An exploration of the unswerving artistic vision underlying Beethovens symphonies, from a leading scholar of the composers works.

Lewis Lockwoods compelling story introduces each symphony as an individual artwork and traces the creative background of each, set against the contemporary political upheavals, the growth of concert life and the relationship to his major works in other genres. From the first symphonies to the monumental Ninth, his lifelong passion to compose works of transcendent aesthetic and moral value is brilliantly brought to life.