Recent Reads {Beethoven: His Life and Music}

Beethoven - His Life & Music by Jeremy Siepmann - Since I thoroughly enjoyed Siepmann's biography of Mozart, I was quick to grab his similar work on Beethoven.  Siepmann tells Beethoven's story in the same engaging, readable style with chapters about his life alternating with chapters describing his music.  Siepmann draws from letters and writings of Beethoven and his family members and associates to give a well-rounded view of this often troubled, but brilliant composer.  The chapters about the music were also very interesting, and accessible even to readers without an education in music.  The book captures the tragedy and the triumph of Beethoven's life well, without passing judgment.  The books comes with two CDs of the music referenced in the book, and sidebars throughout the book direct the reader to the track mentioned.  Unfortunately, the library copy I read had only one of the two CDs with it, so I missed out on some of the music.  I highly recommend these books, and wish there were more in this style about other composers.

By the same author:  Mozart: His Life & Music