Kirjahaku

The original intention was that this book should be entirely biographical. If it be true, however, that out main interest is (or ought to be) in what a composer did rather than in what he was, the truth applies especially to Beethoven, and above all at the present time. The scheme of the book has therefore been modified so as to include a survey of his work. An attempt to make such survey cover the whole of Beethoven’s output would result in little more than a catalogue, with annotations to brief as to convey hardly anything of the essential quality of the music. It seemed, therefore, that the limited space would be best used, and the needs of the general reader more fully met, by a much less rigid and comprehensive method. My aim has been to indicate some, at least, of the more important characteristics of Beethoven’s works, and to show their influence on his successors.

The original intention was that this book should be entirely biographical. If it be true, however, that out main interest is (or ought to be) in what a composer did rather than in what he was, the truth applies especially to Beethoven, and above all at the present time. The scheme of the book has therefore been modified so as to include a survey of his work. An attempt to make such survey cover the whole of Beethoven’s output would result in little more than a catalogue, with annotations to brief as to convey hardly anything of the essential quality of the music. It seemed, therefore, that the limited space would be best used, and the needs of the general reader more fully met, by a much less rigid and comprehensive method.

This volume was first published in 1927, on the centenary of Beethoven’s death, as part of the Masters of Music series. The author was an established biographer of organ composers, such as The Organ Works of Bach. Attributing Beethoven’s disagreeable demeanour to his childhood, the author embarks on a passionate defence of Beethoven’s essential nobility of character, hoping to assuage the then-prevalent anti-Beethoven chill and to encourage readers to discover Beethoven anew. The volume covers an overview of Beethoven’s life, followed by his personality and an assessment of his works in an exploration of the most important characteristics of Beethoven’s works and their influence on his successors.

This volume was first published in 1927, on the centenary of Beethoven’s death, as part of the Masters of Music series. The author was an established biographer of organ composers, such as The Organ Works of Bach. Attributing Beethoven’s disagreeable demeanour to his childhood, the author embarks on a passionate defence of Beethoven’s essential nobility of character, hoping to assuage the then-prevalent anti-Beethoven chill and to encourage readers to discover Beethoven anew. The volume covers an overview of Beethoven’s life, followed by his personality and an assessment of his works in an exploration of the most important characteristics of Beethoven’s works and their influence on his successors.