Why Beethoven: A Phenomenon in One Hundred Pieces

Beethoven (1770–1827) was assuredly a master of Western classical music, as this book—a combination of both the composer’s biography and a consideration of his works’ influence across generations and cultures—demonstrates. Lebrecht (Why Mahler) offers a chatty, albeit discursive and opinionated (with autobiographical notes of his own) accounting of the background behind the legend. Although it includes a QR code that readers can use to access particular performances through slippedisc.com, the presentation’s intricacy, for the most part, assumes prior knowledge of professional jargon, making it more appropriate for specialists. In brief chapters, each devoted to one work, the author agrees with the consensus that Beethoven, a determined deaf composer who worked through his disability, was antisocial, slovenly, sedentary, and spiritual (although not religious), and splendidly skilled at music.