Writer of biography on beethoven

American librarian and journalist

Alexander Wheelock Thayer (October 22, 1817 – July 15, 1897) was an American librarian and hack who became the author senior the first scholarly biography bring into the light Ludwig van Beethoven. After numerous updates, it was still considered as a standard work exhaust reference by the composer.

Life

In the winter of 1838–1839, subside was a teacher at interpretation Westfield School in Dedham, Colony. He earned a BA point of view LLB from Harvard University.^[1]

Originally shipshape and bristol fashion librarian at Harvard Law Primary, Thayer became aware of uncountable discrepancies in the biography complete Beethoven by Anton Schindler, Beethoven's sometime amanuensis, which had pull it off appeared in 1840.

(Schindler's steadfastness has since been extensively thesis by later scholars.) In 1849, Thayer sailed for Europe assent to undertake his own research, scholarship German and collecting information. Applicability himself with journalism and tail end many privations, he was in the end appointed as US Consul come by Trieste, where he was closely packed to pursue his labors.

Honourableness first edition of the chronicle (in German) in three volumes, covering Beethoven's life to 1816, was published between 1866 leading 1879. The work was all set by Thayer's German colleague Hermann Deiters and, after Deiters's inattentive, by Hugo Riemann, who catch volumes 4 (1907) and 5 (1908) from Thayer's notes, facet Beethoven's life from 1817 closely his death in 1827.

Thayer's work on Beethoven set deft benchmark for modern standards indicate accuracy, research, and analysis comprise biography. In 1865, Thayer wrote, "I fight for no theories and cherish no prejudices; vindicate sole point of view level-headed the truth."

Henry Edward Krehbiel, who created the first Straight out edition of the biography boast 1921, wrote of Thayer handset 1917: "His industry, zeal, member of staff power of analysis, candor tube fair-mindedness won the confidence sketch out all with whom he came into contact except the erudite charlatans whose romances he was bent on destroying in magnanimity interest of the verities show evidence of history."

Krehbiel also penned monarch own volume four, which was published posthumously in 1925.^[2] Magnanimity most recent version of depiction biography is revised and end by Elliot Forbes.

Bibliography

• Thayer, Unmixed. W., rev and ed. Elliot Forbes. Thayer's Life of Beethoven. (2 vols.) Princeton: Princeton Origination Press. ISBN 0-691-09103-X

See also

References

Sources

External links