The Life and Works of Ludwig van Beethoven

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This set is a fine introduction to Beethoven for a certain class of listeners. It is much too long, detailed, and serious for children. It is not for advanced musicologists, either. Author-narrator Jeremy Siepmann avoids musical analysis altogether, concentrating instead on biographical material about Beethoven and his friends and providing historical and social background. Siepmann's text is absorbing and is frequently illustrated with substantial music examples (usually complete movements) from the Naxos catalog. Unfortunately, the first such example (from the Seventh Symphony) sounds regrettably mushy, but otherwise, the performances are consistently rewarding. If Naxos has put together this set, with its very large booklet, partly to promote its catalog of Beethoven recordings, the company may well find listeners attracted by the examples offered. The complete reproduction of the spoken text seems like a waste of space and paper, but the remaining material in the booklet is intelligently written and useful. Even people generally familiar with Beethoven are sure to find something new and interesting here. --Leslie Gerber

Tracks:

Childhood And Youth - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Symphony No.7 in A (Finale) - Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia/Bela Drahos
Hammerklavier Sonata, Op.106 (Exc.) - Jeno Jando
Beethoven As A Pianist - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Sonata in C, Op.2 No.3 (Finale) - Jeno Jando
Beethoven As Pianist - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
German Dance, WoO 8, No.4 - Capella Istropolitana/Oliver Dohnanyi
Beethoven's Vienna - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Sextet in E Flat, Op.81b (First Movement) - Life And Works: Ludwig Van Beethoven
Beethoven As Friend, Pupil And Artist - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Trio in c, Op.1 No.1 (Finale) - Stuttgart Piano Trio
Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat (Finale) - Stevan Vladar
The Onset Of Deafness - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Appassionata Sonata (Finale) - Jeno Jando

Tracks:

The Crest Of The Wave - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Septet in B flat (Scherzo) - Life And Works: Ludwig Van Beethoven
Sonata Pathetique, Op.13 (Exc.) - Jeno Jando
Beethoven In Love - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Piano Sonata in C Sharp Minor, Op.27, No.2 (Exc.) - Jeno Jando
A Winning Streak - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Symphony No.2 in D, Finale (Exc.) - Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia/Bela Drahos
Beethoven in Crisis: The Heiligenstadt Testament - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Eroica Symphony: Funeral March (Exc.) - Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia/Bela Drahos
Beethoven And Heroism - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Eroica Symphony, Finale (Exc.) - Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia/Bela Drahos
Beethoven The Revolutionary - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Razumovsky Quartet No.1, pp. 59 No.1, Adagio (Exc.) - Kodaly Quartet
Beethoven And Women - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Violin Concerto in D, Op.61, First Movement (Exc.) - Takako Nishizaki
Beethoven And Performer - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Emperor Concerto, Finale (Complete) - Stefan Vladar

Tracks:

Beethoven And Suffering - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Coriolan Overture - Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra/Stephen Gunzenhauser
Beethoven And Fate - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Fifth Symphony, First Movement (Complete) - Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia/Bela Drahos
Fifth Symphony, Finale (Exc.) - Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia/Bela Drahos
Beethoven And The Transcendence Of Suffering - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Seventh Symphony, First Movement (Exc.) - Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia/Bela Drahos
Beethoven, Goethe And Self-Pity - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Beethoven On His Method Of Composing - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Beethoven And Unrequited Love - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Serioso Quartet, Op.95, First Movement - Kodaly Quartet
The Immortal Beloved - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Violin Sonata in G, Op.96, First Movement - Takako Nishizaki/Jeno Jando
To The Brink Of Suicide - And Beyond - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck J
Battle Symphony (Exc.) - Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia/Bela Drahos
Prisoner's Chorus from Fidelio - Life And Works: Ludwig Van Beethoven

Tracks:

Archduke Trio - Jeno Jando/Takako Nishizaki/Csaba Onczay
Beethoven 'Kidnaps' Karl - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Beethoven's Manner & Appearance - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Pastoral Symphony (Exc.) - Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia/Bela Drahos
Beethoven As A 'Parent' - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Piano Sonata No.32, Op.111 - Jeno Jando
Beethoven And Friendship - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
His Attitudes To Publication - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Beethoven As Conductor - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Ninth Symphony (Scherzo) (Exc.) - Hasmik Papian/Ruxandra Donose/Manfred Fink/Claudio Otelli/Nicholas Esterhazy Chorus
His Final Works - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
String Quartet in B flat, Op.130 ('Cavatina') - Kodaly Quartet
Beethoven's Death - Jeremy Siepmann/Bob Peck
Music: Ninth Symphony (Exc.) - Hasmik Papian/Ruxandra Donose/Manfred Fink/Claudio Otelli/Nicolaus Esterhazy Chorus

Amazon.com

This set is a fine introduction to Beethoven for a certain class of listeners. It is much too long, detailed, and serious for children. It is not for advanced musicologists, either. Author-narrator Jeremy Siepmann avoids musical analysis altogether, concentrating instead on biographical material about Beethoven and his friends and providing historical and social background. Siepmann's text is absorbing and is frequently illustrated with substantial music examples (usually complete movements) from the Naxos catalog. Unfortunately, the first such example (from the Seventh Symphony) sounds regrettably mushy, but otherwise, the performances are consistently rewarding. If Naxos has put together this set, with its very large booklet, partly to promote its catalog of Beethoven recordings, the company may well find listeners attracted by the examples offered. The complete reproduction of the spoken text seems like a waste of space and paper, but the remaining material in the booklet is intelligently written and useful. Even people generally familiar with Beethoven are sure to find something new and interesting here. --Leslie Gerber