Beethoven, by Anne Pimlott Baker (pp 105) Published 1997. This biography whet my appetite for more reading about this amazing composer and musician. In some respects his story of unhappiness, struggle for money, and celebration as one of Vienna’s master composers is similar to that of Mozart. This short volume covers his birth in 1770, the early death of his mother, his studying under both Mozart and Hayden, his several unrequited loves and eventual bachelorhood, his struggles to obtain and maintain custody of his nephew Karl, his deafness, and most importantly, his many compositions, some of which are considered timeless masterpieces. Like Mozart, and even more so, music was his life, and it rose and fell with the successes and failures of his many works. Beethoven died in 1827, creating some of his finest work in his last years. Unfortunately, even though this book was written as an overview, it’s unsatisfying and does not do this composer justice. ( )

The magnificent music came from a flawed human. Lonely, often at odds with his family, plagued by money worries and going deaf, Beethoven alternated periods of great creative output with stretches of depressed downtime. There's a lot of information here, but it flows smoothly thanks to Wright's crisp delivery. She paints many verbal pictures of this complicated man; he once conducted 10 bars ahead of the orchestra, silently unaware. Some of his best works, like the MISSA SOLUMNIS, came late in life; some of his most popular works during his lifetime are never played today. Culled partly from the composer's journals and letters, this is a compact but well-rounded biography; you might not even miss the music.