Beethoven by George Alexander Fischer

Description

What made Beethoven Beethoven? In this classic study, George Alexander Fischer sets out to answer that question — not with a dry chronology, but with a vivid character study of the composer as a living, striving human being. This is a portrait of the man behind the myth: the stormy temperament, the fierce independence, the unbending dedication to art that let Beethoven compose masterworks even as deafness closed in around him.

Along the way, the book turns to a second theme — Richard Wagner’s deep indebtedness to Beethoven — tracing how the elder composer’s innovations in harmony, form, and drama paved the way for Wagner’s own revolution. Written in the early twentieth century, this is old-school literary criticism at its best: passionate, opinionated, and full of musical insight.

Whether you are a classical music devotee or simply curious about the personality behind the Ninth Symphony, Fischer’s study offers a rewarding window into two giants of music — and the bridge between them.

What made Beethoven Beethoven? In this classic public-domain work, George Alexander Fischer sets out to answer that question — not with a dry chronology, but with a vivid character study of the composer as a living, striving human being.

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Fischer draws a portrait of the man behind the myth: the stormy temperament, the fierce independence, the unbending dedication to art that let Beethoven compose masterworks even as deafness closed in around him. Along the way, the book turns to a second theme — Richard Wagner’s deep indebtedness to Beethoven, tracing how the elder composer’s innovations in harmony, form, and drama paved the way for Wagner’s own revolution.

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Written in the early twentieth century, this is a work of old-school literary criticism at its best — passionate, opinionated, and full of musical insight. Whether you are a classical music devotee or simply curious about the personality behind the Ninth Symphony, Fischer’s study offers a rewarding window into two giants of music and the bridge between them.