Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Why Beethoven: A Phenomenon in One Hundred Pieces

Why Beethoven: A Phenomenon in One Hundred Pieces

Lebrecht, Norman
Ward, Joshua

Audio Book

MusiciansClassical MusicMusic Reference

PREORDER - Expected ship date December 15, 2026

ISBN13: 9798236028257
Publisher: Tantor
Published: Dec 15 2026
Language: English

Without Beethoven, music as we know it wouldn't exist. By examining one hundred of his compositions, a portrait emerges of the man behind the music.

Lebrecht has immersed himself in the rich catalogue of Beethoven recordings and presents a unique picture of the man through his music. He selects the best recordings of one hundred key pieces, showing the composer as we've never seen him before. Unruly, offensive, and hopeless in so much of his life, yet driven to a fault and devoted to his art, conquering deafness to pen masterpieces.

Norman Lebrecht, has been grappling with this icon at the heart of music for his entire life. Who was the irascible, unpredictable, warped genius who stretched what music could do to the breaking point?

In this unique examination, Lebrecht attempts to understand the power of this man through his compositions, the history of who has performed them, and what it has meant to successive generations of audiences. In turn a detective story (we learn who Elise of Fur Elise is for the first time) and a confession, Why Beethoven aims to rise to the challenge of how to encompass the relentless energy of this singular genius.

With a narrative that mirrors the wayward sequence of Beethoven's compositions, Beethoven emerges as a cornerstone of the world as we know it.

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