The Life of Beethoven

First issued in German from 1866, this documentary biography follows Ludwig van Beethoven from Bonn through his establishment in Vienna, the onset of deafness, the Heiligenstadt crisis, the patronage of archdukes and nobles, and the late quartets and Missa solemnis. Thayer works from letters, conversation books, parish records, and the testimony of friends, preferring dated fact to anecdote. Landlords, publishers, the Immortal Beloved puzzle, and the nephew Karl occupy as much space as the premieres. The book is a source-based life of the composer, not a listening guide and not a novel of genius.

Bound in quarter brown cloth with green cloth boards with a portrait cartouche. Brown slipcase.