Being a great fan of Beethoven's ninth, vaguely able to read a musical score, and slightly silly, I bought a copy when browsing a music bookshop. It's fascinating to read along while listening, and gives some small level of insight into the music behind the wonderful sound. Reading along, all the carefully placed little black dots coalescing to produce the noise you hear, is pretty breathtaking, and it's more than a little unsettling to think how Beethoven managed it all. Clever bloke.
Posted 2005-09-26.