Shortly after Beethoven’s death no-one could foresee how much biographical material would later circulate about him. Klaus Martin Kopitz spent almost ten years collecting the numerous records by Beethoven’s contemporaries, which were partly published separately over the course of two centuries. He presents them to the reader with state-of-the-art text analysis and scholarly criticism. Some of the prominent contemporaries include Bettina v. Arnim, Muzio Clementi, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Franz Grillparzer, Nikolaus Lenau, Franz Liszt and Ludwig Tieck. In addition to some well-known sources, there are also some almost unknown and up-to-now rather remote ones. Beethoven’s life span is thus reflected comprehensively. A chronology of sources as well as an index of their provenance, works and planned works and names of people round off this double volume. In its scope this edition far exceeds previous collections of its kind. Even Beethoven enthusiasts will come across many surprising facts.