Classical Kids presents Beethoven Lives Upstairs, a touching tale of music, friendship and genius. The arrival of an eccentric boarder turns Christoph's life upside down. Ludwig van Beethoven has moved in upstairs! The young boy slowly comes to understand the genius of the man, the torment of his deafness and the beauty of his music.

With basic assumptions shared and (new) facts evolving over time, Lockwood claims, the Beethoven biographer's role has remained highly personal.

"With unprecedented access to the archives at the Beethoven House in Bonn, ... Beethoven conductor and scholar Jan Caeyers ... weaves together a deeply human and complex image of Beethoven--his troubled youth, his unpredictable mood swings, his desires, relationships, and conflicts with family and friends, the mysteries surrounding his affair with the 'immortal beloved, ' and the dramatic tale of his deafness. Caeyers also offers new insights into Beethoven's music and its gradual transformation from the work of a skilled craftsman into that of a consummate artist"--Publisher marketing.

Written for the general reader, this book reveals how Beethoven's great works reflect both his artistic individuality and the deepest philosophical and political currents of his age.

Sourcebooks MediaFusion and Naxos proudly present this fascinating biography, complete with two CDs of his greatest works plus an exclusive website with extended compositions. Jeremy Siepmann draws an accessible portrait of the turbulent, troubled but determined figure of Beethoven, regarded by many as the greatest composer who ever lived. And with the words comes the music: Two CDs of carefully chosen pieces covering all the different genres in which Beethoven made his mark. Readers also gain access to an exclusive website that offers the musical works in full, the music of Beethoven's contemporaries, new essays and more. This revolutionary biography utilizes traditional and new media to provide a uniquely rounded portrait of the composer himself. Naxos is the world's leading classical music label and provider of classical music over the Internet at www.naxos.com.

A major new biography published for the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, offering a fresh, human portrayalThe iconic image of Beethoven is of him as a lone genius: hair wild, fists clenched, and brow furrowed. Beethoven may well have shaped the music of the future, but he was also a product of his time, influenced by the people, politics, and culture around him. Oxford scholar Laura Tunbridge offers an alternative history of Beethoven’s career, placing his music in contexts that shed light on why particular pieces are valued more than others, and what this tells us about his larger-than-life reputation. Each chapter focuses on a period of his life, a piece of music, and a revealing theme, from family to friends, from heroism to liberty. We discover, along the way, Beethoven’s unusual marketing strategies, his ambitious concert programming, and how specific performers and instruments influenced his works. This book offers new ways to understand Beethoven and why his music continues to be valued today.

Written by four leading Beethoven scholars, this is an invaluable guide to his character, his social life, his religious beliefs, his politics, and above all his music.

Bonded Leather binding