Ludwig Van Beethoven

These first two books in the Composer's World series--intended to ``illuminate the lives and times of the world's greatest composers''--are handsome and inviting volumes. Each is profusely illustrated with full-color drawings and paintings of the composers, their peers and scenes from their lives and greatest works; each contains sections of the scores of some of their best-known compositions. The texts, however, are dense in some spots and sketchy in others. The glossaries of musical terms do not define unfamiliar (to nonmusicians) words such as ``fugue'' and ``polonaise.'' A ``List of Works''--actually a sort of tally (i.e., ``Sacred Music Mozart: 17 Masses; 1 Requiem (unfinished) . . . '')--is also included in each book, but indices and bibliographies, which could be useful, are not. Although these volumes are pleasant to leaf through, they will probably be most appreciated by young readers with some previous knowledge of both the composers and their music. Ages 12-up. (Feb.)