Beethoven, the man and the creator, emerges in all his humanity and genius from the pages of this book. The events of his life and the circumstances under which he wrote his majestic music are presented with the purpose of giving the general reader a faithful portrait. In addition, more than one hundred of the works are analyzed so that the concert-goer, phonograph enthusiast and the radio listener will have immediately at hand program notes, with appraisals and interpretations. The author, John N. Burk, is the historian of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.