Beethoven's Symphonies: An Artistic Vision

Biography & Memoir, Composers & Musicians, Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music
Cover of the book Beethoven's Symphonies: An Artistic Vision by Lewis Lockwood, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lewis Lockwood ISBN: 9780393249286
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: October 26, 2015
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Lewis Lockwood
ISBN: 9780393249286
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: October 26, 2015
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

“[Beethoven’s] music never grows old— and, enjoyed alongside Mr. Lockwood’s expert commentary, it sparkles with fresh magic.”—Wall Street Journal

More than any other composer, Beethoven left to posterity a vast body of material that documents the early stages of almost everything he wrote. From this trove of sketchbooks, Lewis Lockwood draws us into the composer’s mind, unveiling a creative process of astonishing scope and originality.

For musicians and nonmusicians alike, Beethoven’s symphonies stand at the summit of artistic achievement, loved today as they were two hundred years ago for their emotional cogency, variety, and unprecedented individuality. Beethoven labored to complete nine of them over his lifetime—a quarter of Mozart’s output and a tenth of Haydn’s—yet no musical works are more iconic, more indelibly stamped on the memory of anyone who has heard them. They are the products of an imagination that drove the composer to build out of the highest musical traditions of the past something startlingly new.

Lockwood brings to bear a long career of studying the surviving sources that yield insight into Beethoven’s creative work, including concept sketches for symphonies that were never finished. From these, Lockwood offers fascinating revelations into the historical and biographical circumstances in which the symphonies were composed. In this compelling story of Beethoven’s singular ambition, Lockwood introduces readers to the symphonies as individual artworks, broadly tracing their genesis against the backdrop of political upheavals, concert life, and their relationship to his major works in other genres. From the first symphonies, written during his emerging deafness, to the monumental Ninth, Lockwood brings to life Beethoven’s lifelong passion to compose works of unsurpassed beauty.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

“[Beethoven’s] music never grows old— and, enjoyed alongside Mr. Lockwood’s expert commentary, it sparkles with fresh magic.”—Wall Street Journal

More than any other composer, Beethoven left to posterity a vast body of material that documents the early stages of almost everything he wrote. From this trove of sketchbooks, Lewis Lockwood draws us into the composer’s mind, unveiling a creative process of astonishing scope and originality.

For musicians and nonmusicians alike, Beethoven’s symphonies stand at the summit of artistic achievement, loved today as they were two hundred years ago for their emotional cogency, variety, and unprecedented individuality. Beethoven labored to complete nine of them over his lifetime—a quarter of Mozart’s output and a tenth of Haydn’s—yet no musical works are more iconic, more indelibly stamped on the memory of anyone who has heard them. They are the products of an imagination that drove the composer to build out of the highest musical traditions of the past something startlingly new.

Lockwood brings to bear a long career of studying the surviving sources that yield insight into Beethoven’s creative work, including concept sketches for symphonies that were never finished. From these, Lockwood offers fascinating revelations into the historical and biographical circumstances in which the symphonies were composed. In this compelling story of Beethoven’s singular ambition, Lockwood introduces readers to the symphonies as individual artworks, broadly tracing their genesis against the backdrop of political upheavals, concert life, and their relationship to his major works in other genres. From the first symphonies, written during his emerging deafness, to the monumental Ninth, Lockwood brings to life Beethoven’s lifelong passion to compose works of unsurpassed beauty.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book Behind My Eyes: Poems by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book Gregorius: A Novel by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book Understanding Green Building Materials by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The Book of Scary Urban Legends by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book The Courage to Create by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book A Nation of Salesmen: The Tyranny of the Market and the Subversion of Culture by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book Miss Grief and Other Stories by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book The Mexican Pet: More "New" Urban Legends and Some Old Favorites by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book The Holding: A Novel by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book The Fourth Dimension of a Poem: and Other Essays by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book Bride of New France: A Novel by Lewis Lockwood
Cover of the book Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little by Lewis Lockwood
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy