Summary
Craig Smith I The New Mexican
Like all of us, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a walking, talking nest of contradictions. A faithful, if sometimes trying, friend. Affectionate uncle disappointed by scapegrace nephew. Longing lover of mysterious "immortal beloved." Enthusiastic boozer and eventual alcoholic.See the full content of this document
Extract
Commanding, Contradictory, Cosmic
Sweet as a youth but ill and a curmudgeon as an adult (possibly from long-term lead poisoning). Brave and sometimes brutal in dealing with everyone, from landlords to princes. And, of course, brilliant composer tortured to agony by deafness. For Beethoven, as for Hamlet, the rest was indeed silence.
Yet he left such magnificent music -- especially the string quartets, which are widely regarded as some of the greatest accomplishments of human artistic achievement and creative insight. Stud...See the full content of this document
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