The Project Gutenberg EBook of Beethoven: the Man and the Artist, by
Ludwig van Beethoven
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Title: Beethoven: the Man and the Artist
As Revealed in his own Words
Author: Ludwig van Beethoven
Editor: Friedrich Kerst and Henry Edward Krehbiel
Posting Date: February 9, 2009 [EBook #3528]
Release Date: November, 2002
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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BEETHOVEN: THE MAN AND THE ARTIST,
AS REVEALED IN HIS OWN WORDS
By Ludwig van Beethoven
Edited by Friedrich Kerst and Henry Edward Krehbiel
This edition of "Beethoven: the Man and the Artist, as Revealed in his
own Words," was translated into English and published in 1905 by B.W.
Hubsch. It was also republished unabridged by Dover Publications, Inc.,
in a 1964 edition, ISBN 0-486-21261-0.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
PREFACE
CONCERNING ART
LOVE OF NATURE
CONCERNING TEXTS
ON COMPOSING
ON PERFORMING MUSIC
ON HIS OWN WORKS
ON ART AND ARTISTS
BEETHOVEN AS CRITIC
ON EDUCATION
ON HIS OWN DISPOSITION AND CHARACTER
THE SUFFERER
WORLDLY WISDOM
GOD
APPENDIX
BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is widely considered to be one of the
pre-eminent classical music figures of the Western world. This German
musical genius created numerous works that are firmly entrenched in the
repertoire. Except for a weakness in composing vocal and operatic music
(to which he himself admitted, notwithstanding a few vocal works like
the opera "Fidelio" and the song "Adelaide,"), Beethoven had complete
mastery of the artform. He left his stamp in 9 symphonies, 5 piano
concertos, 10 violin sonatas, 32 piano sonatas, numerous string quartets
and dozens of other key works. Many of his works are ingeniously
imaginative and innovative, such as his 3rd symphony (the "Eroica"), his
9th Violin Sonata (the "Kreutzer"), his "Waldstein" piano sonata, his
4th
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