Why is Ludwig van Beethoven considered by many to be history's greatest composer? Noted 19th-Century Beethoven scholar Professor Ludwig Nohl reveals the answer in this special Sea Raven Press reprint of his classic Victorian biography, Life of Beethoven. In this brief but dense five-chapter volume, Nohl chronicles Beethoven's life story from birth to death, covering important details concerning both his personal life as a financially struggling bachelor and his professional life as a beloved composer and popular live performer. The emphasis, however, is on Beethoven's art, and to this end Nohl includes copious song lists with in-depth discussions of his musical works. Though Nohl's original 1881 edition was not illustrated, the 21st-Century editor, award-winning historian, author, and composer Lochlainn Seabrook, has corrected this oversight by adding nearly 50 newly captioned images and photos to the text. Along with this wonderful addition, Mr. Seabrook designed a new cover and reformatted the entire work in an attractive layout with easy-to-read fonts. Other Seabrook additions include an editor's introduction, dedication, and epigraph. As with all our reprints, not one word has been added to or subtracted from the original text, making this illustrated Sea Raven Press edition of Nohl's Life of Beethoven the only one of its kind. Available in paperback and hardcover.