Ludwig van Beethoven's transformative Symphony no. 9 has been described as "the world's greatest symphony," recognizable even to the most casual classical music listener. The concert was filmed during the 100th birthday celebration for scholar and philanthropist William H. Scheide.

Beethoven's extraordinary ability to compose great music despite severe health problems, including deafness and depression, has puzzled and inspired. The author looks at the relationship between Beethoven's health and creativity to show how the composer was able to transcend physical and emotional torment to produce some of the most powerful and beautiful music in Western culture.

Just before his death, Sanford Friedman completed this, his final novel, something entirely different from anything he, or for that matter anyone, had written before - Conversations with Beethoven, a moving meditation on greatness and pettiness, vulnerability and genius, that is as elegiac as it is witty and engaging.

Mystery based on the search for the identity of the one great love of composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Following Beethoven's death, his mentor begins searching for Beethoven's one great love, which he alluded to in his last testament as his "immortal beloved."

A fascinating and in-depth exploration of how the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and Napoleon shaped Beethoven's political ideals and inspired his groundbreaking compositions. Beethoven imbibed Enlightenment and revolutionary ideas in his hometown of Bonn, where they were fervently discussed in cafes and at the university. Moving to Vienna at the age of 21 to study with Haydn, he gained renown as a brilliant pianist and innovative composer....