BEETHOVEN: THE UNIVERSAL COMPOSER: THE "EMINENT LIVES" SERIES

New York City, NY: Harpercollins Publishers, 2005. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Harpercollins Publishers, 2005. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 244 pages. The author's concise biography on subject. One of the best books on Ludwig Van Beethoven ever written in and for our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only, and as part of the indispensable "Eminent Lives" Series. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Edmund Morris' "Beethoven: The Universal Composer". That is, the very first composer in the history of Western civilization to compose with all of Mankind, with all of his fellow human beings, in mind. For layman and professional musician alike, this is one of the most engaging, moving, and simply brilliant books ever written on its monumental subject - and succinctly at that, not a word wasted. "Above all, a study of genius in action, of one of the few giants of Western culture" (Publisher's blurb). "His book is a perfect marriage - or should one say, duet - of subject and author, every word as masterly as the notes of the artist it illuminates" (Christopher Buckley). "This is not just criticism, but poetry in itself, with the additional, and inestimable, merit of being true" (Washington Post). An absolute "must-have" title for Ludwig Van Beethoven and Edmund Morris collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed, dated (in the month and year of publication), and inscribed in black ink-pen on the title page by the author: "With best wishes, Edmund Morris. Oct. 2005". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. The recipient, who is named, is personally known to the author and cannot be named here at their request. This copy comes with a lovely 4 X 6 inch Bookplate (that is neatly pasted on the front free endpaper), also very boldly and beautifully signed in black pen-marker by Jonas Kauffmann, the greatest tenor of our time, and a Beethoven specialist. This title is a contemporary classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed, publication-month dated, and inscribed copy (with Signed Bookplate) of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws (because they were avidly read) or are in multiple subsequent printings. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare double-signed copy thus. One of the finest writers of our time on the second greatest composer of all time. A fine collectible copy. . ISBN 0060759747.