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by: Hector Berlioz Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Dewey Decimal Number: 780.92 EAN: 9780486215631 Edition: New edition ISBN: 0486215636 Label: Dover Publications Manufacturer: Dover Publications Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 547 Publication Date: June 01, 1966 Publisher: Dover Publications Studio: Dover Publications Related Items:
Editorial Review: Product Description: Self-revelations of tormented great composer; musical life in Paris, Wagner and other contemporaries, musical opinions, much more. 11 plates. Average Rating:
Rating:  - One of my favorite booksAs soon as I first started reading this book I knew it was one of my favorites. Berlioz has a very engaging style that brings you into his head. The details of his journeys, and trials, really draw you in. This is one of the few books that can bring out the full range of emotions in me. The ongoing feud with Cherubini is hilarious while his reflections on the loss of his family is very moving. The only negative about this book is the insertion of the letters from Germany in the middle of the book. It really disrupts the flow of the narrative. It does have some interesting things though. The book flows better if you skim over that part. Rating:  - FantasticThis is a rare, surprisingly lucid, firsthand account of the life of one of the most influential and innovative composers in history. Descriptions of contemporaries, the artist's balance of art/business, and the intimate history of specific works (Fantastique, Harold, Faust, Les Troyens, etc) are valuable to those interested in classical music and period history. Rating: - Why Not Go Directly To The Source?The inimitable Hector Berlioz was a prolific writer (perhaps he missed his true calling). His memoirs are an irresistible and captivating read, giving us an all too brief window into his life-long struggles, both personally and professionally. Cairns did a bang-up job at translation (no real complaints here) and the Everyman's edition is splendidly printed. Rating: - The Importance Of Being Hector: First Thoughts.Anyone familiar with the works of Oscar Wilde will of course know where the "take-off" above comes from. And how trenchantly - even scathingly - funny that particular work is, even to the point where some folks have fun citing extended passages at will, out loud, just for the "yuks" it contains. Well, add "The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz" to that short list. I am now barely 100 pages into this screamer, after having recently concluded reading the magisterial and sympathetic two-volume biography of Berlioz by David Cairns (who also provides the perfect translation of these Memoirs). Frankly, I wasn't sure that I could handle "yet more Berlioz" so soon after finishing the Cairns volumes ... Read More Rating: - Excellent - but not the best translationThe other reviews pretty much sum up the qualities of Berlioz's writing. Like others, I find is prose more inviting than his music. Immensely candid, entertaining and wonderfully written, it would be a great shame if only musicians were to read it - it's enjoyable on so many levels. The only reason I decided to write this was to urge anyone thinking of buying it to get hold of David Cairns' more modern translation. It reads far more fluently and somehow seems to get inside Berlioz's character in a way that the older translation doesn't. It also has among the appendices a valuable dissection of the contentious points and parts where Berlioz was economical with the truth. Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display |
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Books:
Dover Publications Memoirs of Hector Berlioz : From 1803 to 1865, Comprising His Travels in Germany, Italy, Russia, and England