Book Review ~ Beethoven : The Man Revealed by John Suchet

Elliot & Thompson
13 February 2020
My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

✰ Updated 250th Anniversary Edition ✰

You know the music… but do you know the man?

Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the world’s best loved and most influential composers. His life – its dramas, conflicts, loves and losses – is played out in his music.

In this special edition to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth – with a new section featuring his most celebrated pieces – John Suchet shows us the man behind the music. He reveals a difficult and complex character, struggling to continue his profession as musician despite increasing deafness, alienating friends with unprovoked outbursts of anger one moment, overwhelming them with excessive kindness and generosity the next, living in a city in almost constant disarray because of war with France.

This is the real Beethoven, and Suchet brings him faithfully and vividly to life.

What did I think..

Born in Bonn in 1770, Ludwig Van Beethoven would, from a fairly inauspicious start, go to become one of the world's most well loved composers. His musical ability was recognised from an early age and he went on to produce some of our most recognisable pieces of classical music. Beautifully written, John Suchet has, once again, revealed the intricacies of the life behind a fascinating man of music, and includes a comprehensive account of Beethoven's lifestyle and musical legacy in a biography which flows in a very readable way.

For those who have an interest in classical music, this updated anniversary edition about one of the world's finest composers is a real treat and if, like me, you don't know very much about the life and times of classical composers, I am sure that you will this find biography a very readable and fascinating insight into Beethoven's seventeenth century world.

John Suchet is a recognised authority on the composer and shares his in-depth knowledge so generously that, in this 250th anniversary of the great composers's birth, this biography has been a real pleasure to read and enjoy.

About the Author

John Suchet presents Classic FM’s flagship morning programme. His informative style of presentation, coupled with a deep knowledge of classical music, has won a wide spectrum of new listeners to the station. Before turning to classical music, John was one of the UK’s best known television newscasters, regularly presenting ITN’s flagship News at Ten, as well as all other bulletins, over a period of nearly 20 years. John has been honoured for both roles. He is the author of several bestselling composer biographies, including Beethoven: The Man Revealed.

This updated edition of Suchet’s acclaimed biography contains new material, including a detailed guide to Beethoven’s most important compositions, family tree and timeline.

Twitter @JohnSuchet1

@eandtbooks

Review ~ Tchaikovsky:The Man Revealed by John Suchet

Elliot & Thompson
September 2018

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is one of the most successful composers that Russia has ever produced, but his path to success was not an easy one.

Listening to Tchaikovsky's music, and in particular, his composition for the ballet, Swan Lake, is always such a treat and although I am familiar with his work, and enjoy listening to it playing softly in the background either on Classic FM, or on Spotify, I didn't know much about the man behind the music. As always, this continuation of John Suchet's excellent biographies about the lives of some of the world's greatest composers, is a real delight to read and absorb.

Tchaikovsky:The Man Revealed is an absolute revelation, not just about the composer's musical genius, which the author writes about very knowledgeably, but also about the very troubled man behind the public persona. From Tchaikovsky's early childhood, the relationship he had with his parents and siblings and of his constant struggle with his sexuality, there is no doubt that Tchaikovsky was a deeply troubled soul, so often at odds with a world which didn't understand just what complex demons drove him to behave in the way he did. 

Beautifully written, John Suchet has again revealed the man behind the music in glorious detail, with a wonderful mixture of music and lifestyle, the biography flows in a very readable way. The prose is delightfully unfussy, and as explained in the prologue it doesn't shy away from revealing the sometimes more controversial aspects of Tchaikovsky's rather complicated personal life.

Over this festive period I have really enjoyed reading into this beautifully presented book, enjoying the comprehensive information which constantly reveals something new and fascinating about this enigmatic Russian composer.

About the Author

John Suchet presents Classic FM's flagship morning programme. His informative style of presentation, coupled with a deep knowledge of classical music, has won a wide spectrum of new listeners to the station. Before turning to classical music, John was one of the UK's best known television newscasters, regularly presenting ITN's flagship News at Ten, as well as all other bulletins, over a period of nearly 20 years. John has been honoured for both roles.

Twitter @JohnSuchet1

@eandtbooks

Review ~ Verdi : The Man Revealed by John Suchet

Elliot & Thompson
September 2017

It's always a real treat when one of these sumptuously produced books arrives for me to read and review and to have a glimpse into the life of Guiseppe Verdi, one of the greatest operatic composers , written by one of my favourite Classic FM presenters is, for me, something to really get excited about.

With wonderful glossy pages, this meticulously researched biography is easy to read and wonderfully informative, and  if, like me, you have little knowledge of the life of these great composers...well, to have everything you need to know in one lovely, glossy volume is a wonderful idea. I really enjoyed flipping through the book and reading chapters at whim, always finding something interesting and fascinating to learn about this most complex of individuals.

The author writes with real authority and includes, in this biography, all those snippets of information about Verdi's greatest works which are so important. From Rigoletto to Othello, La Traviata to Aida, all human emotion is to be found within his great catalogue of works, and the author ensures that all these are included and described in a very readable way. I particularly enjoyed reading of Verdi's early life in Italy, and the confusion surrounding his date of birth made me smile. 

Beautifully illustrated, the book is a sumptuous and beautiful journey through the whole of Verdi's very eventful life which I am sure will appeal to music lovers everywhere.

Verdi: The Man Revealed would make a perfect Christmas present for any classical music lover. My copy is definitely one to keep and cherish.

If you enjoy reading about the musical greats, then perhaps consider these composer


 biographies written for Classic FM by John Suchet

Published by Elliot & Thompson

  

About the Author

John Suchet presents Classic FM’s flagship morning programme, from 9am every weekday. His informative style of presentation, coupled with a deep knowledge of classical music, has won a wide spectrum of new listeners to the station. Before turning to classical music, John was one of the UK’s best-known television journalists. As a reporter for ITN he covered world events, including the Iran revolution, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Philippines revolution. He then became a newscaster, regularly presenting ITN’s flagship News at Ten, as well as all other bulletins, over a period of nearly twenty years.

John has been honoured for both roles. In 1986 he was voted Television Journalist of the Year, in 1996 Television Newscaster of the Year, and in 2008 the Royal Television Society awarded him its highest accolade, a Lifetime Achievement Award. John has been given an honorary degree by his old university, the University of Dundee, and in 2001 the Royal Academy of Music awarded him an Honorary Fellowship in recognition of his work on Beethoven, having written six books on the composer, including the highly acclaimed Beethoven: The Man Revealed (2012). His bestselling biography of the Strauss family, The Last Waltz: The Strauss Dynasty and Vienna, was published in 2015.

My thanks to Alison at Elliot&Thompson for my review copies of these books

Review ~ Mozart : The Man Revealed by John Suchet

Elliot & Thompson
2016

This is one of those splendid coffee table books that will sit very comfortably just waiting for someone to open it and read its fascinating contents.

I love listening to Classic FM and even though I know which pieces of music I like to listen to, I find that I know very little about the lives of the great composers who wrote the music I love. In these days of quick fix information it's very easy just to search the internet for snippets of information as you need it, but nothing beats the look and feel of a really good biography. Mozart: The Man Revealed by John Suchet is a wonderful glossy biography to immerse yourself in, and as you read on,  the here and now disappears, and you are quietly transported back to a wonderful time of musical soirées in the opulent salons of eighteenth century Europe.

The life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, from his birth in in Salzburg in January 1756, through to his untimely demise in Prague, aged just thirty five in 1791, is covered in fine detail. Each of the twenty-three chapters which make up the bulk of the work have delightfully descriptive headings, I think my favourites have to be those titles which head chapter 8  “Ass-Bumping in Venice", and the delightfully quirky heading for chapter 10, "Gnagflow Trazom", which I'll let you work out for yourself! John Suchet writes with such warmth and wit about this great composer but isn't afraid to show the man behind the genius, warts and all, which comes across when describing Mozart's rather salacious communication with his nineteen year old cousin, Maria Anna Mozart. I loved the way the biography flowed beautifully and was gilded with an assortment of delightful illustrations and documents which highlight Mozart’s complex and fascinating life.

There is no doubt that Mozart's musical genius continues to enhance our modern world. Whilst reading this lovely book I listened to his Salzburg Symphonies which are simply delightful and which compliment this lovely book to perfection.

Mozart: The Man Revealed would make a perfect Christmas present for the classical music lover in your life or simply as well earned treat.

My copy is definitely one to keep and cherish.

Best Read with ...a cup of richly, aromatic hot chocolate and a generous slice of Apfelstrudel

About the author

John Suchet presents Classic FM’s flagship morning programme, from 9am every weekday. His informative style of presentation, coupled with a deep knowledge of classical music, has won a wide spectrum of new listeners to the station. Before turning to classical music, John was one of the UK’s best-known television journalists. As a reporter for ITN he covered world events, including the Iran revolution, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Philippines revolution. He then became a newscaster, regularly presenting ITN’s flagship News at Ten, as well as all other bulletins, over a period of nearly twenty years.

John has been honoured for both roles. In 1986 he was voted Television Journalist of the Year, in 1996 Television Newscaster of the Year, and in 2008 the Royal Television Society awarded him its highest accolade, a Lifetime Achievement Award. John has been given an honorary degree by his old university, the University of Dundee, and in 2001 the Royal Academy of Music awarded him an Honorary Fellowship in recognition of his work on Beethoven, having written six books on the composer, including the highly acclaimed Beethoven: The Man Revealed (2012). His bestselling biography of the Strauss family, The Last Waltz: The Strauss Dynasty and Vienna, was published in 2015.

 My thanks Alison Menzies at Elliot & Thompson 

for the opportunity to read and review this book.

~***~