Dallas, TX Author Publishes Biography

"Beethoven's Immortal Beloved", a new book by Stefan Romano, has been released by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.

The day after Beethoven's death on March 26, 1827, a significant discovery was made. Among his will and two miniature portraits of two young women, his friends found a ten-page letter dated 'July 6 in the morning.' This letter, which began with the captivating words 'My angel, my all, myself,' contained no address or name of the addressee. However, it did include the now famous 'My Immortal Beloved' hyperbole, filled with passionate declarations of love. The letter was signed, 'L., forever yours, forever mine, forever us.' This discovery marked the birth of a biographical mystery that has captivated the artistic canon of the Western World, second only in allure to the identity of the person signing as William Shakespeare.

Two hundred years later, biographers still have not reached a consensus on the mystery. Of the many candidates advanced in the meantime, only a few have survived in biographical literature. Stefan Romanó's book brings the controversy to a close. It clarifies the existing evidence that has often been muddled and, at times, reached the absurd during almost two centuries of scholarly speculations. He also adds some new insights into the analysis of the evidence, thus making it easier for readers to draw their conclusions, hopefully not different from his, namely that only one of the candidates proposed so far fits the evidence. He also provides a substantially modified scenario from the one advanced by her proponents.

Stefan Romanó, born in Romania during WWII and immigrated to the U.S.A. in 1989, is not a musician or a musicologist. He is an engineer by formation, a man of exactitude and clear and logical thinking. These qualities have served him well in his role as an amateur Beethoven scholar. As a long-time member of the American Beethoven Society and its French counterpart, Association Beethoven France et Francophonie, he has published in their professional journals, contributing significantly to our understanding of Beethoven's life and creation. His 'Ending the Fifth' article answered a question that had puzzled musicians, scholars, and music lovers for two hundred years: why does Beethoven's Fifth Symphony end with that seemingly endless series of C major chords? When he realized that all the proposed solutions to the mystery of Beethoven's Immortal Beloved relied on wild speculation and sometimes even falsifying the existing evidence, he took up the pen to set the record straight.


"Beethoven's Immortal Beloved" is a 374-page paperback with a retail price of $25.00 (eBook $20.00). The ISBN is 979-8-89211-895-8. It was published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For members of the press, to request a review copy or author interview, please visit https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/pages/media-requests or to buy the book, visit our online bookstore at https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/products/beethovens-immortal-beloved-the-true-story-according-to-the-evidence