Donald Francis Tovey
Beethoven.
Oxford University Press, 1946. Second printing. vii/138 pages.
Volume, measuring approximately 6" x 9", is bound in red cloth, with stamped gilt lettering to spine. Book is in fine condition. Binding is firm. Top edge of text block is tinted red. Interior is clean and bright. Price-clipped dust jacket displays very light shelfwear. Jacket is preserved in mylar cover.
"For over twenty-five years Sir Donald Tovey had planned to write a book about Beethoven, but it was not until 1936 that he dictated the material that appears in this book. He never completed it, stopping at the point where he was about to take up the question of Beethoven's Fugues. The book does not touch on the composer's life. It deals with his music under such headings "The Materials of Beethoven's Language," "Tonality," "Rhythm and Movement," "Phrasing and Accent." Tovey throws onto Beethoven's music the strong light and human, the analysis profound and always interesting. The text is printed as Tovey left it, and the production has been supervised by Dr. Ernest Walker and Mr. Hubert Foss, who have added music examples where needed."