Book Review
Jan. 23rd, 2023 09:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariBeethoven Essays
by Maynard Solomon
This volume brings together various essays Maynard Solomon wrote about Beethoven, concentrating on the composer's inner life and creativity. Solomon draws on psychology, historical research, and close readings of Beethoven's letters and other writings. All of the essays were interesting, but some were more convincing than others. The essays on Beethoven's feelings about his family and his background leaned too much into Freudian and other old-fashioned psychology for my tastes. Solomon is at his best when investigating Beethoven's creativity, his philosophical inclinations, and the identity of the Immortal Beloved. The essays on those subjects were enlightening and insightful.
by Maynard Solomon
This volume brings together various essays Maynard Solomon wrote about Beethoven, concentrating on the composer's inner life and creativity. Solomon draws on psychology, historical research, and close readings of Beethoven's letters and other writings. All of the essays were interesting, but some were more convincing than others. The essays on Beethoven's feelings about his family and his background leaned too much into Freudian and other old-fashioned psychology for my tastes. Solomon is at his best when investigating Beethoven's creativity, his philosophical inclinations, and the identity of the Immortal Beloved. The essays on those subjects were enlightening and insightful.
