Notes on Beethoven: 20 Crucial Works

Conrad Wilson has put together a series of brief introductions to major composers and their works. Already published books include Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, with more volumes on the way. These are put out by Eerdmans, one of the great scholarly publishing houses. This is a good series both for the music lover and for those starting out in learning about music; the books assume no particular technical training or knowledge about music, but do not 'dumb down' the material for the reader. Wilson will use the occasional musical term, but this is kept to a minimum. The concept of the text is fairly simple - composers such as Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven produced hundreds if not thousands of pieces; how does the average music listener start to learn about these? Wilson uses the 'top twenty' device - the 'top ten' would be too limiting, particularly for prolific composers, and any more most likely ends up being less of a selective process. However, this is not a true 'top twenty' in terms of hierarchical ranking, but rather a representative twenty works from the range of the composer highlighted. In the Beethoven text, Wilson includes the following twenty: - Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 1, No. 3 - String Quartet in F major, Op. 18, No. 1 - Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 ('Moonlight') - Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36 - Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 ('Eroica') - Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 57 ('Appassionata') - Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 - String Quartet in F major, Op. 59, No. 1 ('Rzaumovsky') - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 - Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 - Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 ('Pastoral') - Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 ('Emperor') - Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 97 ('Archduke') - Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 - Fidelio, Op. 72 - An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 - Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 111 - Missa Solemnis in D major, Op. 123 - Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 - String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 130; and Grosse Fuge, Op. 133. Each of the essays included is in the terms of programme notes, the kind of piece one might find in a concert or opera programme booklet at a performance. Wilson intersperses brief, one-page pieces on Beethoven with three to four-page pieces on the works themselves; while things are arranged chronologically, this isn't really meant to be taken as a definitive biographical treatment, but rather biographical sketch to place the music in context with Beethoven's overall life. One might quibble with some of the selections - certainly no one could fail to include the Symphony No. 9 or the Violin Concerto in D major, but there might be other pieces to be included (I would vote for the 'Pathetique' sonata). But, this is a minor point. Wilson provides suggestions for particular recordings/performances of the pieces, and provides a glossary of terms at the end of the text. Wilson is a good writer, and keeps the reader

Conrad Wilson has put together a series of brief introductions to major composers and their works. Already published books include Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, with more volumes on the way. These are put out by Eerdmans, one of the great scholarly publishing houses. This is a good series both for the music lover and for those starting out in learning about music; the books assume no particular technical training or knowledge about music, but do not 'dumb down' the material for the reader. Wilson will use the occasional musical term, but this is kept to a minimum. The concept of the text is fairly simple - composers such as Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven produced hundreds if not thousands of pieces; how does the average music listener start to learn about these? Wilson uses the 'top twenty' device - the 'top ten' would be too limiting, particularly for prolific composers, and any more most likely ends up being less of a selective process. However, this is not a true 'top twenty' in terms of hierarchical ranking, but rather a representative twenty works from the range of the composer highlighted. In the Beethoven text, Wilson includes the following twenty: - Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 1, No. 3 - String Quartet in F major, Op. 18, No. 1 - Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 ('Moonlight') - Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36 - Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 ('Eroica') - Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 57 ('Appassionata') - Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 - String Quartet in F major, Op. 59, No. 1 ('Rzaumovsky') - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 - Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 - Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 ('Pastoral') - Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 ('Emperor') - Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 97 ('Archduke') - Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 - Fidelio, Op. 72 - An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 - Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 111 - Missa Solemnis in D major, Op. 123 - Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 - String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 130; and Grosse Fuge, Op. 133. Each of the essays included is in the terms of programme notes, the kind of piece one might find in a concert or opera programme booklet at a performance. Wilson intersperses brief, one-page pieces on Beethoven with three to four-page pieces on the works themselves; while things are arranged chronologically, this isn't really meant to be taken as a definitive biographical treatment, but rather biographical sketch to place the music in context with Beethoven's overall life. One might quibble with some of the selections - certainly no one could fail to include the Symphony No. 9 or the Violin Concerto in D major, but there might be other pieces to be included (I would vote for the 'Pathetique' sonata). But, this is a minor point. Wilson provides suggestions for particular recordings/performances of the pieces, and provides a glossary of terms at the end of the text. Wilson is a good writer, and keeps the reader engaged.