Sunday Morning in the Church of Beethoven

For this week's edition, I will report the good news that Kerry Candaele's terrific Following the Ninth doc (see below) is virtually done and should be released next spring.   Our book, out in print and  e-book editions (for Kindle, iPad etc. and the Nook):   Journeys With Beethoven: Following the Ninth, and Beyond.  This was a dream project for me, as some may know from my Beethoven posts here, at The Nation, at Huff Post  and on Twitter. 

Kerry's  documentary (see trailer below) follows the Ninth Symphony and it's cultural and political influence around the world today.  So the book takes us from Chile to China and Japan, plus a stop in London for a full chapter with Billy Bragg, and then back in the USA.   In the "Beyond" section of the book I explore my own obsessive "travels" with Ludwig, as a longtime rock 'n roller, in recent years, via concerts and movies and CDs -- but also through new "Beethoven delivery systems" (YouTube, web forums, Twitter, etc.)  I also interview at length pianist Jeremy Denk, who wrote a terrific piece for this week's New Yorker. 

Those who know me from my infamous Crawdaddy and Springsteen days might be a bit...surprised?  Maybe it's now, "Roll Over, Chuck Berry."  In any case, it's a totally unique book on Beethoven--a Beethoven for our time, at last.