This concise and beautifully illustrated assessment of Beethoven's life and work offers an excellent introduction to one of the world's most popular composers. Illuminating the obstacles that beset Beethoven throughout his life, not least his profound deafness, it shows how his genius overcame the difficulties he faced to provide his audiences and successive generations with some of the most glorious music the world has known. Augmented by the inclusion of 10 removable facsimile documents, the book shows how Beethoven's life veered between the fascinating and the frustrating.