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Beethoven

Symphony No. 9

Nicholas Cook author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:24th Jun '93

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Beethoven cover

Nicholas Cook's guide charts the dramatic transformation in the reception of Symphony No. 9.

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of the Western tradition, yet early critics rejected it as cryptic and eccentric, the product of a deaf and ageing composer. Nicholas Cook charts this dramatic transformation.Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is acknowledged as one of the supreme masterpieces of the Western tradition. More than any other musical work it has become an international symbol of unity and affirmation. Yet early critics rejected it as cryptic and eccentric, the product of a deaf and ageing composer. Nicholas Cook's guide charts the dramatic transformation in the reception of this work. The story begins in Vienna, with the responses of listeners at the first performance, and ends in contemporary China and Japan, where the symphony has acquired diametrically opposed interpretations. The account embraces many of the major figures of nineteenth- and twentieth-century music, among them Wagner and Schenker. Including an account of the sketches, an examination of the performance tradition, and a suggested new interpretation, this book opens up new dimensions in our understanding of Beethoven's last symphony.

"A key problem with the Ninth, Cook notes, is that we've heard it so often that we no longer truly hear it. This book is an antidote; by examining the difficulties the work has caused auditors right from its premiere, Cook undermines our facile familiarity." Bernard D. Sherman, Fanfare

ISBN: 9780521399241

Dimensions: 218mm x 139mm x 13mm

Weight: 195g

144 pages