Cultural Graded Reader: Beethoven

In the Alternate German Series (Elementary) Book IV we follow the life of Ludwig van Beethoven, the man and artist. We read about the development of his genius as he broke free from the limitations imposed by conventional 18th century music to perfect his own characteristic style, through which he explores the farthest reaches of human emotions. We witness his heroic struggles against many cruel adversities and marvel at the courage and integrity through which he ultimately triumphed over them. Book IV introduces subjunctive, the complex attribute and the anticipatory da(r). Words whose meaning the student cannot be expected to infer from form and context are translated in the footnotes on first occurrence unless they were used in Books I-III. The exercises are designed to help the student express himself in simple German, increase his vocabulary and recognize basic syntactical constructions.