Beethoven - Život v devíti kusech – Tunbridge Laura (2022)

Can anything new still be said about a composer who ranks alongside giants like Shakespeare and Dante? There are numerous biographies of Beethoven, but the bold book by musicologist Laura Tunbridge is different: it presents Beethoven through nine different compositions, each shedding light on various aspects of his life, personality, and music. The Oxford professor writes clearly and understandably, but without oversimplifying. She is more interested in reality than in myths – of which there are far too many surrounding Beethoven. "Throughout this book, there are mentions of how much money Beethoven earned," begins the first sentence. How to find a venue for a concert, how to publish a score, how many rehearsals can be held before a performance, how much tickets should cost, how to encourage wealthy sponsors to be generous: all of this affects whether there is food to eat, whether the artist creates or not. The author challenges the assumption that Beethoven was rude, friendless, and loveless, more through example than theory. She consistently portrays Beethoven in the context of a life filled with hard work. The more we can marvel at him.