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Beethoven's Symphonies: An Artistic Vision
“[Beethoven’s] music never grows old― and, enjoyed alongside Mr. Lockwood’s expert commentary, it sparkles with fresh magic.”― Wall Street Journal More than any other composer, Beethoven left to posterity a vast body of material that documents the early stages of almost everything he wrote. From this trove of sketchbooks, Lewis Lockwood draws us into the composer’s mind, unveiling a creative process of astonishing scope and originality. For musicians and nonmusicians alike, Beethoven’s symphonies stand at the summit of artistic achievement, loved today as they were two hundred years ago for their emotional cogency, variety, and unprecedented individuality. Beethoven labored to complete nine of them over his lifetime―a quarter of Mozart’s output and a tenth of Haydn’s―yet no musical works are more iconic, more indelibly stamped on the memory of anyone who has heard them. They are the products of an imagination that drove the composer to build out of the highest musical traditions of the past something startlingly new. Lockwood brings to bear a long career of studying the surviving sources that yield insight into Beethoven’s creative work, including concept sketches for symphonies that were never finished. From these, Lockwood offers fascinating revelations into the historical and biographical circumstances in which the symphonies were composed. In this compelling story of Beethoven’s singular ambition, Lockwood introduces readers to the symphonies as individual artworks, broadly tracing their genesis against the backdrop of political upheavals, concert life, and their relationship to his major works in other genres. From the first symphonies, written during his emerging deafness, to the monumental Ninth, Lockwood brings to life Beethoven’s lifelong passion to compose works of unsurpassed beauty. 10 illustrations; 10 music examples
304 pages, Paperback
First published October 26, 2015
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About the author
Lewis Lockwood
31 books11 followersLewis Lockwood taught at Princeton and Harvard universities, where he is Fanny Peabody Professor of Music Emeritus. His Beethoven: The Music and the Life was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He resides in Brookline, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 5, 2024
A New Study Of Beethoven's Symphonies
I have loved Beethoven's music since childhood with what I hope is increased understanding and inspiration. An early book that I have returned to over the years in listening to Beethoven's symphonies is George Grove's 1896, "Beethoven and his Nine Symphonies" which remains in print and which has taught me a great deal. As a late Victorian, Grove adored Beethoven. He wrote in the concluding paragraph of his book.
"These great works he did as no one ever did, and probably no one ever will.... Music will advance in richness, scope, and difficulty; but such music as Beethoven's great instrumental works, in which thought, emotion, melody, and romance combine with extraordinary judgment and common sense, and a truly wonderful industry, to make a perfect whole, can hardly any more be written. The time for such an event, such a concurrence of the man and the circumstances, will not again arrive. There can never be a second Beethoven or a second Shakespeare. However much orchestras may improve and execution increase, Beethoven's Symphonies will always remain at the head of music as Shakespeare's plays are at the head of the literature of the modern world."
In 2003, I read Lewis Lockwood's biography of Beethoven: "Beethoven: The Music and the Life" which also taught me a great deal. Lockwood, Professor of Music Emeritus at Harvard, has written a new book focusing, as did Grove's book more than a century earlier on Beethoven's symphonies: "Beethoven's Symphonies: An Artistic Vision." Lockwood shares Grove's understanding and love for the Beethoven symphonies, and writes from the perspective of the early 21st Century rather than of Victorian England.
Lockwood's book focuses on the developing character of Beethoven's achievement from the first symphony through the ninth. Beethoven's vision grew as did his desire to express himself forcefully and originally and not be bound by his immediate predecessors, Haydn and Mozart. Each of the nine symphonies, Lockwood argues, expresses a singular, personal vision, which perhaps explains why Beethoven composed nine symphonies as compared with the much larger number by Haydn and Mozart.
Lockwood's book approaches the symphonies from a study of Beethoven's compositional notebooks. This perspective is different from that of many contemporary musical scholars. Throughout his life, Beethoven jotted down ideas, themes, and thoughts in a series of workbooks. Some of these are well-known but others have not yet been published. Lockwood tries to trace the origins and developments of each of the symphonies through analysis of the musical ideas in the notebooks. He tries to find, where possible, a dominating musical idea or movement which Beethoven developed and elaborated in composing each work in its final form. Beethoven worked painstakingly revising his musical ideas.
Lockwood's approach, however, is broader than the use of the notebooks. He places each symphony in the context of Beethoven's other music, his life, his reading, the momentous political events of his day, and the works of other composers. The result is a thoughtful, insightful guide to each of the symphonies and to Beethoven's achievement. I particularly enjoyed Lockwood's treatment of the even-numbered symphonies, nos. 2, 4, and 8 which sometimes tend to be slighted in favor of the "Eroica", the Fifth, the Pastorale, the Seventh, and the Ninth.
The book begins with an introduction to the symphonies which is followed by nine chapters of varying lengths on each individual work. Each chapter is highlighted by discussions of the individual movements in the particular symphony. In a short but moving epilogue, Lockwood discusses the inspiration people have drawn from Beethoven over the years, particularly in times of deep adversity and change. With the many wars, genocides, and upheavals of the 20th Century, Lockwood recognizes, it is a more of a challenge than Grove, for example, found in his book to respond to Beethoven's spiritual and humanistic vision. Lockwood concludes by recognizing how Beethoven drew inspiration from Kant's vision of "the moral law within us and the starry skies above us." Lockwood finds that
"this pithy fragment sums up his belief that personal recongition of both the earthly and the transcendental enables the realization of the human potential. Beethoven's best works display something like these same properties, intertwining what is intensely human with the feeling that the listener is being carried to a higher plane. They stand as examples of what great music can still mean in our fragmented and pessimistic age."
Even with the use of the notebooks, the book is lucidly written and may be followed by readers without a strong background in music theory. Actual musical quotations are kept to a minimum in the text with more examples available on a webpage. Lockwood has written an outstanding study of the Beethoven symphonies for all readers with a love for this music regardless of the degree of their musical experience. The book will help me in my continued love for Beethoven.
Robin Friedman
I have loved Beethoven's music since childhood with what I hope is increased understanding and inspiration. An early book that I have returned to over the years in listening to Beethoven's symphonies is George Grove's 1896, "Beethoven and his Nine Symphonies" which remains in print and which has taught me a great deal. As a late Victorian, Grove adored Beethoven. He wrote in the concluding paragraph of his book.
"These great works he did as no one ever did, and probably no one ever will.... Music will advance in richness, scope, and difficulty; but such music as Beethoven's great instrumental works, in which thought, emotion, melody, and romance combine with extraordinary judgment and common sense, and a truly wonderful industry, to make a perfect whole, can hardly any more be written. The time for such an event, such a concurrence of the man and the circumstances, will not again arrive. There can never be a second Beethoven or a second Shakespeare. However much orchestras may improve and execution increase, Beethoven's Symphonies will always remain at the head of music as Shakespeare's plays are at the head of the literature of the modern world."
In 2003, I read Lewis Lockwood's biography of Beethoven: "Beethoven: The Music and the Life" which also taught me a great deal. Lockwood, Professor of Music Emeritus at Harvard, has written a new book focusing, as did Grove's book more than a century earlier on Beethoven's symphonies: "Beethoven's Symphonies: An Artistic Vision." Lockwood shares Grove's understanding and love for the Beethoven symphonies, and writes from the perspective of the early 21st Century rather than of Victorian England.
Lockwood's book focuses on the developing character of Beethoven's achievement from the first symphony through the ninth. Beethoven's vision grew as did his desire to express himself forcefully and originally and not be bound by his immediate predecessors, Haydn and Mozart. Each of the nine symphonies, Lockwood argues, expresses a singular, personal vision, which perhaps explains why Beethoven composed nine symphonies as compared with the much larger number by Haydn and Mozart.
Lockwood's book approaches the symphonies from a study of Beethoven's compositional notebooks. This perspective is different from that of many contemporary musical scholars. Throughout his life, Beethoven jotted down ideas, themes, and thoughts in a series of workbooks. Some of these are well-known but others have not yet been published. Lockwood tries to trace the origins and developments of each of the symphonies through analysis of the musical ideas in the notebooks. He tries to find, where possible, a dominating musical idea or movement which Beethoven developed and elaborated in composing each work in its final form. Beethoven worked painstakingly revising his musical ideas.
Lockwood's approach, however, is broader than the use of the notebooks. He places each symphony in the context of Beethoven's other music, his life, his reading, the momentous political events of his day, and the works of other composers. The result is a thoughtful, insightful guide to each of the symphonies and to Beethoven's achievement. I particularly enjoyed Lockwood's treatment of the even-numbered symphonies, nos. 2, 4, and 8 which sometimes tend to be slighted in favor of the "Eroica", the Fifth, the Pastorale, the Seventh, and the Ninth.
The book begins with an introduction to the symphonies which is followed by nine chapters of varying lengths on each individual work. Each chapter is highlighted by discussions of the individual movements in the particular symphony. In a short but moving epilogue, Lockwood discusses the inspiration people have drawn from Beethoven over the years, particularly in times of deep adversity and change. With the many wars, genocides, and upheavals of the 20th Century, Lockwood recognizes, it is a more of a challenge than Grove, for example, found in his book to respond to Beethoven's spiritual and humanistic vision. Lockwood concludes by recognizing how Beethoven drew inspiration from Kant's vision of "the moral law within us and the starry skies above us." Lockwood finds that
"this pithy fragment sums up his belief that personal recongition of both the earthly and the transcendental enables the realization of the human potential. Beethoven's best works display something like these same properties, intertwining what is intensely human with the feeling that the listener is being carried to a higher plane. They stand as examples of what great music can still mean in our fragmented and pessimistic age."
Even with the use of the notebooks, the book is lucidly written and may be followed by readers without a strong background in music theory. Actual musical quotations are kept to a minimum in the text with more examples available on a webpage. Lockwood has written an outstanding study of the Beethoven symphonies for all readers with a love for this music regardless of the degree of their musical experience. The book will help me in my continued love for Beethoven.
Robin Friedman
August 18, 2019
I was really looking forward to reading this. I bought it a couple of weeks ago and decided that I would take it on holidays with me. Which I’ve done and now I’ve read nearly the first 30 pages. But I’m not going to read any more.
I’ll tell you what I was hoping for. I was hoping for something like an introduction to the symphonies that would tell me what to listen for. I’ve listened to Beethoven’s symphonies for most of my life. Well, no. When I was in high school my mother bought an album of Beethoven’s 4th. It was the only piece of classical music my family owned. I used to sit out in the kitchen doing my homework. At first I used to listen to pop music - but I found I would end up just singing along and not really doing any homework. So, then I thought that maybe some music without words would be a good idea to study to. It didn’t quite work out as I’d planned. The problem was that I found myself humming along - and then I realised I knew the music about as well as I knew the songs on a ‘normal’ record. The Fourth was the first of the symphonies that I became familiar with. Later came the Fifth, the Ninth, the Sixth.
Then one night when I would have been about 17, a friend of mine at high school was having a party and after we had been drinking for a couple of hours he called me over to the record player and told me I had to listen to something. He played me the second movement of the Seventh. You hear the first few bars of it just about everywhere. That very first note - it basically feels like a question to me - but I think it is almost as if the whole universe is asking that question. And then the slow death march that follows. Wittgenstein, when he was captured during the First World War in his machine gun nest, was humming the second movement of the Seventh. That makes complete and utter sense to me - always has. I find it about the most moving piece of music that I’ve ever heard - but as someone said of classical music, not necessarily sad, but sublime - beyond words, but also outside of merely being happy and sad too.
When my eldest daughter was born my ex-wife and I decided we needed to ensure we would still go out together. But we also knew that if we just said that we would go out, we probably wouldn’t. So, we bought a subscription to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. It was really something else, because our tickets were in the choir and it almost felt like we were literally in the orchestra with the musicians.
A friend of mine had worked as the publicist for the MSO and she told me things about visiting performers and started pointing me to other pieces I might like. She hated Beethoven, for some reason I can’t even remember now, or understand, but loved Mozart. To me, Beethoven always seemed like a young person’s composer. Ever from when I first listened to him. I can’t even really tell you why. He would be 250 years old next year - he doesn’t feel that old to me.
In my teen years I used to work in a bookshop that had a large collection of classical records and I would play Bach’s Art of Fugue basically on repeat play the whole time. It was the first record of classical music I ever bought. I still listen to versions of it now, chamber orchestra, string quartet. Because of my friend, I would also listen to more Mozart - not the symphonies, mostly the piano concertos (concerti?) - 19, 20, 21 - and some of the earlier one’s too that I wouldn’t be able to number if I heard them, but would recognise.
When my ex-wife and I would go to the concerts we would also go to the pre-concert talks. There was a guy who give these talks that was really fun. The old women who would turn up to the talks were madly in love with him. They would giggle at all of his jokes, no matter how often he told them, and, I guess, imagine he was flirting with just them. His standard joke was - ‘a musicologist is someone who can read music, but not hear it’.
I can’t read music. I can’t play an instrument. I’m not quite sure what a key is, the man who used to give the pre-concert talks would say keys are like rooms, but I’m not sure how useful that is - I know minor keys are sad, and major keys happy. Which means I know next to nothing and I also know that. The weight of my ignorance is something I really regret. Because I always have thought that if I knew a bit more about music it might allow me to hear more. No, not hear more, but help me make more sense of what I am hearing.
So, my expectations from this book were completely unreasonable. I wanted him to explain what to listen for, but, like a physics book that requires no maths, I wanted him to do that in a way that didn’t involve me in having to learn how to read music or understand music theory. Okay, I get it, I was asking too much.
I stopped reading after the example’s from Beethoven’s notebooks on pages 26-27. I’ll quote a passage that might help you understand why it became clear going on would be fairly pointless.
“This sketch anticipates the spirit and the contour of the opening Scherzo of the Fifth Symphony, and, as Beethoven himself noted on a later sketch page, it has a thematic affinity with the opening theme of the finale of Mozart’s G Minor Symphony. If this C-Minor torso was drafted in 1788 or 1789, it is quite possible that Beethoven could already have known the G-minor Symphony, which Mozart had written in the summer of 1788.”
I think I would need to have the music played to me while I was reading this - I don’t know the opening theme of the finale of Mozart’s G-minor Symphony. I must know the Scherzo of the Fifth, but I would need to hear it too to make any sense of this, and hear it played beside the Mozart. And even then, even if he played these to me, I’m not even sure I would understand what he was talking about.
It is annoying this isn’t going to be a book that I can read and understand and learn something new about Beethoven’s Symphonies, but I can’t read another 200 pages of this. I just don’t understand enough to know what I’m reading. I blame myself in large part - but I do think there should have been a warning on the cover of this book that unless you can read music and have extensive knowledge of Beethoven’s and Mozart’s symphonies, you probably aren’t going to get much out of reading it. Consider this review such a warning.
I’ll tell you what I was hoping for. I was hoping for something like an introduction to the symphonies that would tell me what to listen for. I’ve listened to Beethoven’s symphonies for most of my life. Well, no. When I was in high school my mother bought an album of Beethoven’s 4th. It was the only piece of classical music my family owned. I used to sit out in the kitchen doing my homework. At first I used to listen to pop music - but I found I would end up just singing along and not really doing any homework. So, then I thought that maybe some music without words would be a good idea to study to. It didn’t quite work out as I’d planned. The problem was that I found myself humming along - and then I realised I knew the music about as well as I knew the songs on a ‘normal’ record. The Fourth was the first of the symphonies that I became familiar with. Later came the Fifth, the Ninth, the Sixth.
Then one night when I would have been about 17, a friend of mine at high school was having a party and after we had been drinking for a couple of hours he called me over to the record player and told me I had to listen to something. He played me the second movement of the Seventh. You hear the first few bars of it just about everywhere. That very first note - it basically feels like a question to me - but I think it is almost as if the whole universe is asking that question. And then the slow death march that follows. Wittgenstein, when he was captured during the First World War in his machine gun nest, was humming the second movement of the Seventh. That makes complete and utter sense to me - always has. I find it about the most moving piece of music that I’ve ever heard - but as someone said of classical music, not necessarily sad, but sublime - beyond words, but also outside of merely being happy and sad too.
When my eldest daughter was born my ex-wife and I decided we needed to ensure we would still go out together. But we also knew that if we just said that we would go out, we probably wouldn’t. So, we bought a subscription to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. It was really something else, because our tickets were in the choir and it almost felt like we were literally in the orchestra with the musicians.
A friend of mine had worked as the publicist for the MSO and she told me things about visiting performers and started pointing me to other pieces I might like. She hated Beethoven, for some reason I can’t even remember now, or understand, but loved Mozart. To me, Beethoven always seemed like a young person’s composer. Ever from when I first listened to him. I can’t even really tell you why. He would be 250 years old next year - he doesn’t feel that old to me.
In my teen years I used to work in a bookshop that had a large collection of classical records and I would play Bach’s Art of Fugue basically on repeat play the whole time. It was the first record of classical music I ever bought. I still listen to versions of it now, chamber orchestra, string quartet. Because of my friend, I would also listen to more Mozart - not the symphonies, mostly the piano concertos (concerti?) - 19, 20, 21 - and some of the earlier one’s too that I wouldn’t be able to number if I heard them, but would recognise.
When my ex-wife and I would go to the concerts we would also go to the pre-concert talks. There was a guy who give these talks that was really fun. The old women who would turn up to the talks were madly in love with him. They would giggle at all of his jokes, no matter how often he told them, and, I guess, imagine he was flirting with just them. His standard joke was - ‘a musicologist is someone who can read music, but not hear it’.
I can’t read music. I can’t play an instrument. I’m not quite sure what a key is, the man who used to give the pre-concert talks would say keys are like rooms, but I’m not sure how useful that is - I know minor keys are sad, and major keys happy. Which means I know next to nothing and I also know that. The weight of my ignorance is something I really regret. Because I always have thought that if I knew a bit more about music it might allow me to hear more. No, not hear more, but help me make more sense of what I am hearing.
So, my expectations from this book were completely unreasonable. I wanted him to explain what to listen for, but, like a physics book that requires no maths, I wanted him to do that in a way that didn’t involve me in having to learn how to read music or understand music theory. Okay, I get it, I was asking too much.
I stopped reading after the example’s from Beethoven’s notebooks on pages 26-27. I’ll quote a passage that might help you understand why it became clear going on would be fairly pointless.
“This sketch anticipates the spirit and the contour of the opening Scherzo of the Fifth Symphony, and, as Beethoven himself noted on a later sketch page, it has a thematic affinity with the opening theme of the finale of Mozart’s G Minor Symphony. If this C-Minor torso was drafted in 1788 or 1789, it is quite possible that Beethoven could already have known the G-minor Symphony, which Mozart had written in the summer of 1788.”
I think I would need to have the music played to me while I was reading this - I don’t know the opening theme of the finale of Mozart’s G-minor Symphony. I must know the Scherzo of the Fifth, but I would need to hear it too to make any sense of this, and hear it played beside the Mozart. And even then, even if he played these to me, I’m not even sure I would understand what he was talking about.
It is annoying this isn’t going to be a book that I can read and understand and learn something new about Beethoven’s Symphonies, but I can’t read another 200 pages of this. I just don’t understand enough to know what I’m reading. I blame myself in large part - but I do think there should have been a warning on the cover of this book that unless you can read music and have extensive knowledge of Beethoven’s and Mozart’s symphonies, you probably aren’t going to get much out of reading it. Consider this review such a warning.
December 30, 2015
Beethoven was a genius. There’s no doubt about it.
What this book does is plainly illustrate how his genius worked. Working from anecdotal data and the composer’s own sketchbooks, Lockwood reconstructs the process each piece went thru and follows that with an in depth explanation of what makes each movement unique. This makes for some heavily technical music theory that read like gibberish to me but made perfect sense to my dad when I asked him about it. I guess being a classically trained pianist would be helpful when reading a study of classical music ^_^
Lockwood even includes a URL readers can visit to listen to some examples and expositions that are mentioned in the book, which is a cool extra to include.
Overall, I had fun revisiting the symphonies as I read about how they came about and what makes each one special. It might be too heavy on the theory for a music neophyte, but it makes for some great reading for someone who loves Beethoven and is familiar with music composition.
Note: I got my copy thru Goodreads’ First Reads.
What this book does is plainly illustrate how his genius worked. Working from anecdotal data and the composer’s own sketchbooks, Lockwood reconstructs the process each piece went thru and follows that with an in depth explanation of what makes each movement unique. This makes for some heavily technical music theory that read like gibberish to me but made perfect sense to my dad when I asked him about it. I guess being a classically trained pianist would be helpful when reading a study of classical music ^_^
Lockwood even includes a URL readers can visit to listen to some examples and expositions that are mentioned in the book, which is a cool extra to include.
Overall, I had fun revisiting the symphonies as I read about how they came about and what makes each one special. It might be too heavy on the theory for a music neophyte, but it makes for some great reading for someone who loves Beethoven and is familiar with music composition.
Note: I got my copy thru Goodreads’ First Reads.
December 15, 2024
I don't know where I found this book, but I'm so glad I did. I'm sure it was at some library sale or something, but I'm so glad I found it. He isn't a particular favorite. ( Bedrich smetana is my favorite) but I definitely learned a lot about the musical markings and enjoyed the synopsis of each of his symphonies as well as sounding relatable in some of our struggles. I love that I could play each Symphony on YouTube at the same time as listening to that particular chapter incredible time that we live in
February 5, 2017
This book is for professionals and serious enthusiasts, and as such is a bit over my head.
Each of the symphonies has a chapter write up, along with intro and epilogue chapters. The aspect that put the book on my radar was the report of new information on the sketches or formative material that Beethoven used.
The writing falls into three types: 1) Meta information about what was going with Beethoven and the world when he wrote each work. This is the most accessible information, useful and entertaining. 2) A detailed description of the technical aspects of each movement, the significance, and applicable commentary. Having read the descriptions, I look forward to detailed listening of each symphony, armed with the detailed viewpoint. It is likely many, many hours of entertainment, appreciation, and education to come. 3) As promised, information about specific sketchbooks and their contribution to Beethoven's thought and construction process. This information is esoteric, to say the least.
The Type 2 writing can be pretty in-the-weeds as well, the following grabbed at random. It can be a lot hairier:
The strong dualism of the triple and duple time Scherzo and Trio has a kind of counterpart in the harmonic dualism of the Scherzo itself,in which the first theme, descending through the notes of the F major triad, is followed immediately the the counter-theme in D major, thus setting up two keys, F major and D major, in close contrast without any intermediate steps.
The epilogue discusses the Meaning (sic) of Beethoven's symphonies to humanity, and is easily worth the price of admission. Look into it.
Each of the symphonies has a chapter write up, along with intro and epilogue chapters. The aspect that put the book on my radar was the report of new information on the sketches or formative material that Beethoven used.
The writing falls into three types: 1) Meta information about what was going with Beethoven and the world when he wrote each work. This is the most accessible information, useful and entertaining. 2) A detailed description of the technical aspects of each movement, the significance, and applicable commentary. Having read the descriptions, I look forward to detailed listening of each symphony, armed with the detailed viewpoint. It is likely many, many hours of entertainment, appreciation, and education to come. 3) As promised, information about specific sketchbooks and their contribution to Beethoven's thought and construction process. This information is esoteric, to say the least.
The Type 2 writing can be pretty in-the-weeds as well, the following grabbed at random. It can be a lot hairier:
The strong dualism of the triple and duple time Scherzo and Trio has a kind of counterpart in the harmonic dualism of the Scherzo itself,in which the first theme, descending through the notes of the F major triad, is followed immediately the the counter-theme in D major, thus setting up two keys, F major and D major, in close contrast without any intermediate steps.
The epilogue discusses the Meaning (sic) of Beethoven's symphonies to humanity, and is easily worth the price of admission. Look into it.
October 22, 2015
Erudite and exquisitely written, this book makes an excellent companion to the symphonies of its inspiration. Lockwood clearly loves Beethoven, which makes this a joy to read, but it's his lucid explanation of music theory coupled with exhaustive historical research into Beethoven's later years in the early 19th century that puts this over the top. Accessible scholarship; as uplifting as the Ode to Joy.
February 21, 2022
This is an excellent introduction to the genesis, structure, and meaning of some of the greatest symphonies ever written. I enjoyed the details that provided context for each work and connecting them to changes in Beethoven's musical approach.
April 10, 2021
This book "provide(s) an introduction to the Beethoven symphonies as individual works of art, with a focus on their historical, biographical, and creative origins." It is very readable, as long as one has some musical knowledge. Technical music terms are used throughout like piano, cadenza, triplet, triad, sonata, minuet.
Lockwood's main thesis is that "these works were not merely conceived as individual projects but were the products of an artistic vision that persisted throughout Beethoven’s lifetime". This vision included a "restless determination to achieve originality and yet remain within the framework of the highest musical traditions of the past". The rest of the book, one chapter per symphony, presents his evidence both from the symphonies themselves (hence the technical terms) as well as from Beethoven's letters, diaries, and sketchbooks.
I enjoyed the fact that each chapter seemed just the right length. Not too long where every measure is being analyzed, but not too short that one doesn't get a sense of the magnitude of each work. Each symphony is given some historical context, what was going on in and around Beethoven's life when he wrote the piece, an analysis of each movement of the symphony itself often related to some earlier non-symphonic works, and then a summary of the importance of the work.
Of the first Lockwood writes "A closer examination of the symphony as a whole, and especially its dynamic Scherzo, shows that it is indeed a “farewell to the eighteenth century,” as Donald Francis Tovey called it. Despite some retrospective and comfortably accessible features, it is sprinkled with passages and procedures that point ahead to the later Beethoven." Of the second symphony it ends "culminating in a closing passage that bewildered contemporary observers". Of the Eroica "Beethoven not only created his most powerful large-scale composition to date, but also lifted the genre of the symphony onto a new level of expression and grandeur." Of the fourth "Robert Schumann once called it “the Greek-like slender one in B-flat major,” and elsewhere, “a slender Greek maiden between two Norse giants.”" The fifth "gripped its early listeners with emotions they had never experienced in concert music." Of the sixth "The intertwining of his love of nature, his religious faith, and his quest for a beloved are essential themes in Beethoven’s longing for personal salvation, a dream that remained unrealized in his daily life....This multiple quest is a key to understanding the “Pastoral” Symphony as the central work in which these tendencies coalesced." In the seventh "it is the visceral, bodily assertion of the rhythmic action, differently framed but clearly audible in every tempo and movement, that grips every listener." The eighth is "usually described as a creature of wit and charm, somewhat in the manner of Haydn, its surface appropriation of classical-period dimensions masks its subtleties and forward-looking features." And the ninth "The first movement had its share of unexpected and adventurous moments. The two inner movements, like rare delicacies, convey ironies within their pseudo-retrospective style features. And the finale, in its length, assertive power, and unusual formal structure, as in its eccentric details, resolves all the earlier conundrums while presenting its own."
What ties all these together is Beethoven's vision, that his music "could possess “revelatory dimensions” had its roots in the composer’s own belief that his greatest works, certainly the symphonies, were not merely products of high craftsmanship, but were the expressions of a moral vision, a deeply rooted belief that great music can move the world."
Lockwood's main thesis is that "these works were not merely conceived as individual projects but were the products of an artistic vision that persisted throughout Beethoven’s lifetime". This vision included a "restless determination to achieve originality and yet remain within the framework of the highest musical traditions of the past". The rest of the book, one chapter per symphony, presents his evidence both from the symphonies themselves (hence the technical terms) as well as from Beethoven's letters, diaries, and sketchbooks.
I enjoyed the fact that each chapter seemed just the right length. Not too long where every measure is being analyzed, but not too short that one doesn't get a sense of the magnitude of each work. Each symphony is given some historical context, what was going on in and around Beethoven's life when he wrote the piece, an analysis of each movement of the symphony itself often related to some earlier non-symphonic works, and then a summary of the importance of the work.
Of the first Lockwood writes "A closer examination of the symphony as a whole, and especially its dynamic Scherzo, shows that it is indeed a “farewell to the eighteenth century,” as Donald Francis Tovey called it. Despite some retrospective and comfortably accessible features, it is sprinkled with passages and procedures that point ahead to the later Beethoven." Of the second symphony it ends "culminating in a closing passage that bewildered contemporary observers". Of the Eroica "Beethoven not only created his most powerful large-scale composition to date, but also lifted the genre of the symphony onto a new level of expression and grandeur." Of the fourth "Robert Schumann once called it “the Greek-like slender one in B-flat major,” and elsewhere, “a slender Greek maiden between two Norse giants.”" The fifth "gripped its early listeners with emotions they had never experienced in concert music." Of the sixth "The intertwining of his love of nature, his religious faith, and his quest for a beloved are essential themes in Beethoven’s longing for personal salvation, a dream that remained unrealized in his daily life....This multiple quest is a key to understanding the “Pastoral” Symphony as the central work in which these tendencies coalesced." In the seventh "it is the visceral, bodily assertion of the rhythmic action, differently framed but clearly audible in every tempo and movement, that grips every listener." The eighth is "usually described as a creature of wit and charm, somewhat in the manner of Haydn, its surface appropriation of classical-period dimensions masks its subtleties and forward-looking features." And the ninth "The first movement had its share of unexpected and adventurous moments. The two inner movements, like rare delicacies, convey ironies within their pseudo-retrospective style features. And the finale, in its length, assertive power, and unusual formal structure, as in its eccentric details, resolves all the earlier conundrums while presenting its own."
What ties all these together is Beethoven's vision, that his music "could possess “revelatory dimensions” had its roots in the composer’s own belief that his greatest works, certainly the symphonies, were not merely products of high craftsmanship, but were the expressions of a moral vision, a deeply rooted belief that great music can move the world."
August 14, 2017
This book is for the orchestral junkie. It contains the musical and historical contexts of the symphonies, musical analysis (although this is not the primary goal of this work) and the tracing of the birth of Beethoven's musical ideas in his composition sketch books. In each chapter you will find each of these elements in different capacities. The book is laid out with one chapter per symphony, plus a introduction, epilogue and lengthy appendix.
I'll be straightforward: it can be a bit heady at times. As someone who studies music primarily, I occasionally became disinterested (specifically in the sketch book sections). But on the whole, the mix of historical fact and musical detail made it a great read. I paired it this summer with listening to the symphonies in order (which I had only listened to 4 previously) and it was quite a treat.
I recommend this book to:
-(especially Classical) Musicians and people who have interest in musical history.
-Beethoven Nerds.
I don't recommend this book to:
-Coffee Tables
-People who are trying to get into classical music (you need some working knowledge to get into this book)
I'll be straightforward: it can be a bit heady at times. As someone who studies music primarily, I occasionally became disinterested (specifically in the sketch book sections). But on the whole, the mix of historical fact and musical detail made it a great read. I paired it this summer with listening to the symphonies in order (which I had only listened to 4 previously) and it was quite a treat.
I recommend this book to:
-(especially Classical) Musicians and people who have interest in musical history.
-Beethoven Nerds.
I don't recommend this book to:
-Coffee Tables
-People who are trying to get into classical music (you need some working knowledge to get into this book)
December 21, 2023
A phenomenal book to get a good first glimpse of Beethoven’s symphonies. The language is not too advanced, but it’s musical enough that the layman will find it challenging, albeit not impossible. Musicians will definitely benefit from reading this, but amateurs in the topic could also enjoy it if they’re ready for the challenge. Lewis Lockwood also talks about the philosophical and aesthetic notions of Beethoven’s works, which will resonate with anybody that’s sensitive to the arts in general.
January 16, 2018
What I liked most of this thin volumes (230 pages of content) was its singular focus. Lockwood discussed not only each symphony's creation (including a lot of great information gleaned from Beethoven's sketchbooks), but also details of other compositions of his (and others) with similar innovations. And I also liked his emphasis on what else Beethoven was composing at the time as it presented a more complete picture of the master and his craft.
October 2, 2017
Best read while blasting the referenced symphonies through a high-quality headset. I love you, Beethoven.
June 27, 2021
Un analisis muy interesante acerca de las 9 sinfonías del compositor.
February 17, 2025
I loved the history parts of it and what was going on when he wrote them. The theory sections could be rather blah but otherwise a great read.
December 3, 2015
Wow--truly a book for the Beethoven student/fan. I admit most of the technical music theory was beyond my understanding. However, the other information about the process of the musician's writing was very interesting. I received this book via the Goodreads First Reads program. Thank you!
October 15, 2015
Beautiful.
December 30, 2024
Fate, knocking on the library door as it were.
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