An Extraordinary Life (ABRSM) – Serie

In this, the fifth biography in our 'Extraordinary Lives' series, Beethoven expert Professor Barry Cooper provides a fascinating and compact summary of the key moments in Beethoven's life. In exploring crucial documents, Cooper provides fresh insights into Beethoven's personality and motivations whilst challenging much of the prevalent 'mythology' that surrounds him.

Can the claims for Britten as the greatest English composer since Purcell be justified? Was the composer of gloomily tragic operas himself depressed and obsessive? What effect did Britten's sexuality have on his career? In this accessible history, Christopher Mark traces the impact of Britten's physical and cultural environment, his shifting musical and personal relationships, and his emerging sense of sexual identity on his musical output. What is revealed is not only a life conditioned by a compulsion to compose, but one which seems increasingly to reflect Britten's aesthetic imperatives.

In this vivid portrait, Bruce Wood illuminates the sometimes shadowy figure of Henry Purcell, richly evoking the atmosphere of 17th-century England - full of intrigues and plots. By interweaving the events during an unparalleled period of social and political change with the life and music of Purcell, Wood creates an account of this elusive English genius that is hard to put down.

Julian Rushton jumps right into the debate with this fascinating and readable history, dispensing with the myth, conjecture ,and popular iconography that frequently distorts our notions of what Mozart and his times were really like. What emerges is a more human and believable portrait, challenging our preconceptions while deepening our understanding of this extraordinary man and his music.