Camille Saint-Saens: A Life - Couverture rigide

Rees, B

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1856197735 ISBN 13 : 9781856197731

Editeur : Chatto & Windus, 1999

Synopsis

Saint Saens has been variously described as 'The childhood of Mozart, the old-ag of Titan' and 'as gifted as Voltaire with unexpectedness and diversity. ' Saint Seans was the greatest among the many great organists of 19th century France, and composer of the witty zoology, THE CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS (including 'The Swan'), as well as DANSE MACABRE and the opera SAMSON AND DELILAH. Numbered among his best-loved works are his famous organ concerto, second piano concerto and first cello concerto, as well as his 'romances' for violin and cello. He supposrted both Faure and Debussy, and championed innovations in symphonic and chamber music. He introduced the symphonic poem, and was one of the first to blend folk-song from rural France and music from the Arab world into the classical tradition. He lived in colourful times and his private life was combative, tragic and surrounded by rumour.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Camille Saint-Saëns began as a child prodigy and was acclaimed in his lifetime as the incarnation of French genius. His was one of the longest careers in musical history, stretching from the traditions of Beethoven to the innovations of the twentieth century, including one of the earliest film scores. As a virtuoso pianist he achieved international fame, while Liszt proclaimed him the world's greatest organist. A prolific composer, there is much more to him than his best-known work, the witty Carnival of the Animals, of which he forbade performances in his lifetime. Among his most notable achievements are the opera Samson et Delila and the Organ Symphony, while the Danse Macabre, second piano concerto and first cello concerto remain much loved. As a young man, he supported the 'new music' of Liszt, Wagner and Berlioz and introduced the symphonic poem into French music. He championed an up-and-coming generation of French composers, most notably Fauré, and played a unique part in transforming French taste from grand opera and operetta to the classical forms of symphony and chamber music, at the same time reviving interest in the music of Bach and Rameau. His personal life was combative, tragic and surrounded by rumour: as a boy during the Revolution of 1848, serving as a National Guard in the war of 1870, and eventually becoming something of an icon of the Third Republic, used in diplomacy as a symbol of French culture. This fascinating book (Chatto & Windus 1999) places his long and controversial career in a turbulent period when music, no less than politics, was undergoing sensational and often stormy change.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Chatto & Windus
• Date d'édition: 1999
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1856197735
• ISBN 13: 9781856197731
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 496
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible