What a wonderful-sounding subject—and what a windy disappointment! Harvey Sachs has assembled a book of secondhand opinions about Beethoven, Europe in 1824, and the Romantic Movement that reads as if it was cobbled together out of Google searches. On the page it may be tolerable, if it includes images of the paintings under discussion and you can listen to music while reading, especially during Sachs’s detailed analysis of the eponymous symphony. No such luck if you’re listening to Patrick Egan. He doesn’t make things worse than they already are, but neither does he improve matters, adding no sense of engagement or compelling interest in the text. And why record a book about a symphony and include no music? What a missed opportunity. B.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824
Narrated by Patrick Egan
Harvey SachsUnabridged — 9 hours, 28 minutes
The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824
Narrated by Patrick Egan
Harvey SachsUnabridged — 9 hours, 28 minutes
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Overview
Be embraced, ye millions!”
*
The Ninth Symphony, a symbol of freedom and joy, was Beethoven's mightiest attempt to help humanity find its way from darkness to light, from chaos to peace. Yet the work was born in a repressive era, with terrified Bourbons, Hapsburgs, and Romanovs using every means at their disposal to squelch populist rumblings in the wake of the French Revolution and Napoleon's wars. Ironically, the premiere of this hymn to universal brotherhood took place in Vienna, the capital of a nation that Metternich was turning into the first modern police state.
The Ninth's unveiling, on May 7, 1824, was the most significant artistic event of the year, and the work remains one of the most precedent-shattering and influential compositions in the history of music-a reference point and inspiration that resonates even today. But in The Ninth, eminent music historian Harvey Sachs demonstrates that Beethoven was not alone in his discontent with the state of the world. Lord Byron died in 1824 during an attempt to free Greece from the domination of the Ottoman empire; Delacroix painted a masterpiece in support of that same cause; Pushkin, suffering at the hands of an autocratic czar, began to draft his anti-authoritarian play Boris Godunov; and Stendhal and Heine wrote works that mocked conventional ways of thinking.
The Ninth Symphony was so unorthodox that it amazed and confused listeners at its premiere-described by Sachs in vibrant detail-yet it became a standard for subsequent generations of creative artists, and its composer came to embody the Romantic cult of genius. In this unconventional, provocative new book, Beethoven's masterwork becomes a prism through which we may view the politics, aesthetics, and overall climate of the era.
Part biography, part history, part memoir, The Ninth brilliantly explores the intricacies of Beethoven's last symphony-how it brought forth the power of the individual while celebrating the collective spirit of humanity.
Editorial Reviews
in a "postlude" Sachs recalls his own boyhood discovery…of Beethoven and touches on the composer's importance to him. Not just the Ninth, he concludes, but Beethoven's music in general "adds to the fullness when life feels good, and it lengthens and deepens the perspective when life seems barely tolerable. It is with me and in me. And I suppose that this book is a vastly oversized and yet entirely inadequate thank-you note to Beethoven." It's more than that. The Ninth isn't a profoundly scholarly work, but it will send readers to their CD players.
—The Washington Post
Beethoven wasn't always a cultural icon. At least one critic attending the 1824 premiere of his Symphony No. 9 in D Minor likened what he heard to a “hideously writhing wounded dragon.” Just why the composer and his works endure is the question behind this absorbing book by music historian Sachs (Toscanini). Through detailed musical analysis and condensed readings of cultural politics and 19th-century history, Sachs ponders “what role so-called high culture played, plays, and ought to play in civilization.” Using the year 1824 and the premiere of the Ninth as ground zero, Sachs reviews the literary, artistic, and social movements of the time, noting how Beethoven's innovative symphony (the first with a vocal score) and its themes of equality and redemption no doubt challenged the resurgent conservatism among Europe's monarchies. Sachs places Beethoven alongside Pushkin, Byron, and other prominent romantics, whose talents he finds linked to a common quest for freedoms—political, artistic, and “above all of the mind and spirit.” After first presenting the Ninth as a Viennese social event and then as emblematic of Beethoven's artistic process, Sachs shines with a close reading of the Ninth's musical score, interpreting its techniques and emotive narrative. Readers will want a recording nearby. In the book's last chapter, Sachs deals with the impact and legacy of Beethoven's masterwork and explains what makes his music universal. (Apr.)
By concentrating on the year Beethoven debuted his most famous work, Sachs (Rubinstein: A Life) sets the symphony in its historical context, as the composer, along with fellow revolutionaries elsewhere in Europe (e.g., Lord Byron, Alexander Pushkin, Eugène Delacroix, Stendhal, Heinrich Heine), championed equality in the face of widespread political oppression. Sachs draws together the major influences in the political and artistic worlds of the early 19th century as a way of highlighting the importance of Beethoven's monumental work. His discussion ranges from large historical concepts to detailed analyses of specific works of art, politics, and musical compositions, which serves to paint a vivid picture of the intense artistic life of the period. VERDICT There is a bit of technical discussion that requires music theory background, but the bulk of the narrative is eminently readable, insightful, and often very personal. A thought-provoking, broadly based, well-informed discussion that should appeal to well-educated general readers as well as music specialists.—Timothy J. McGee, Trent Univ., Peterborough, Ont.
The year 1824, viewed through the lens of Beethoven's final symphony-a mix of cultural history, memoir and musicology. Former conductor Sachs (Music History/Curtis Institute of Music; The Letters of Arturo Toscanini, 2002, etc.) leaves no doubt of his intentions, declaring immediately that the Ninth is "one of the most precedent-shattering and influential compositions in the history of music." Following a brief laudatory prelude, the author describes a recent visit to the building where Beethoven was living when the piece premiered in Vienna on May 7, 1824, and then reconstructs that pivotal evening, writing with informed confidence about the vast demands of the piece on musicians and noting sadly that the theater no longer stands. In a bold, perhaps foolhardy, move, the author ventures briefly into Beethoven's mind, imagining his thoughts-e.g, "Even if my green frock coat were covered in shit it would be to good for the sniveling Viennese." Fortunately, Sachs quickly abandons this device, sticking thereafter to what he knows and feels, which is more than sufficient. He sketches Beethoven's family history, summarizes the complexities of post-Napoleonic Europe (taking a shot at historian Eric Hobsbawm) and glances at the lives and achievements of contemporaries, including Byron, Pushkin, Delacroix, Stendahl and Heine. Sachs then provides a long, personal response to each of the symphony's four movements, sections that engage not for their practical value-we learn few specifics-but for the passion and affection that inform every phrase. The author ends with a discussion about how Beethoven influenced some noted contemporaries-from Schubert to Rossini-and with deeply personal comments abouthow Beethoven has affected his own life since boyhood. A fan's notes-eloquent, erudite, passionate and musical. Agent: Denise Shannon/ICM
All music lovers should run, not walk, to purchase The Ninth.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“An inspiring examination of one of music’s supreme masterpieces.”—Pittsburgh Tribune Review
“Insightful . . . Reading this book, you feel for the composer, trying to bond with others through an astonishing symphony.”—The New York Times
“Sachs’ enthusiasm is infectious, his knowledge impressive.”—USA Today
“A revelatory ride through a creative time and four symphonic movements.”—The Dallas Morning News
“Will send readers to their CD players.”—The Washington Post
The Ninth Symphony is not just one of greatest musical masterpieces of all time—it was also Beethoven's evocation of the prerevolutionary climate of 1824, a time of unrest and yearning for personal freedom. With that seminal hymn, he brilliantly captured that tension while also celebrating humanity's collective spirit. Here, Sachs (Curtis Inst. of Music, Philadelphia) puts the composition into historical context, packing his writing with down-to-earth humor and including candid reactions of other artists to Beethoven's work and influence. The numerous European accents actor Patrick Egan employs (e.g., Lord Byron) are appropriately grand and glorious and enhance the overall listening experience. For anyone liking biographies and for all students and enthusiasts of music and history. ["A thought-provoking, broadly based, well-informed discussion that should appeal to well-educated general readers as well as music specialists," read the review of the Random hc, LJ 1/10.—Ed.]—Susan G. Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., IL
What a wonderful-sounding subject—and what a windy disappointment! Harvey Sachs has assembled a book of secondhand opinions about Beethoven, Europe in 1824, and the Romantic Movement that reads as if it was cobbled together out of Google searches. On the page it may be tolerable, if it includes images of the paintings under discussion and you can listen to music while reading, especially during Sachs’s detailed analysis of the eponymous symphony. No such luck if you’re listening to Patrick Egan. He doesn’t make things worse than they already are, but neither does he improve matters, adding no sense of engagement or compelling interest in the text. And why record a book about a symphony and include no music? What a missed opportunity. B.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169148534 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Random House |
| Publication date: | 06/15/2010 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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