Margaret Mikulska wrote: >Try Konrad Kuester's "Beethoven", publ. by Stuttgarter Verlags-Anstalt, if >I recall correctly. It's a straightforward, no-nonsense biography. I'm >not sure if it's still available, but it's fairly recent, so it may be. Unfortunately Kuester is a Solomon follower when it comes to the riddle of the Immortal Beloved. Very regrettable. But the rest of the biography isn't bad, that's true. >A very short one and very good: "The Life of Beethoven", by David Wyn >Jones, from the series "Cambridge Lives of Composers" (or something close), >Cambridge UP. But it's really just a short introduction. Yes, good one, I agree, but, alas, also Wyn Jones takes Solomon's fairy tale seriously. That's why I avoided mentioning of Kuester and Wyn Jones as well. Joyce Maier www.ademu.com/Beethoven