Beethoven: Variations on a Life

by Mark Evan Bonds

Despite the ups and downs of his personal life and professional career-even in the face of deafness-Beethoven remained remarkably consistent in his most basic convictions about his art. This inner consistency, the music historian Mark Evan Bonds argues, provides the key to understanding the composer's life and works. Beethoven approached music as he approached life, weighing whatever occupied him from a variety of perspectives: a melodic idea, a musical genre, a word or phrase, a friend, a lover, a patron, money, politics, religion. His ability to unlock so many possibilities from each helps explain the emotional breadth and richness of his output as a whole, from the heaven-storming Ninth Symphony to the eccentric Eighth, and from the arcane Great Fugue to the crowd-pleasing Wellington's Victory. Beethoven's works, Bonds argues, are a series of variations on his life. The iconic scowl so familiar from later images of the composer is but one of many attitudes he could assume and project through his music. The supposedly characteristic furrowed brow and frown, moreover, came only after his time. Discarding tired myths about the composer, Bonds proposes a new way of listening to Beethoven by hearing his music as an expression of his entire self, not just his scowling self.

Genres: Music, Classical Music

160 pages, Hardcover

Published August 3, 2020

Reviews

[Alasdair]

3.5

dun dun dun duuuunnnn

[Mary Higgins]

This is not exactly a biography of Beethoven, as it is more thematic than linear. Brief, it was very readable and interesting and I learned a lot. I think this book would appeal most to a reader who is already familiar with a substantial number of Beethoven's works or one who is willing to stop and listen to some works as they are discussed.

[Kelsey]

Happy 250th Ludwig! Although Beethoven himself would dispute a 1770 birth year. Not too long of a book, quick read

[Susan]

I found this book very interesting, mostly because I was a piano major in college. I would not recommend if you do not have a deep knowledge of music theory, etc. as it is rather technical.

[Anna]

A quick but excellent read. A basic knowledge of musical theory is needed to understand some parts.

[Dave]

Informative, but difficult without a thorough familiarity with the various musical pieces.

[Gina Dalfonzo]

Short but good!

[Christopher Klug]

Very good overview of his life and music.

[Mir Blumanstock]

actually really interesting, read for class

[M P Foster]

Not for me a recommendation to others.

[William Dury]

More essay (113 pages) than a book, enjoyable if you want to learn something about Beethoven without a lot of effort. Makes much of “The Scowl,” but, as is often pointed out, things are cliches for a reason. There’s a series online you can find wherein the pianist goes through the Beethoven piano sonatas, plays, analyzes and talks about them. It might be a little technical, but there’s some lovely music and, once again, not a lot of effort and, gosh, won’t your friends be jealous of your newfound intellectual heft! (Don’t ever, ever, ever tell them how much you like Proust. You’ll just piss ‘em off).