ThousandthIsle
07-20-2007, 10:39 AM
Has anybody read a biography on Beethoven that they can rave about?
Particularly, I am looking for any opinons on Maynard Soloman vs. Edmund Morris - these two are playing tug-of-war for my attention.
I ended up purchasing Soloman's Beethoven, the deciding factor being the publisher's description:
Rigorously meticulous and objective, Solomon's Beethoven is also renowned for its highly original interpretations of Beethoven's personality, his inner conflicts, patronage affiliations, intellectual and religious tenets, and the dynamics of his family constellation, especially those involving the cluster of fantasies that center on issues of birth, lineage, and ancestry. Through these we meet an infinitely more complex and human Beethoven than had been known from earlier biographies. And an extended chapter presents the evidence for Solomon's compelling solution to the riddle of Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved."
But one reader's very strong review has me wondering if I made the wrong choice: (**I have two books to finish before I can start this one, which is why I haven't just dived in to figure it out for myself!)
The Book Does Not Match Up With the Man
Solomon's Beethoven is probably the least interesting biography of Beethoven in print. It is extremely dry and pedantic and does not capture the passion that was Ludwig van Beethoven. The reading is more of a tedious chore than a delight. Spend your time listening to Symphony No.5, op. 67, and Symphony No. 9, op. 125, instead of reading this abomination of a book.
Any opinions?? Has anyone read Maynard Soloman's biography on Beethoven?
Particularly, I am looking for any opinons on Maynard Soloman vs. Edmund Morris - these two are playing tug-of-war for my attention.
I ended up purchasing Soloman's Beethoven, the deciding factor being the publisher's description:
Rigorously meticulous and objective, Solomon's Beethoven is also renowned for its highly original interpretations of Beethoven's personality, his inner conflicts, patronage affiliations, intellectual and religious tenets, and the dynamics of his family constellation, especially those involving the cluster of fantasies that center on issues of birth, lineage, and ancestry. Through these we meet an infinitely more complex and human Beethoven than had been known from earlier biographies. And an extended chapter presents the evidence for Solomon's compelling solution to the riddle of Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved."
But one reader's very strong review has me wondering if I made the wrong choice: (**I have two books to finish before I can start this one, which is why I haven't just dived in to figure it out for myself!)
The Book Does Not Match Up With the Man
Solomon's Beethoven is probably the least interesting biography of Beethoven in print. It is extremely dry and pedantic and does not capture the passion that was Ludwig van Beethoven. The reading is more of a tedious chore than a delight. Spend your time listening to Symphony No.5, op. 67, and Symphony No. 9, op. 125, instead of reading this abomination of a book.
Any opinions?? Has anyone read Maynard Soloman's biography on Beethoven?