I am not a musician. But I am a huge fan of Beethoven.
This book explores all nine of Beethoven ‘s symphonies. Lockwood gives us each of their creative and historical backgrounds. Interspersed are observations on Beethoven’ s life at that point in time.
Musicians are also treated to a thorough analysis of the movements which are beyond most readers though.
I like this book. My personal favourites are the 5th, 7th, and 9th Symphonies. The 7th Symphony second movement is a gem, perhaps unknown to most non musicians. To me it is as sublime as Verdi’s Nabucco’s Chorus of the Hebrew slaves.