Got Beethoven

Plenty of teenagers dream about becoming a rock star but how many 10yr olds dream about becoming a world-beating string quartet, and then go ahead and do it? Following on from Paul Cassidy's popular prequel, "Get Beethoven", Got Beethoven is a brutally honest and relentlessly entertaining account of what it’s like to be in a band.

Plenty of teenagers dream about becoming a rock star but how many 10yr olds dream about becoming a world-beating string quartet, and then go ahead and do it? Following on from Paul Cassidy's popular prequel, "Get Beethoven!", Got Beethoven is a brutally honest and relentlessly entertaining account of what it’s like to be in a band. All the fun, angst, rewards and toil are brought to life and given the authority that can only come from actually living the life. The quartet’s unique fifty year history and ground-breaking musical journey means that on the same page we can enjoy tales involving such diverse artists as, Sting, Anne Sophie von Otter, Bjork or Maria Joao Pires. Their global travels release strikingly diverse adventures from Kings College Cambridge to Roskilde, Montreux to St. James’ Palace. With something for everyone, Paul Cassidy’s highly personal story manages to be factual and informative whilst remaining infectiously entertaining. Suitable for all readers, from the autobiography lovers to those who just love a great story!

A comic book character is born, the youngest of sixteen, into a war torn country. Facing extreme brutality at school and on the streets, not to mention the oppression of the Catholic Church, he finds music. Armed with a violin and a burning passion, he escapes the madness and sets off to pursue his dreams. “Get Beethoven!” is the inspirational story of Paul Cassidy’s life. Overcoming adversity in his younger years, Paul recounts tragedy, joy, horror and humour. Informative and entertaining, the book charts his journey up to joining the Brodsky Quartet in 1982.

“An ideal ‘first book’ on Beethoven” from one of the world’s most eminent classical music aficionados (Booklist). Beethoven scholar and classical radio host John Suchet has had a lifelong, ardent interest in the man and his music. Here, in his first full-length biography, Suchet illuminates the composer’s difficult childhood, his struggle to maintain friendships and romances, his ungovernable temper, his obsessive efforts to control his nephew’s life, and the excruciating decline of his hearing. This absorbing narrative provides a comprehensive account of a momentous life, as it takes the reader on a journey from the composer’s birth in Bonn to his death in Vienna. Chronicling the landmark events in Beethoven’s career—from his competitive encounters with Mozart to the circumstances surrounding the creation of the well-known “Für Elise” and Moonlight Sonata—this book enhances understanding of the composer’s character, inspiring a deeper appreciation for his work. Beethoven scholarship is constantly evolving, and Suchet draws on the latest research, using rare source material (some of which has never before been published in English) to paint a complete and vivid portrait of the legendary prodigy. “A gripping and thought-provoking read.” —Howard Shelley, pianist and conductor “By exercising a genuine authority in identifying how Beethoven, the man, manifests himself in our appreciation of the music, Suchet brings an incisive freshness to an extraordinary life.” —Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music

Considered by many the world's greatest composer, Ludwig van Beethoven achieved his ambitions against the difficulties of a bullying and drunken father, growing deafness and mounting ill-health. Here, Anne Pimlott Baker tells the story of the German composer's life and work, from his birth in Bonn in 1770 and his early employment as a court musician, to his death in Vienna in 1827. She describes his studies with Haydn in Vienna and his work during the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon. His most financially successful period followed the Congress of Vienna in 1815, despite several unhappy love affairs and continuous worry over his nephew, Karl. Beethoven is a concise, illuminating biography of a true virtuoso.

The definitive book on the life and music of Ludwig van Beethoven, written by the acclaimed biographer of Brahms and Ives.

The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven is the first scholarly biography of Ludwig van Beethoven, covering Beethoven's life to 1816. Thayer became aware of many discrepancies in the already existing biographies of Beethoven, so in 1849 he sailed for Europe to undertake his own researches, learning German and collecting information. Still after many updates Thayer's biography of Beethoven is regarded as a standard work of reference on the composer.

Here is the story of the tormented, mercurial Ludwig van Beethoven cast against the panorama of the times in which he lived. What emerges is a portrait of a man and an age that adds another dimension to the music that has become part of our heritage.