Description
An expert and informative appraisal of all of Elgar's works - from his juvenilia to the unfinished 3rd symphony - by the author of the acclaimed Gerald Finzi. The new Diana McVeagh book on Elgar is first-rate, wrote Gerald Finzi of her earlier study of the composer, published in 1955. In the completely new Elgar the Music Maker she harvests five decades of thoughts about his music, scrutinizing the biographical details that have since been discovered and using them to assess the ways in which they affect the compositions. Diana McVeagh explores Elgar's complex personality and his compositional methods, his style and his relationship to his contemporaries, yet it is the music - still played, recorded, loved and discussed as much as ever- that remains her prime focus. Each of Elgar's works is discussed, balancing information and appraisal, from his juvenilia to his unfinished Third Symphony. Diana McVeagh provides a compelling and accessible companion to the music of one of England's greatest composers. Musicians, scholars and CD collectors alikewill find much to enjoy in Elgar the Music Maker. Diana McVeagh is the author of the highly acclaimed Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music [2005]; of the entries on Elgar and Finzi for The New Grove Dictionaryof Music and Musicians [1980, 2001]; and of the Finzi entry in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography [2004].
About the Author
DIANA MCVEAGH is a Vice-President of the Elgar Society. Her interests range from Josquin to Birtwistle, but she writes mostly about English Romantics. She is the author of Elgar: His Life and Music (Dent, 1955), and the highly acclaimed Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music (Boydell, 2005 and 2010), and Elgar: The Music Maker (Boydell, 2007). She has contributed to the New Grove (1980, 2001) and the Dictionary of National Biography.
Reviews
Deserves to be read widely, and we should be grateful to Diana McVeagh for producing an immensely readable and always wise handbook to Elgar's oeuvre. * MUSIC & LETTERS *
The analysis...is observation, discovery of what this music is. You're led to it by feeling, and back to feeling it returns. That is the essential way of good music criticism, and this book is full of it. -- John Steane * GRAMOPHONE *
In associating events of the times with almost all of Elgar's works, McVeagh wears her encyclopedic knowledge lightly: her prose is clean, charming, and clever, and her forays into theory/musicology are brief and to the point...A congenial companion for those who know little about Elgar; a worthy quick read for the knowledgeable. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *
McVeagh's critical method intertwines description and comment, and it serves her, and the reader, well. -- Julian Rushton * ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL *
McVeagh's book, the concentrated essence of a lifetime's care for his music, has much to tell us about even the most familiar scores. -- John Warrack * INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW *
McVeagh is also able to make it clear how much she loves and admires the music without making any extravagant claims on its behalf. It's hard to imagine a more sane approach...the insights...keep coming. -- Stephen Johnson * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *
Effortlessly readable, fresh prose. Almost every page has some gem of illumination...An essential listener's companion. -- Julian Haylock * CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE *
Diana McVeagh has produced another gem of a book...a hawk's eye view of Elgar, the subject matter richly distilled...its arrival cheered me immensely in the midst of what has been a rather bleak 150th anniversary year. -- Richard Osborne * THE OLDIE *
McVeagh is indeed an intelligent guide here: her writing is both informed and immaculate. * BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY NEWS *
One thoroughly good result of this Elgar year...This is neither a biography nor a technical analysis, but McVeagh has hit on the perfect way of combining the best features of both...There is no superimposition of alien theories or of special interests, and there are no perverse reinterpretations. The last few pages deal with Elgar's posterity and end with a beautifully balanced study of Elgar's personality. * TLS [Hugh Wood] *
This little book is solid gold. * NABMSA Newsletter *
Awards
Commended for IndieFab awards (Music) 2007.
Book Information
ISBN 9781843832959
Author Diana McVeagh
Format Hardback
Page Count 264
Imprint The Boydell Press
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
About the Author
DIANA MCVEAGH is a Vice-President of the Elgar Society. Her interests range from Josquin to Birtwistle, but she writes mostly about English Romantics. She is the author of Elgar: His Life and Music (Dent, 1955), and the highly acclaimed Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music (Boydell, 2005 and 2010), and Elgar: The Music Maker (Boydell, 2007). She has contributed to the New Grove (1980, 2001) and the Dictionary of National Biography.
Reviews
Deserves to be read widely, and we should be grateful to Diana McVeagh for producing an immensely readable and always wise handbook to Elgar's oeuvre. * MUSIC & LETTERS *
The analysis...is observation, discovery of what this music is. You're led to it by feeling, and back to feeling it returns. That is the essential way of good music criticism, and this book is full of it. -- John Steane * GRAMOPHONE *
In associating events of the times with almost all of Elgar's works, McVeagh wears her encyclopedic knowledge lightly: her prose is clean, charming, and clever, and her forays into theory/musicology are brief and to the point...A congenial companion for those who know little about Elgar; a worthy quick read for the knowledgeable. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *
McVeagh's critical method intertwines description and comment, and it serves her, and the reader, well. -- Julian Rushton * ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL *
McVeagh's book, the concentrated essence of a lifetime's care for his music, has much to tell us about even the most familiar scores. -- John Warrack * INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW *
McVeagh is also able to make it clear how much she loves and admires the music without making any extravagant claims on its behalf. It's hard to imagine a more sane approach...the insights...keep coming. -- Stephen Johnson * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *
Effortlessly readable, fresh prose. Almost every page has some gem of illumination...An essential listener's companion. -- Julian Haylock * CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE *
Diana McVeagh has produced another gem of a book...a hawk's eye view of Elgar, the subject matter richly distilled...its arrival cheered me immensely in the midst of what has been a rather bleak 150th anniversary year. -- Richard Osborne * THE OLDIE *
McVeagh is indeed an intelligent guide here: her writing is both informed and immaculate. * BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY NEWS *
One thoroughly good result of this Elgar year...This is neither a biography nor a technical analysis, but McVeagh has hit on the perfect way of combining the best features of both...There is no superimposition of alien theories or of special interests, and there are no perverse reinterpretations. The last few pages deal with Elgar's posterity and end with a beautifully balanced study of Elgar's personality. * TLS [Hugh Wood] *
This little book is solid gold. * NABMSA Newsletter *
Awards
Commended for IndieFab awards (Music) 2007.
Book Information
ISBN 9781843832959
Author Diana McVeagh
Format Hardback
Page Count 264
Imprint The Boydell Press
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
