The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824 Audiobook

" An interesting idea following the Tosca and Rome book. Good on the background etc. Too much musical stuff, but all in all an interesting read "

" I love Beethoven, and his Ninth is one of my favorite pieces of music, so this book was a natural for me to read. The analysis of the score itself, the time period in which it was written, and the effect it had on future music is interesting and very readable. However, the author's political bias, in places where it did not belong, marred my enjoyment of this book. (How the author felt about the Vietnam War really does not help me better understand Beethoven's writing.) "

" I didn't find the events of 1824 worth caring much about. The information about Beethoven and his ninth symphony were interesting enough, but this is certainly not a book I would recommend. "

" Rather disappointing that Sachs spent so much time (a whole chapter) on his own hearing of the Ninth, instead of the cultural history and context surrounding it. "

" Interesting concept: a snapshot of the musical/artistic world at the time of the premiere of Beethoven's iconic 9th Symphony. I think I would actually have enjoyed this better as a layperson, rather than someone who has formally studied musicology. "

" He puts the context of the 9th in historical perspective. "

" A love letter to Beethoven. The writing, I thought, wasn't amazing, but it did its job and the passion behind the prose was palpable. Highly recommended for anyone, like me, getting into classical music for the first time. "

" I hoped for a general history of 1824, but this is very much a book about Beethoven and specifically the ninth symphony. Of little interest if you don't care about those. "

" A fine weaving together of the artistic/political/philosophical strands of the aftermath of Napoleonic Europe "

" great for history, but i found his interpretations to be crap... "

" I was looking for a book that told about life in 1824, along with other famous people that either influenced or were influenced by Beethoven. There was only one chapter on other famous people and their impressions of Beethoven. This book mainly disected Beethoven's 9th symphony. "

" Lame. guys got a good knowledge once he got into the music but he burned most of the book before starting that discussion. needed an editor big time "

" An interesting book, but the book never really grabbed me. I wish I knew more about music and musical notation. I learned a lot about Romanticism as a movement and as a reaction to the French Revolution, Napoleon and the Restoration so I kept on reading but started to skim towards the end. "

" Decent. The long details on the Ninth and its musical composition were more than I bargained for. There are better biographies of Beethoven and better canvasses of the period though I suppose this one does a decent job of tying the artists and composers into the overall period. "

" I really wanted to like this book. The history and context of 1824 was very interesting, but Sachs got too much into music history. This included major digressions from the story which I found distracting. "

" This book taught me a lot about music and the world of Classical/Romantic composers. I didn't have to already know a lot about this era to understand this book. Sachs lays all the context you need right on the table. A dense, heavy read, but worth it. "

" I probably would've finished this eventually, but my hub took it. The bits on Beethoven as musical innovator were fascinating. The bits about "the world" in 1824 less so. "

" Harder work that I'd hoped or expected - but possibly due to my "inadequacies" as much (if not more) than those of the book. "

" This was more of a history or political lesson than a study of Beethoven himself. It examines the effect of the Ninth symphony on people and events. I would have enjoyed it more if it focused a bit more on the composer. "

" This book taught me a lot about music and the world of Classical/Romantic composers. I didn't have to already know a lot about this era to understand this book. Sachs lays all the context you need right on the table. A dense, heavy read, but worth it. "

" Decent. The long details on the Ninth and its musical composition were more than I bargained for. There are better biographies of Beethoven and better canvasses of the period though I suppose this one does a decent job of tying the artists and composers into the overall period. "

" I was looking for a book that told about life in 1824, along with other famous people that either influenced or were influenced by Beethoven. There was only one chapter on other famous people and their impressions of Beethoven. This book mainly disected Beethoven's 9th symphony. "

" An interesting book, but the book never really grabbed me. I wish I knew more about music and musical notation. I learned a lot about Romanticism as a movement and as a reaction to the French Revolution, Napoleon and the Restoration so I kept on reading but started to skim towards the end. "

" An interesting idea following the Tosca and Rome book. Good on the background etc. Too much musical stuff, but all in all an interesting read "

" There was some very interesting stuff in this book. The presentation was just really hard to get through. My favorite part was his measure by measure description of the 4 movements of the symphony. It was fun to listen to it as I read his description of it. "

" He puts the context of the 9th in historical perspective. "

" I really wanted to like this book. The history and context of 1824 was very interesting, but Sachs got too much into music history. This included major digressions from the story which I found distracting. "

" I didn't find the events of 1824 worth caring much about. The information about Beethoven and his ninth symphony were interesting enough, but this is certainly not a book I would recommend. "