirror the complexity and richness of Beethoven’s revolutionary Romanticism…surrender to it and it’s easy to be swept away…Swafford comes marvelously equipped to take on the enormousness of Beethoven’s life and work – his heights of inspiration, depths of suffering, the roots and range of his masterworks…Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph doesn’t drown in its musicology so much as achieve a buoyant balance of technical and human detail.” –Matt Damsker, USA TODAY
“Swafford’s writing on Beethoven’s music is perceptive and illuminating. But just as impressive is his sympathetic portrait of Beethoven the man. Swafford’s book, which should be placed alongside the excellent biographies by Lewis Lockwood and Maynard Solomon, does not diminish any of the composer’s flaws. Instead, it suggests that these flaws were inconsequential compared with the severity of the composer’s anguish and the achievement of his music.” –Washington Post
“A highly rewarding read, with a lightness of touch that makes history come to life.” –The Economist
In this 1,000-plus-page book Swafford manages to introduce Beethoven as a real man, peeling away layers of legend that have built up around him. Both the highs and the lows of his life are presented in full honesty and truthfully. More than a decade in the making, this book is a worthy biography of Beethoven, the most consequential musician who ever lived.
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