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Beethoven

The Relentless Revolutionary
3.71 goodreads logo

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( 62 ratings, 11 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Beethoven by John Clubbe explores the composer's life as a revolutionary figure shaped by Enlightenment ideals and the fervent political climate of his time. From his beginnings in Bonn to his formative years in Vienna studying under Haydn, the book reveals how Beethoven's music was deeply influenced by the revolutionary spirit, especially evident in works like the Eroica Symphony and the opera Fidelio. Clubbe situates Beethoven among key cultural figures such as Schiller and Goethe, highlighting his lifelong drive to liberate humanity through his art.
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Format: Hardback
$7599
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Beethoven is ideal for readers interested in classical music, European history, and cultural studies, particularly those fascinated by the intersection of art and revolutionary ideas during the Enlightenment and French Revolution.

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Beethoven’s political ideals, inspired by the French Revolution and Napoleon, radiate through his ground-breaking compositions.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Beethoven imbibed Enlightenment and revolutionary ideas in his hometown of Bonn, where they were fervently discussed in cafés and at the university. Moving to Vienna at the age of twenty-one to study with Haydn, he gained renown as a brilliant pianist and innovative composer. In that conservative city, capital of the Hapsburg empire, authorities were ever watchful to curtail and punish overt displays of radical political views. Nevertheless, Beethoven avidly followed the meteoric rise of Napoleon.

As Napoleon had made strides to liberate Europe from aristocratic oppression, so Beethoven desired to liberate humankind through music. He went beyond the musical forms of Haydn and Mozart, notably in the Eroica Symphony and his opera Fidelio, both inspired by the French Revolution and Napoleon.

John Clubbe illuminates Beethoven as a lifelong revolutionary through his compositions, portraits, and writings, and by setting him alongside major cultural figures of the time—among them Schiller, Goethe, Byron, Chateaubriand, and Goya.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

"Clubbe’s biography is a thorough account of Beethoven’s inspirations, collaborators, and his turbulent times. It frames his work with political events and makes a compelling argument for their impact on the man." — New Statesman

"A thoughtful cultural history that takes into account the times in which Beethoven lived and worked—and they were times of revolution." — Tim Page, The Washington Post

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780393242553

Publisher: WW Norton & Co

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 09 July 2019

Country: United States

Imprint: WW Norton & Co

Illustration: 8 pages of color illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 43.0mm

Width: 165.0mm

Height: 244.0mm

Weight: 934g

Pages: 512

About the Author

John Clubbe, who holds three degrees from Columbia University, taught chiefly at Duke and the University of Kentucky. He has written books on nineteenth-century cultural history and numerous essays, primarily on Byron, Beethoven, and Napoleon. In Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he now lives, he has given pre-concert lectures for the Santa Fe Pro Musica and the Santa Fe Symphony.

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