...[Lockwood] paints a vivid picture of the creative context of each [symphony]. -- James Macmillan - Standpoint
[This] book will surely inspire new interest in Beethoven's durable masterpieces. -- The New York Review of Books
No one brings Beethoven's music to life as vividly as Lewis Lockwood. A towering achievement. -- Alan Gilbert, music director, New York Philharmonic
This remarkable book is much more than a guide to Beethoven's symphonies. By granting us access to the composer's workshop, Lockwood reveals a faltering human being whose unfaltering artistic resolution remains one of the great stories of the human spirit. -- Scott Burnham, Scheide Professor of Music History, Princeton University
Lockwood has given music lovers a great gift. By looking at historical context-who listened to Beethoven, what he read-and how the symphonies were planned, the reader gets a unique view of the creative process of one of our greatest musical minds. -- Yo-Yo Ma
Lockwood elegantly imparts an enormous amount of fascinating detail, placing each symphony in the context of Beethoven's work in other genres and concert activity. What a pleasure to read! -- Emanuel Ax, pianist