The First Four Notes: Beethoven's Fifth and the Human Imagination

Matthew Guerrieri

ISBN 10: 0307593282 / ISBN 13: 9780307593283

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2012

About this Item

LIKE NEW. Stated First Edition. Exploration of the Fifth Symphony and its powerful impact for the last two centuries.

Seller Inventory # 498

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The First Four Notes: Beethoven's Fifth and the Human Imagination
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0307593282
• ISBN 13: 9780307593283
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • songbooks musical scores

About this title

Synopsis

A TIME Magazine Top 10 Nonfiction Book of 2012
A New Yorker Best Book of the Year
Los Angeles Magazine's #1 Music Book of the Year

A unique and revelatory book of music history that examines in great depth what is perhaps the best-known and most-popular symphony ever written and its four-note opening, which has fascinated musicians, historians, and philosophers for the last two hundred years.

Music critic Matthew Guerrieri reaches back before Beethoven’s time to examine what might have influenced him in writing his Fifth Symphony, and forward into our own time to describe the ways in which the Fifth has, in turn, asserted its influence. He uncovers possible sources for the famous opening notes in the rhythms of ancient Greek poetry and certain French Revolutionary songs and symphonies. Guerrieri confirms that, contrary to popular belief, Beethoven was not deaf when he wrote the Fifth. He traces the Fifth’s influence in China, Russia, and the United States (Emerson and Thoreau were passionate fans) and shows how the masterpiece was used by both the Allies and the Nazis in World War II. Altogether, a fascinating piece of musical detective work—a treat for music lovers of every stripe. 

About the Author

Matthew Guerrieri is a music critic for The Boston Globe, and his articles have also appeared in Vanity Fair, NewMusicBox, Playbill, and Slate. He is responsible for the popular classical music blog Soho the Dog (sohothedog.blogspot.com). He lives in Framingham, Massachusetts.