Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Read and listen as much as you want
  • Over 950 000 titles
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • Easy to cancel anytime
Try now
image.devices-Singapore 2x

Ludwig van Beethoven: The Life and Music of the Great Composer

Duration
1H 32min
Language
English
Format
Category

Biographies

Among all of history’s greatest musicians, few have been as admired or influential as Ludwig van Beethoven, whose name remains synonymous with composing. Works like his Fifth and Ninth symphonies remain instantly recognizable over 200 years after they were composed, and their sweeping and grandiose nature are made all the more amazing by the fact that their author was gradually going deaf and couldn’t hear music very well by the time he was composing them. Similarly, the “Moonlight Sonata” and "Für Elise" are renowned across the world and are some of the most famous piano pieces of all time.

At the same time, Beethoven’s work ushered in a new era in art, helping the transition from the Classical era to the Romantic era. In the 180 years since his death, Beethoven has been enshrined by modern society as one of the most esteemed classical composers in the history of civilization, but he had a profound and immediate influence on the German musical lineage that would pass through Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss all the way to composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. At a time when music was very much viewed as science, Beethoven was a giant in the field, and as such he was viewed as a genius. As Beethoven himself once put it, “Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend.”

In terms of assessing the essence of Beethoven’s era, character or musical output, no unqualified categorization is possible, for he straddled a titanic shifting of social ideologies, performance and compositional practices, intra-continental upheavals and an emergence of the championed self in all forms of civic and artistic expressions. The ideals of the Enlightenment, an intellectual tide that swept throughout the late 18th century and opened the door to a new individualism, did not remain static through his lifetime.

© 2024 Charles River Editors (Audiobook): 9798882391514

Release date

Audiobook: 9 April 2024

Others also enjoyed ...

  1. Rock & Roll Nightmares: True Stories, Volume 2: True Crime and Strange Stories About Rock Stars Staci Layne Wilson
  2. Music: A Very Short Introduction Nicholas Cook
  3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Life and Music of the Great Composer Charles River Editors
  4. Miles to Go: The Lost Years Chris Murphy
  5. The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple Jeff Guinn
  6. Warhol Blake Gopnik
  7. America’s Favorite Comedy Acts: The Three Stooges, Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, and Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Charles River Editors
  8. A Rare Recording of Poet Robert Frost Reading "The Gift Outright" at President Kennedy's Inauguration Robert Frost
  9. Picasso and the Painting That Shocked the World Miles J. Unger
  10. Almost Human: The Astonishing Tale of Homo naledi and the Discovery That Changed Our Human Story Lee Berger
  11. Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit John E. Douglas
  12. The Final Witness Paul Landis
  13. Fear: Trump in the White House Bob Woodward
  14. Dead Man's Grip: A Race-Against-Time Crime Thriller From The Multi-Million Copy Bestselling Author Peter James
  15. Permanent Record: A Memoir of a Reluctant Whistleblower Edward Snowden
  16. Albert Einstein: One of the Greatest Physicists of All Time Kelly Mass
  17. Disney's Land Richard Snow
  18. The Vikings and Anglo-Saxons for Kids: A Captivating Guide to the Viking Age and People of Early Medieval England Captivating History
  19. The Hidden World: How Insects Sustain Life on Earth Today and Will Shape Our Lives Tomorrow Dr George McGavin
  20. The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England Dan Jones
  21. The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World Catherine Nixey
  22. The Life of Greece: A History of Greek Civilization from the Beginnings, and of Civilization in the Near East from the Death of Alexander, to the Roman Conquest Will Durant
  23. The Silk Road: A New History Valerie Hansen
  24. The Knights Templar: A Captivating Guide to a Powerful Catholic Military Order and Their Impact on the Crusades Captivating History
  25. The Ottomans: An Enthralling Overview of the Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Life of Suleiman the Magnificent Billy Wellman
  26. Norse Mythology: The History of the Norse Pantheon and the Most Famous Myths Andrew Scott
  27. The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family and Defiance During the Blitz Erik Larson
  28. Our Oriental Heritage: A History of Civilization in Egypt and the Near East to the Death of Alexander, and in India, China, and Japan from the Beginning to Our Own Day, with Will Durant
  29. Psychopath Killers: Cold-Hearted Murderers Like Pablo Escobar and Edmund Kemper Kelly Mass
  30. A History of the World Andrew Marr
  31. The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir John Bolton
  32. Noise Daniel Kahneman
  33. The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization Peter Zeihan
  34. Becoming Sherlock - The Red Circle Anthony Horowitz
  35. Finders Keepers: A Novel Stephen King
  36. Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment Robert Wright
  37. Adventureholic: Extraordinary Journeys on Seven Continents by Land, Sea and Air Neil Laughton
  38. Mr. Mercedes: A Novel Stephen King
  39. The Conquistadors and the Columbian Exchange: A Captivating Guide to the Spanish Explorers, their Conquest of the Americas and the Transatlantic Transfer of People, Goods, and More Captivating History
  40. The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance Paul Strathern
  41. A Million Ways to Stay on the Run: The Story of the International Manhunt for Kenny Noye – True Crime Audiobook of the Year Winner 2024 Karl Howman
  42. Up on the Woof Top Spencer Quinn
  43. The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers Will Durant
  44. Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present Christopher I. Beckwith
  45. Medieval People Eileen Power
  46. The Incas and Spanish Conquest: An Enthralling Overview of the Inca Empire, Conquistadors, and Conquests in the Americas Billy Wellman
  47. The Plague Cycle: The Unending War Between Humanity and Infectious Disease Charles Kenny

Features:

  • Over 950 000 titles

  • Kids Mode (child safe environment)

  • Download books for offline access

  • Cancel anytime

Most popular

Unlimited

For those who want to listen and read without limits.

S$12.98 /month
3 days for free
  • 1 account

  • Unlimited Access

  • Unlimited listening

  • Cancel anytime

Try now

Unlimited Bi-yearly

For those who want to listen and read without limits.

S$69 /6 months
14 days for free
Save 11%
  • 1 account

  • Unlimited Access

  • Unlimited listening

  • Cancel anytime

Try now

Unlimited Yearly

For those who want to listen and read without limits.

S$119 /year
14 days for free
Save 24%
  • 1 account

  • Unlimited Access

  • Unlimited listening

  • Cancel anytime

Try now

Family

For those who want to share stories with family and friends.

From S$14.90/month
  • 2-3 accounts

  • Unlimited Access

  • Unlimited listening

  • Cancel anytime

2 accounts

S$14.90 /month
Try now