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9781943657643

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""Simply Beethoven is a brief and eminently readable introduction to the life and works of the revered composer. Plantinga offers the layman reliable information based on his many years as a renowned scholar of the musical world of late-eighteenth and nineteenth-century Europe. This book taps into his long and vast experience as a musicologist and educator, bringing to life the spirit of Beethoven and the turbulent times that stood as the backdrop of his extraordinary creative life. A must-read for lovers of Beethoven seeking a short and reliable introduction to history's most powerfully influential composer."" -David Benjamin Levy, author of Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony and Professor of Music, Wake Forest University ""A succinct, insightful synthesis, presented in colorful but precise prose, by the dean of Beethoven studies. The many, little-known primary source descriptions of Beethoven are themselves worth the price of this book. If you want to learn about the life and art of Beethoven, Plantinga's offering is by far the most efficient and pleasurable book available."" -Craig Wright, author of The Hidden Habits of Genius and Professor of Music, Yale University ""Leon Plantinga presents the ever-inspiring story of Beethoven's life, music, and legacy with imagination and verve, including a wealth of colorfully telling details that keep the pages turning."" -Scott Burnham, Graduate Center, City University of New York ""An eminently accessible traversal of Beethoven's life and principal works, enlightening and consistently entertaining. It affords the layperson a perspective laced with erudition but free of jargon. Highly recommended."" -Robert Levin, pianist and Emeritus Professor of Music, Harvard University ""This is an elegant, delightful, concise and richly informative introduction to Beethoven, the man and his music, written by a distinguished scholar whose breadth of learning and measured judgment are present on every page."" -Leon Botstein, music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and president of Bard College ""This is a fine introduction for the non-specialist by an eminent specialist. Professor Plantinga, author of the definitive study of Beethoven's piano concertos, has done a masterful job synthesizing the vast scholarship on Beethoven and making it accessible to the general reader."" -Stephen Hinton, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities, Stanford University

"""Simply Beethoven is a brief and eminently readable introduction to the life and works of the revered composer. Plantinga offers the layman reliable information based on his many years as a renowned scholar of the musical world of late-eighteenth and nineteenth-century Europe. This book taps into his long and vast experience as a musicologist and educator, bringing to life the spirit of Beethoven and the turbulent times that stood as the backdrop of his extraordinary creative life. A must-read for lovers of Beethoven seeking a short and reliable introduction to history's most powerfully influential composer."" -David Benjamin Levy, author of Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony and Professor of Music, Wake Forest University ""A succinct, insightful synthesis, presented in colorful but precise prose, by the dean of Beethoven studies. The many, little-known primary source descriptions of Beethoven are themselves worth the price of this book. If you want to learn about the life and art of Beethoven, Plantinga's offering is by far the most efficient and pleasurable book available."" -Craig Wright, author of The Hidden Habits of Genius and Professor of Music, Yale University ""Leon Plantinga presents the ever-inspiring story of Beethoven's life, music, and legacy with imagination and verve, including a wealth of colorfully telling details that keep the pages turning."" -Scott Burnham, Graduate Center, City University of New York ""An eminently accessible traversal of Beethoven's life and principal works, enlightening and consistently entertaining. It affords the layperson a perspective laced with erudition but free of jargon. Highly recommended."" -Robert Levin, pianist and Emeritus Professor of Music, Harvard University ""This is an elegant, delightful, concise and richly informative introduction to Beethoven, the man and his music, written by a distinguished scholar whose breadth of learning and measured judgment are present on every page."" -Leon Botstein, music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and president of Bard College ""This is a fine introduction for the non-specialist by an eminent specialist. Professor Plantinga, author of the definitive study of Beethoven's piano concertos, has done a masterful job synthesizing the vast scholarship on Beethoven and making it accessible to the general reader."" -Stephen Hinton, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities, Stanford University"

Simply Beethoven is a brief and eminently readable introduction to the life and works of the revered composer. Plantinga offers the layman reliable information based on his many years as a renowned scholar of the musical world of late-eighteenth and nineteenth-century Europe. This book taps into his long and vast experience as a musicologist and educator, bringing to life the spirit of Beethoven and the turbulent times that stood as the backdrop of his extraordinary creative life. A must-read for lovers of Beethoven seeking a short and reliable introduction to history's most powerfully influential composer. -David Benjamin Levy, author of Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony and Professor of Music, Wake Forest University A succinct, insightful synthesis, presented in colorful but precise prose, by the dean of Beethoven studies. The many, little-known primary source descriptions of Beethoven are themselves worth the price of this book. If you want to learn about the life and art of Beethoven, Plantinga's offering is by far the most efficient and pleasurable book available. -Craig Wright, author of The Hidden Habits of Genius and Professor of Music, Yale University Leon Plantinga presents the ever-inspiring story of Beethoven's life, music, and legacy with imagination and verve, including a wealth of colorfully telling details that keep the pages turning. -Scott Burnham, Graduate Center, City University of New York An eminently accessible traversal of Beethoven's life and principal works, enlightening and consistently entertaining. It affords the layperson a perspective laced with erudition but free of jargon. Highly recommended. -Robert Levin, pianist and Emeritus Professor of Music, Harvard University This is an elegant, delightful, concise and richly informative introduction to Beethoven, the man and his music, written by a distinguished scholar whose breadth of learning and measured judgment are present on every page. -Leon Botstein, music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and president of Bard College This is a fine introduction for the non-specialist by an eminent specialist. Professor Plantinga, author of the definitive study of Beethoven's piano concertos, has done a masterful job synthesizing the vast scholarship on Beethoven and making it accessible to the general reader. -Stephen Hinton, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities, Stanford University

Author Information

Leon Plantinga is Professor Emeritus of Music at Yale University, where he taught from 1963 to 2005. His books include Romantic Music: A History of Musical Style in Nineteenth-Century Europe (1984), which serves as a standard textbook in American universities, and Beethoven's Concertos: History, Style, Performance (1999). Prof. Plantinga has also written many articles and reviews on European music, ca. 1750-1900.

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