Description
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was prominent not only as a composer but as a pianist, conductor, editor, scholar, collector, and friend of many notables. He was also, in private, an articulate critic, connoisseur of other arts, and traveler. In this enlightening book, the eminent Brahms scholar Michael Musgrave presents a comprehensive and original account of the composer's private and professional lives.
Drawing on an array of documentary materials, Musgrave weaves together diverse strands to illuminate Brahms's character and personality; his outlook as a composer; his attitudes toward other composers; his activities as pianist and conductor; his scholarly and cultural interests; his friendships with Robert and Clara Schumann and others; his social life and travel; and critical attitudes toward his music from his own time to the present.
The book quotes extensively from Brahms's own words and those of his circle. Musgrave mines the composer's letters, reminiscences of his contemporaries, early biographies, reviews, and commentary by friends, critics, and scholars to create an unparalleled source of information about Brahms. The author sets the materials in context, identifies sources in detail, includes a glossary of information on principal individuals, and notes recent research on the composer. This engaging biographical work, with a gallery of illustrations, will appeal to general music lovers as well as to scholars with a special interest in Brahms.
Reviews
"A lucid and comprehensive overview of Brahms documentation and scholarship." Hilary Finch, BBC Music Magazine "An all-encompassing book, which might have been called 'The' Brahms Reader." Publishers Weekly "Elegantly written and broad in scope. A richly drawn portrait of one of the most significant, but elusive, figures in the Western musical canon." John Daverio, Boston University "Musgrave has deftly assembled a wealth of information about the composer and has interpreted it all with sympathetic, authoritative insight. This volume immediately takes its place as an indispensable publication on Brahms." Walter Frisch, Columbia University "Unique and compellingly written." Richard Cormier, Tampa Tribune Times "For insight into Brahms and the nineteenth-century world, one can do no better than to read this well-crafted book." Choice
Book Information
ISBN 9780300091991
Author Michael Musgrave
Format Paperback
Page Count 402
Imprint Yale University Press
Publisher Yale University Press
Weight(grams) 558g
Drawing on an array of documentary materials, Musgrave weaves together diverse strands to illuminate Brahms's character and personality; his outlook as a composer; his attitudes toward other composers; his activities as pianist and conductor; his scholarly and cultural interests; his friendships with Robert and Clara Schumann and others; his social life and travel; and critical attitudes toward his music from his own time to the present.
The book quotes extensively from Brahms's own words and those of his circle. Musgrave mines the composer's letters, reminiscences of his contemporaries, early biographies, reviews, and commentary by friends, critics, and scholars to create an unparalleled source of information about Brahms. The author sets the materials in context, identifies sources in detail, includes a glossary of information on principal individuals, and notes recent research on the composer. This engaging biographical work, with a gallery of illustrations, will appeal to general music lovers as well as to scholars with a special interest in Brahms.
Reviews
"A lucid and comprehensive overview of Brahms documentation and scholarship." Hilary Finch, BBC Music Magazine "An all-encompassing book, which might have been called 'The' Brahms Reader." Publishers Weekly "Elegantly written and broad in scope. A richly drawn portrait of one of the most significant, but elusive, figures in the Western musical canon." John Daverio, Boston University "Musgrave has deftly assembled a wealth of information about the composer and has interpreted it all with sympathetic, authoritative insight. This volume immediately takes its place as an indispensable publication on Brahms." Walter Frisch, Columbia University "Unique and compellingly written." Richard Cormier, Tampa Tribune Times "For insight into Brahms and the nineteenth-century world, one can do no better than to read this well-crafted book." Choice
Book Information
ISBN 9780300091991
Author Michael Musgrave
Format Paperback
Page Count 402
Imprint Yale University Press
Publisher Yale University Press
Weight(grams) 558g
