THE STORY OF BEETHOVEN

A simple biography suitable for upper elementary grades follows Ludwig van Beethoven from boyhood in Ronn, though years of creative achievement to old age in a world of silence. Factual narration outlines significant friendships with Haydn and Mozart and suggests the unsatisfactory relationship he had with his father, a shiftless man intent on exploiting his son. Beethoven's tenderness toward his nephew caused him years of worry. There is an introduction here to the names of the master's best known works, with no involved interpretations to confuse young readers.