Adorno is one of the most important social thinkers and philosophers of the twentieth century. He was one of the leading figures of the Frankfurt School.

This book offers a highly innovative insight into Beethoven's music, linking it to broader questions of philosophy, aesthetics, and social theory.

Brings together all of Beethoven's music in relation to the society in which he lived.

Adorno follows the gradual disintegration of unity in the classical music of Beethoven and his contemporaries and links it with the rationality and monopolistic nature of modern society.