Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Ludwig van Beethoven

Masters of Classical Music

By: The History Hour

Narrated by: Jerry Beebe

Length: 4 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

Probably the most naturally gifted musician the world has ever known, Mozart began his career early as a child prodigy. By the age of five, he was already proficient in the violin, the harpsichord, and piano keyboard. He had also begun composing music that had integrity. He was a showman as well, according to contemporary documents, and charmed many of the crowned heads of Europe with his performance and his manner.

In this audiobook, you’ll learn about:

• Early years of prodigy
• The grand tour 1763-66
• Setbacks and success in Vienna
• The solo trip to Italy
• Salzburg to Vienna
• Augsburg, Mannheim, Paris, and Munich
• Munich and Idomeneo

And much more!

Ludwig van Beethoven is a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in classical music. Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father, Johann van Beethoven, and by composer and conductor, Christian Gottlob Neefe.

You’ll learn about:

• Background and early life
• Establishing his career in Vienna
• Musical maturity
• Loss of hearing
• Patronage
• Middle period
• Personal and family difficulties
• Late works
• Illness and death

And much more!

Listen to the full biographies of these two musicians, from the beginning to end!

©2019 The History Hour (P)2019 The History Hour

Decent biographies but not narrated well

The stories of these two composers write themselves, so therefore the content was interesting. The structure is nicely done and easy to follow. The narrator, however, has a rather forced delivery and mispronounces a lot of words, including "Mozart." Because of this, it struggled to keep my interest.

The best interpretations of these two works I know

This finely nuanced and powerful performance is also very well recorded. What has to some extent become a cliche is given its original life. The best, hands down.

Excellent

Beethoven is said to have had a few lessons from Mozart. However, this is uncertain, as there is only one account of a meeting, and it is not contemporary. Beethoven knew much of Mozart's work. Some of his music recalls Mozart's, he composed several variations on Mozart's themes and he modeled a number of his compositions on those of the older composer

Fantastic

great piece. it's a great piece to listen to on a daily basis. I recommend it. it's worth every penny.

Excellent

Awesome book.I really love this book !! I suggested this book to my friends !

This is a very detailed

This is a very detailed and authoritative biography of one of the greatest composers and musicians of all time by an author-composer knowledgeable in the intricacies of music composition. Swafford not only brings an understanding of the technicalities of Beethoven's monumental compositions, but also their revolutionary significance. He further highlights the many physical and emotional challenges of Beethoven's personal life that he heroically overcame when a lesser person might have succumbed, retreating to a life of self-pitying inactivity. I highly recommend this book to serious students of the history of music.

It's interesting and great

It's interesting and great for those who want an analysis of how Beethoven composed. Because of the title, I expected it to have more detail on his personal history and the historical setting during Beethoven's lifetime.

GOOD MAN

If you want a lot of detail about both the life and the music of Beethoven, this is what you’ve been searching for. The descriptions along with musical notation details may be a bit much for some people. However, you might scan through those segments if you’re not that interested, as the rest of the text is quite well written and brings the man to life vividly.

Superb - exhaustive but not exhausting

Superb - exhaustive but not exhausting. Beethoven in all his humanity - his pettiness, his cruelty, his ignorance of ordinary people and not infrequent contempt for them, his fears about money, his futile love affairs, or attempts to have a love affair, his endless illnesses and, most impossibly, his deafness - brought to life...so that the mystery of his infinitely subtle and bottomless music is all the more hard to believe...and to be cherished

I am glad

I was pulled into Beethoven's life, learning of his struggles, and feeling his drive to succeed in producing extra ordinary music with depth and foresight, beyond the accomplished musical material of his day. It talks about how he deals with his illnesses. The remaining half of the book or more the author spends on a synopsis of much of Beethoven's music. It is informative especially for someone who has a musical background. It deals with descriptions of patterns, variations, methods, keys and melodic themes that were laid out by Beethoven in order for him to produce such variations and advanced music of his time.