"...[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