Beethoven and his Nine Symphonies

NOTE: SOME CUSTOMER REVIEWS (POSTED PRIOR TO 3rd AUGUST 2016) RELATE TO PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF THIS BOOK ISSUED BY OTHER PUBLISHERS. At the start of the nineteenth century a new era began in musical composition. The ''classical'' period culminating in the elegant sophisticated works of luminaries such as Haydn and Mozart gradually gave way to the ''romantic'' period one of whose harbingers was Ludwig van Beethoven (who had been a pupil of Haydn). The innovative and powerful new style often strayed beyond the conventional rules of composition which impudence some commentators celebrated while others deplored. By the end of the century Beethoven was universally acknowledged as a giant among composers. Among his admirers was Sir George Grove a qualified civil engineer also renowned for his musical expertise even though he spoke of himself as an ''amateur'' in the field of music (in the sense of ''enthusiast''). In 1896 Sir George published the first edition of ''Beethoven and his Nine Symphonies'' designed to explain the structure and styling of the composer''s work to the ''amateur'' in layman''s terms. More than a century after the publication of Sir George''s book and despite the tremendous proliferation of new composers and new genres of music in the intervening period Beethoven still stands as a genius of musical composition. To fans of the composer it is remarkable that in his later years his ability to create masterpieces was apparently undiminished by the handicaps of increasing deafness and personal upsets. Volume 1 of this Kindle edition of ''Beethoven and his Nine Symphonies'' describes the first five symphonies.