Beethoven : life of a conqueror / by Emil Ludwig ; translated from the German by George Stewart McManus.
| Author/creator | Ludwig, Emil |
| Other author | McManus, George Stewart, translator. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | New York : G. P. Putnam's sons, [1943] |
| Description | xiii, 356 pages : portraits, plates, music, facsimiles ; 23 cm |
| Subjects |
| Uniform title | Beethoven. English |
| Contents | Gloomy youth -- Napoleon of the piano -- The master -- Intermezzo -- Solitude -- Chronology. |
| Abstract | In completing this biography of the greatest of musical geniuses, the author has satisfied an ambition he has long cherished. That Beethoven has fascinated him for many years is evident from the essay that appeared in his Three Titans, published in 1930. But his enthusiasm goes back much farther. Not only the secret of his lofty achievements, but principally the puzzle of the man himself has always piqued Mr. Ludwig's analytic mind and inspired him to further study. The result is richly satisfying full-length portrait, entirely new in its point of view, a powerful picture of a great character with all the conflicts of an artist's soul. The tragedy of the misunderstood genius, the brooding man of sorrows, is a view of Beethoven that Ludwig does not share. He depicts him as an anti-tragic genius, eager to outdo his rivals, to win fame, a Napoleon of the piano, whose life was a chain of victories over every obstacle, whether of his own making or put up to him by fate. Like a great symphony, Ludwig recreates the Beethoven story in an astonishing new manner, showing through conversations and letters, a word, a glance (handed on to us in authentic reports) how his whole work is an intimate confession, with all the sudden pause4s and prestos: the whole contradictory world of his dramatic nature. Ludwig shows how this great genius suffered the same conflicts as all musicians before and after him, but how he alone felt small events in a symbolic strength that reappeared in the titanic measures of his music. In all his great works - as in life - he overcome tragedy and ends in victorious triumph, that inspires us more today than ever before. |
| LCCN | 43009718 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML410.B4 L18 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |