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Following the Ninth, and Beyond
Sinclair Books
November 2013
On Sale: November 15, 2013
182 pages
ISBN: 0615596355
EAN: 9780615596358
Kindle: B0071OT7U2
Paperback / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Biography
"A passionate, deeply felt and altogether personal account
of coming to Beethoven in middle age, after a lifetime's
immersion in other musical forms. They understand
Beethoven's eternal wildness: As well as we may think we
know this composer, he constantly surprises and
reinvigorates us." -- Tim Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning
writer on classical music, Professor of Music and Journalism
at the University of Southern California Finally, a Beethoven for our time. In “Journeys With
Beethoven,” Kerry Candaele and Greg Mitchell offer a unique
and dynamic exploration of the composer’s musical, cultural
and political influence, around the world and in America,
today. It’s a new kind of adventure story--and expanded in
this new 2013 edition. The two longtime rock 'n rollers—Candaele is a writer,
musician and filmmaker, Mitchell a journalist and author of
twelve previous books—discovered a shared passion for
Beethoven later in life, and in this book they probe this
deep obsession. Candaele illuminates trips for his new
“Following the Ninth” documentary set in Chile, China,
Germanu, Japan and London (with Billy Bragg), while Mitchell
travels to famous U.S. venues, screens dozens of films
related to Beethoven, and interviews a leading pianist,
Jeremy Denk, and trombonist Joseph Alessi, and others. Five years ago, Candaele set out on a world journey to film
the global impact—in freedom struggles, and in inspiring
people in their daily lives—of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
He ended up traveling to twelve countries and four continents. In China he discovered why a student leader played the
Ninth over a loudspeaker as the troops moved in to
Tiananmen Square. In England, the folk/punk singer, Billy
Bragg, talked about writing a new libretto for the Ninth in
English. Candaele was there when his version was performed
before the Queen. In Japan, the Ninth is performed hundreds
of times each December, often with 5000 or 10,000 singers in
the chorus, intent on transmitting a message of solidarity
between all people. And in a new chapter for this edition,
he tells the story of how a young East German woman--and
famed conductor Leonard Bernstein--marked the falling of the
Berlin Wall, aided by Beethoven. As “Journeys With
Beethoven” reveals, the Ninth turns worlds inside out and
upside down. In Part II of the book, Greg Mitchell—who as senior editor
at the legendary Crawdaddy magazine helped create the first
major article about Bruce Springsteen—describes his own
journey to Beethoven and his pursuit of all things Ludwig
during the past several years via CDs, films, books,
lectures, and what he calls the “new LvB delivery systems”:
music downloads, YouTube videos, blogs, Web forums,
Twitter feeds. He also takes us to some of the dozens of recent concerts
he’s attended throughout the northeast United States and in
London. He poses questions to experts such as Beethoven
biographer Edmund Morris and author Tim Page, besides his
very revealing interviews with Denk and Alessi. We learn how
Beethoven changed the lives of famous writers and
musicians, from William F. Buckley to Leonard Bernstein.
Mitchell (who writes the popular new blog, Roll Over,
Beethoven) even provides a guide to Beethoven films, from
the silent era to “A Clockwork Orange” and “Immortal Beloved.”
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