This volume contains a collection of classic essays by various authors that explore and analyse Beethoven's most notable compositions. Contents include: “Beethoven, by Lawrence Gilman”, “Beethoven, by Arthur Johnstone”, “A Sketch of Beethoven - A Lecture, by Thomas Hanly Ball”, “On Hearing a Symphony of Beethoven, by Edna St. Vincent Millay”, etc. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven's musical prowess was recognised from an early age, and he soon became famous as a virtuoso pianist and composer. However, after having gone almost completely deaf by 1814, Beethoven ceased public performances and appearances entirely. One of the most celebrated composers in Western history, Beethoven's music remains amongst the most commonly-performed classical music around the world. Read & Co. Books is publishing this brand new collection of classic essays for the modern reader.

Excerpt from Beethoven's Symphonies Critically Discussed These essays originally appeared in The Musical Standard, for which paper they were written. While admitting that the author has at times been carried away by his exuberant fancy, it is impossible to deny that he possesses in a very high degree those powers of analysis without which it is impossible to do justice to, or even approximately to understand, Beethoven. Music is verily the language of the soul - higher, finer, more delicate in its methods, and more ethereal in its results, than anything to which the tongue can give utterance; expressing what speech cannot speak, and affecting, as no mere talking can, the invisible player who manipulates the keyboard of the human intellect, and whom we call The Soul. Music is truly of such a nature, and appeals so powerfully and mysteriously to that soul, that the words of Jean Paul seem quite justified, - Ich glaube, nur Gott versteht unser Musik. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A daring composer in his own right, Hector Berlioz made a considerable reputation and a modest living for himself writing about music. This compact volume gathers brief, pithy essays Berlioz wrote on Beethoven's nine symphonies, his opera, Fidelio, and his piano sonatas and trios. Berlioz vividly depicts the salient features of the music with observations that are acute and passionate, as valuable for musicians as for amateurs. Beyond its astute commentary on the music, however, Berlioz's book offers a rare firsthand look at the reception and reputation accorded Beethoven's music in the decades following his death. Berlioz transcribes the comments of amateurs leaving the conservatoire after a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and provides a mocking glimpse of the French appreciation of the great German composer: What stands in the way of the music of 'Fidelio' as regards the Parisian public is ... the great disdain of the composer for sonorous effects which are not justified. He addresses Beethoven's skillful use of the orchestra as an instrument of drama and the general disapprobation that greeted this approach. He also includes a satirical piece on the fad of calling up the spirit of a composer and transcribing new, posthumous compositions. Berlioz's essays testify to the tumult caused by Beethoven's music in his time and offer ways to approach the music that remain enlightening and fresh.