The Life and Works of Beethoven

This superb documentary features an unpretentious, well-written, intelligent narrative; excerpts from the composer's own correspondence and other contemporary documents; and liberal, lengthy quotations of Beethoven's music. Most popular accounts, fiction and nonfiction, of Beethoven's life either sentimentalize or demonize the man and milk all the pity they can from the tragedy of his deafness. Here, however, we receive the most balanced and humane account of his personality that this reviewer has encountered outside scholarly circles. The author, a noted British musicologist, delivers his own copy with informality and warmth, and five worthy actors handle the excerpts. Best of all, Naxos has chosen music recordings that highlight the tempestuous romanticism that most notably informed Beethoven's groundbreaking works and personal gestalt. Y.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine