John Suchet's In-Depth Look at the Life of Ludwig van Beethoven

Luchi1012: That's what I wanted...I wanted to know about Beethoven the man, the human being...I already read a huge bio with lots of technical, musical info that actually went over my head. This book is wonderful, very readable. It feels like the author is sitting across from you in a conversational tone speaking about the life of this incredible genius. Yes, Beethoven was temperamental, he was a little eccentric, he was different, but reading about him helps you understand. He was a genius...geniuses are in a different realm...I absolutely loved the book, and I hope I would have been kind to him with all his flaws, because he gave us something so beautiful, inspite of his difficult life and his flaws.

United States on Sep 03, 2023

Koogan: The author appears to know his subject well. But parts of it are written in a very corny, almost childlike manner, as if the author is really a part-time, tabloid gossip columnist, or is writing this for pre-schoolers. There is some interesting information, but unfortunately it’s surrounded by silly commentary and speculation.

United States on Jun 11, 2023

rs missale: Just Outstanding! the author really knows his subject. i would have paid alot more for this and not complained. a great read!

United States on Dec 02, 2022

Luis Henrique: Boa biografia curta. Explora alguns eventos pouco explorados da vida de Ludwig, especialmente antes de sua ida a Viena. É um bom complemento para outras biografias mais aprofundadas como as de Solomon, Lockwood e a clássica de Thayer (que ainda não li), entre outras.

Brazil on Nov 23, 2022

Jacob la Cour: Literally a page turner. I could not put this down!! Read it over a weekend, while having various Beethoven tunes playing on Spotify. The musical references in the book along the way made them easy to find, and it was like a 3 dimenional experience reading about the man who had first written those lones and performed the music. I can't wait for the Netflix series !!

United Kingdom on Oct 17, 2022

Geoff Crocker: John Suchet provides an amazing, and often shocking account of the personal life of a great composer. Beethoven was unkempt, and capable of huge anger, hostility, unkindness, and offensive behaviour. Suchet frequently resorts to speculation. Other historians dispute some of his version of events. His style is easy but laboured – every event is introduced by telling us that something life changing was about to happen, a mantra which quickly becomes tiresome. We’re told repeatedly how widely known the first notes of the 5th symphony are.

Suchet seeks to focus on Beethoven the man, rather than his music, but this is a false division. As a result, we get no exploration about how the music and the man interacted, how such a troubled soul could express such beauty and spiritual depth in his music, how the classical school evolved, how society fostered music, and how music inspired society. Suchet claims Beethoven as the greatest European composer of his time, but, great as Beethoven undoubtedly was, Suchet gives neither criteria nor evaluation for this bold assertion.

United Kingdom on Oct 13, 2020

Justin: I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as I am currently studying music and I am in the middle of learning the appassionata. It contains so much useful information with very interesting revelations. The author has obviously done great research for this book and it is evident from page 1.

Information:
This book contains lots of very interesting information which any non-music lover can appreciate. He writes the book in a way that anyone can understand. I found it to be more like a great fiction novel which is good! There were many interesting facts I learned from this book that were explained in detail. You can see that the author has read many other Beethoven biographies and just taken all of the important facts and recollected them in this book. I find this brilliant as he gives facts but also tells when the information is not 100% accurate. He gives his own in-depth opinions on any speculation he places before us which I found to be very well thought out.

Price:
Compared to other Beethoven biographies which I speculated purchasing, this seemed to be detailed and at a reasonable price. I personally purchased this for just under 5£ which I considered...

United Kingdom on Jan 25, 2018

discofan: Oh my goodness, I love this book!!! I am not a professional musician or student of music history. But this book is so well written and focuses on the LIFE of Beethoven, rather than music theory and compositional strength of his music. I have laughed out loud multiple times at the absurdity of some of the situations, as well as the surprising personality of Beethoven that is revealed in his correspondence and life experiences. I am profoundly enjoying reading about Beethoven in this matter and learning facts that I never knew about. This author focuses on stories that other biographers apparently don't (I can't confirm this as I haven't read them all), so you get information that you wouldn't get otherwise. I thank the author so much for writing this book and giving me insight into the genius of my favorite composer.

United States on Sep 30, 2016

Tsar_Nicholas: I've read this book twice again since receiving it about a year ago. I still find it to be one of the most elucidating, satisfying, and entertaining musician biographies I've ever read [and that includes Miles Davis'!]. Suchet's highly readable, well-considered style and obvious love -- but not sycophancy -- for his subject ensure an absorbing, brisk journey through the Bonn years through LvB's maturity in Vienna, with all the struggles both internal and external that accompanied him.
Suchet engages in plenty of speculation but makes it perfectly clear when he's doing so, and the speculation enriches the experience for me -- what Suchet is trying to do, after all, is rather than present a strict historical or musical biography, to really give the reader a *feeling* for LvB's time and place and personality -- the whole gestalt. For me, Suchet totally suceeded in this -- I felt completely connected when engrossed in this book.
In particular, this book made me want to do two things right away : 1) get a copy of "Beethoven's Letters," from which Suchet quotes liberally, for better context -- this was the best paperback purchase of my life, absolutely essential ; and 2) curse...

United States on Dec 19, 2014

Rebecca: John Suchet is very well known for his love of Beethoven and has written five other books on Beethoven's life, all of which are incredible. This latest work has clearly been the culmination of years more research and trips around the world to bring us more facts about Beethoven and bring him to life before our eyes. Firstly, the presentation of the book is beautiful. It has a very smart front cover and inside has beautiful illustrations and chapter title pages throughout. The content is a fascinating insight into Beethoven's life starting with a little family history from before he was born. Whether you know nothing about Beethoven or are well read about him, John Suchet writes in a captivating style so it is impossible to put down. In a recent tv interview he said that there are details about Beethoven's life which have never been published before in English, not that I know which ones they are in the book. This is such an interesting biography and you will find yourself sharing the emotions throughout. Having always been a fan of Beethoven's music I wanted to learn more about him, and from loving John Suchet's other books I knew this would be no different. For most of the book I...

United Kingdom on Oct 07, 2012