The Life and Works of Ludwig van Beethoven

I have little background in classical music, but Beethoven has always been my favorite, specifically the 9th Symphony, which I've been listening too regularly for the past 30 years or so, I consider it the best piece of music ever composed. However I knew nothing about Beethoven's life so this audiobook is a perfect introduction. It's 5 hours long, at least half of that is music (Naxos owns a library of classical music). Siepmann's writing is full of superlatives and equal to the greatness of the music, though the man was far from perfect. Indeed he seemed loathsome. Yet I'm intrigued and want to learn more. Overall I'm really impressed and delighted with Jeremy Sipermann's "Life and Works", part of a series of classical composers. It's show more an education in classical music, with word and song. show less

Makes a great case for Beethoven. I didn't realize there were so many of his works I don't know in addition to the ones I do. Chopin is still my favorite, but I have new music to explore now and I do recognize the genius.

These are hands down the best audio books I've ever listened to. A detailed and interesting account of the composer's life interspersed with relevant examples of the music. Fantastic!

I was disappointed with this biography of Beethoven. It focused much more on the technical aspects of the music, which, frankly, I don’t understand. I will have to find something else.
In the meantime, I read the essay about Beethoven in Lives of the Great Composers by
Harold C. Schonberg. This was not terribly detailed, but it got me started. I think I will search out a good, full-length biography. After, Ludwig is the voice of god!
--Jim, 8/5/07

I really love these Naxos "audiobooks". This just confirmed my love for the profound music of this incredibly difficult dude.