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The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824 |  | Author: Harvey Sachs
Publisher: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
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as of 9/6/2010 22:44 CDT details
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Rating:  17 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 140006077X
Dewey Decimal Number: 784.2184
EAN: 9781400060771
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Product Description
“All men become brothers . . .
Be embraced, ye millions!”
The Ninth Symphony, a symbol of freedom and joy, was Beethoven’s mightiest attempt to help humanity find its way from darkness to light, from chaos to peace. Yet the work was born in a repressive era, with terrified Bourbons, Hapsburgs, and Romanovs using every means at their disposal to squelch populist rumblings in the wake of the French Revolution and Napoleon’s wars. Ironically, the premiere of this hymn to universal brotherhood took place in Vienna, the capital of a nation that Metternich was turning into the first modern police state.
The Ninth’s unveiling, on May 7, 1824, was the most significant artistic event of the year, and the work remains one of the most precedent-shattering and influential compositions in the history of music—a reference point and inspiration that resonates even today. But in The Ninth, eminent music historian Harvey Sachs demonstrates that Beethoven was not alone in his discontent with the state of the world. Lord Byron died in 1824 during an attempt to free Greece from the domination of the Ottoman empire; Delacroix painted a masterpiece in support of that same cause; Pushkin, suffering at the hands of an autocratic czar, began to draft his anti-authoritarian play Boris Godunov; and Stendhal and Heine wrote works that mocked conventional ways of thinking.
The Ninth Symphony was so unorthodox that it amazed and confused listeners at its premiere—described by Sachs in vibrant detail—yet it became a standard for subsequent generations of creative artists, and its composer came to embody the Romantic cult of genius. In this unconventional, provocative new book, Beethoven’s masterwork becomes a prism through which we may view the politics, aesthetics, and overall climate of the era.
Part biography, part history, part memoir, The Ninth brilliantly explores the intricacies of Beethoven’s last symphony—how it brought forth the power of the individual while celebrating the collective spirit of humanity.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
 A thoroughly enjoyable account of Beethoven, his Ninth Symphony, and its cultural/political milieu June 17, 2010
R. M. Peterson (Santa Fe, NM)
57 out of 58 found this review helpful
Harvey Sachs has lived his life in music, including a stint as a conductor; he has authored a handful of other books on musical matters or musicians (notably Arturo Toscanini and Arthur Rubinstein) and he currently is on the faculty at Curtis. The genesis of this book seems to have been twofold. The first was when a friend suggested to Sachs that he write a book on one particular year in the history of classical music, centered around the key musical events of that year. Rather than choosing one of several years marked by the debuts of multiple landmark pieces (1912, or 1876, or 1830), Sachs, in taking up the suggestion, chose the year 1824. Why? It was the year Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was first performed, and - here's the second source - it has been Beethoven's music that has meant the most to Sachs throughout his life. Thus, he writes, "this book is a vastly oversized and yet entirely inadequate thank-you note to Beethoven."
Much of the book, of course, deals with Beethoven's Ninth - which Sachs calls "one of [words of understatement?] the most precedent-shattering and influential compositions in the history of music." The first chapter contains an extended account of the very first performance of the Symphony - on May 7, 1824. Most of the third chapter consists of Sachs' description of the Symphony, as it unfolds or, perhaps more aptly, as it "befalls us". Sachs acknowledges upfront that he is attempting to describe the indescribable, though he comes closer than I would have expected. In the fourth chapter, he discusses the influence the Ninth had on other composers of the 19th Century, from Schubert (who attended that May 1824 premiere) to Wagner.
In discussing the Ninth, Sachs stays away from technical musical analysis and jargon. You do not have to have been trained in music theory to understand and appreciate what he says. On the other hand, you do need some familiarity with the Ninth as a listener (though those who don't have such familiarity probably aren't reading this review). In fact, you may well be inspired, as I was, to re-read Sachs's 30-page account of the Ninth while listening to the symphony on a CD. It was a rewarding and enriching experience for me, non-specialist that I am.
But there are two other parts to the book that I found even more rewarding. One is a brief but very well-done biographical sketch of Beethoven (pages 36-57). The second has to do with the year 1824, the somewhat repressive political milieu then prevailing in Europe, and how this political atmosphere inspired (or provoked) artistic calls for freedom - political freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of the mind and spirit. According to Sachs, Beethoven's Ninth was related to other milestones in the arts, involving figures like Stendhal, Byron, Pushkin, Heine, and Delacroix. "[T]hese artists were not apolitical; they internalized and sublimated revolution in an age of political repression and transformed it into what we call Romanticism."
Thus the scope of THE NINTH is broader than music. It really is a work of intellectual history. It is fitting, then, that in addition to sources from the world of music, Sachs quotes (always aptly) from an eclectic range of figures from other fields - such as Federico Fellini, Saul Bellow, Margaret Drabble, Jacques Barzun, and John Updike. To top matters off, THE NINTH is very well written. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
"A thank you note to Beethoven" June 27, 2010
J. Groen (GURNEE, ILLINOIS USA)
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
Beethoven is arguably the greatest composer of all time and his Ninth Symphony is aguably his greatest composition. Within the book, the author mentions that other composers didn't see one composer as being better than another, but for us mere mortals, we should be allowed this opportunity. And there are reasons to believe of Beethoven's greatness. For years after his death, his works were studied and revered. Berlioz (as mentioned in the book) comments on the greatness of the Ninth. Wagner studied the Ninth (as mentioned in the book), marveled on it, and played movements from it on the piano. He opened the Bayreuth site with a playing of the Ninth and in 1951, the Bayreuth site was reopened that way. And then there is Brahms (not mentioned in the book) who struggled with his first symphony because of Beethoven's greatness and then released a beautiful symphony (that was called by some critics of the time "Beethoven's tenth).
Much of the book is a review of what transpired prior to Beethoven in music composition (e.g. Bach, Mozart, Hayden, etc.) and Beethoven's own years prior to the Ninth and then the impact of the Ninth on the composers after Beethoven (the ones mentioned above and Schumann, Schubert, etc.). This is good reading but not easy reading as the author gets somewhat technical at times especially when quoting others.
However, in my opinion, the essence of the book is the author's analysis of each movement (in the section "Imagining the Ninth") and part of the Ninth Symphony. Since I have been fortunate to hear the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Choir perform this beautiful piece of music two times (the most recent with Bernard Haitink conducting), this write-up provided a lot of value to me. And, I believe that any lover of Beethoven and the Ninth will get the same value from this section. This section appears to be based upon the best input from other conductors (for example, Sir George Solti is mentioned), and is truly written as a "thank you note to Beethoven".
For all lovers of Beethoven music and his Ninth Symphony, this is a must have book. For all those who haven't heard the Ninth, and haven't experienced the greatest music ever written, let me suggest that you buy a CD of the Ninth and read this book. If you let it, the CD of the Ninth and this book, will transform you just as it was meant to.
"My alpha and omega" July 4, 2010
Robert C. Ross (New Jersey)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've hesitated to review this lovely little study of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony given the superb effort posted here on Amazon by R. M. Peterson, one of the very best Reviews I've ever read on Amazon.
The Ninth has meant a great deal to me over the past decades, and I simply have to add a few personal notes to that Review.
Sachs adds very interesting insights into how other Romantics of Beethoven's era, including Byron and Stendhal to Delacroix, Heine and Pushkin, reacted to the political challenges to hereditary monarchs posed by the French Revolution.
Sachs' account of the premiere of the Ninth is extraordinarily detailed. He describes how the mixed amateur and professional orchestra and chorus struggled with with the many errors and the difficult handwritten manuscript parts. One reviewer wrote: "The singers did what they could." Beethoven set the tempo at the beginning of each movement, but by 1824 was so deaf an assistant signalled him to see the audience applauding the performance.
"The Hardest Possible Act to Follow" describes the effect on other artists; Balzac and Wagner were particularly struck by Beethoven's masterpiece.
Sachs himself clearly has had a love affair with Beethoven and his masterpiece; he expresses his own emotions over many years of his career. For a more objective view -- but in no sense a better view -- I re-read Beethoven's Ninth: A Political History by Esteban Buch. Together the two books give a fuller and more compelling impression of Beethoven's masterpiece.
And, of course, I listened to one of my favorite performances, not once but twice, and marvelled again at the passion and the intellect in Beethoven's work. For me, Zubin Meta's version with the New York Philharmonic is technically superb and immensely emotional. (Amazon sells a well produced version: Beethoven: Greatest Hits.)
Again, don't miss Mr. Peterson's excellent review of this fine book.
CON SPIRITO July 14, 2010
DAVID BRYSON (Glossop Derbyshire England)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a book that I want to recommend wholeheartedly, not because I think it's 'perfect' (whatever that might be), nor because I am in agreement with all of it, but because it makes a real attempt, better than I have encountered before, to account for the way in which Beethoven, of all classical composers, dominates the consciousness of modern musicians. Let me say at once that I have long deplored this dominance. However I love and admire Beethoven in my own way, and I am a serious devotee of the 9th symphony, which I like better than all the other eight put together.
The book is only partly about the 9th symphony. The earlier sections are mainly cultural history of the early romantic era. Harvey Sachs seems to me to have a genuine historian's feel for the period. The defeat of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna served to restore reactionary rule across most of Europe, the political justification for which being stability. However radical thinking was still in the air, and there was no way of repressing it entirely, for all the thoroughness with which some rulers tried to. Beethoven was lucky in a sense, because he was viewed as a harmless oddball. Schubert had had the frighteners put on him for merely associating with some persona non grata, and I expect Sachs is right in inferring that the younger composer was badly scared. Elsewhere Byron, Stendhal, Pushkin, Heine et al hawked their enlightened consciences in the name of freedom and equality, and this part of the book is about setting the scene. There is not much real link between this crew and Beethoven, and I soon abandoned any effort to find such a link.
For me, it is the honesty and perceptiveness of Sachs's thoughts about Beethoven as a musician that puts this book in the 5-star bracket. Music is one thing, and history and biography are another, or perhaps two others. Much of what one reads regarding Beethoven is a hopeless fudge of these issues, and Sachs implies rightly that the heroic personal image often wrapped around Beethoven is really irrelevant to his stature as a composer, adding for good measure that the whole notion of personal greatness is highly suspect anyhow. Now here is where Sachs has the angels singing for him -- not only does he deploy an excellent term 'self-reference' to distinguish between the respective impressions created by the first movements of Mozart's Jupiter and Beethoven's Eroica symphonies: he identifies the peculiar individual excellence of Beethoven's music as opposed to anyone else's as being its spirit.
It is this special spirit that makes successive Beethoven productions startlingly dissimilar in a way Mozart's rarely are. A spirit of aspiration is what gives his works their family resemblance on the one hand and their high-profile individuality on the other. For me, Beethoven's purely musical talent was not the equal of that granted to Bach Handel Mozart Schubert or Brahms, and there is devastatingly straightforward support for such a view cited from no less than Verdi, although I can't claim his backing in more than a general way. However Beethoven's special spirit is the true portion of the legend that places him where we find him in the musical pantheon, enthroned deservedly to that extent although obscured by a cloud of waffle about V for victory, Churchill, deafness, personal challenges and the rest of it.
There is music, says Verdi, and it is an entity distinct from anything it may be thought to express. For me it is something from outside above and beyond. If there is any such thing as a 'greatest moment' in music, for me it occurs in the last movement of another 9th symphony, and the hair of my flesh stands up when I even recall what Schubert does with those four repeated notes, insofar as it was Schubert in charge. Schubert features in a thoughtful and sensitive 'trailer' chapter tracing what Sachs views as Beethoven's ongoing influence. He may be right, but it seems to me that Beethoven was more invoked than really influential in that sense. Dutiful obeisance has to be done when anything 'radical' is involved, but the influence of Beethoven's personal style is virtually nil, and the most influential of 19th century composers is surely, beyond comparison, Brahms.
The other thing that I miss is a discussion of the influence of Handel on Beethoven. We are astonishingly blase about this issue, considering that Beethoven thought Handel the greatest of all composers, and this is mainly because we have not yet extricated ourselves from the Serbonian bog of ignorance that we got into regarding Handel and the rubbish that got talked for so long. Never mind, there is a long and affectionate blow-by-blow commentary on the 9th, a modern counterpart to Tovey's. Sachs does not have Tovey's gift of phrase ('the heavens are on fire and the foundations of earth are shaken' at the reprise of the first movement's main theme, for instance), but he is much more honest with himself in his basic thinking.
For the learned and unlearned alike, to misquote Horace, and I guess for those somewhere in between too.
Reasoned, scholarly, focused, admirably personal July 8, 2010
John E. Drury (Washington, DC United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In an age when the media is rife with reports of the demise of classical music, hope springs when an intrepid publicist at Random House mailed this book to an equally fearless reviewer who convinced a music loving editor at the Wall Street Journal to print a late June 2010 book review which led to a music loving reader to buy the book on Amazon and read the same short book which led to this review. This is how books are sold, and how classical music and good books about classical music survive. Harvey Sachs' passion for Beethoven, his Ninth Symphony and the artistic well springs of the nineteenth century music, art and Romanticism is only matched by his unerring scholarship and measured fairness towards Beethoven's predecessors, successors, his critics and admirers. The author's intriguing theory of the Romantics' backlash post Napoleon as seen though the works of Pushkin, Stendhal, Byron, Delacroix and Heine provides a historically valid backdrop to Beethoven's motivation in composing his Ninth Symphony. This is a very human story of the author's love of the music of Beethoven. Sacks combines dry wit with a measured tone even when dealing with such bizarre subjects as Adrienne Rich's interpretation of the Symphony's "sexual message," or his humorous comment on Richard Wagner's writings about Beethoven as a "trek across the blasted heath of [Wagner's] verbiage." His music background compliments his well written twenty five page analysis of the four movements of the symphony; this is reason enough to own this book and fetch your iPod and listen again and again to each movement carefully following his analysis, far more informative than any concert notes. His comment about the self assertiveness in all of Beethoven's music captures that indescribable feeling that music lovers find in the music of Beethoven. Sacks' scholarship in music and history provides a real treat for the music lover. Bravo.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 17
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