{"product_id":"discovering-berlioz-9780907689584","title":"Discovering Berlioz","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe writings of David Cairns have played a major part in the relatively recent acceptance of Berlioz as a central figure in western classical music. \u003ci\u003eDiscovering Berlioz\u003c\/i\u003e collects articles, lectures and other texts from several decades of advocacy,  throwing new light on this outsize personality - the Romantic composer \u003ci\u003epar excellence\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003eFor the past half-century and more David Cairns has been one of the world's pre-eminent Berlioz scholars, translating Berlioz's freewheeling memoirs and writing a monumental biography of the composer that earned a procession of awards. But many of Cairns' writings on Berlioz were intended for particular audiences - the \u003ci\u003eBerlioz Society Bulletin\u003c\/i\u003e, articles in books and journals, contributions to newspapers (he was a critic for \u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e for 25 years) and lectures - and have never been collected between a single set of covers. \u003ci\u003eDiscovering Berlioz\u003c\/i\u003e presents nearly 40 essays from the past five decades that even now throw unexpected light on this most quixotic and profound of composers - firebrand and philosopher almost in the same breath.  These articles follow the chronology of Berlioz's life, examining the influences of his provincial childhood on his music, the revelations of Virgil, Gluck, Shakespeare and Beethoven, the tribulations of his professional life in Paris, when the pressure to earn a living as a reviewer and writer robbed him of the time he should have spent on composition, and finally focusing on the  masterpiece that crowned Berlioz's difficult life, the operatic epic \u003ci\u003eLes Troyens. Discovering Berlioz\u003c\/i\u003e also charts the history of Berlioz reception: the composer who in the mid-twentieth century was regarded as aneccentric outsider is now seen as one of the most vital figures in the history of western music - a re-assessment for which David Cairns himself deserves much of the credit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInterest and diversity are maintained throughout...crammed full of useful, relevant and readable insights. For readers both familiar and unfamiliar with the biographical and musical material that occupy Cairns's first three Berlioz volumes, not to mention complete beginners with this composer, this should be an essential purchase. * GRAMOPHONE *\u003cbr\u003eFull of reminiscences, rich in appreciation of the great Berlioz conductors and scholars of the past and present, Cairns's book is a goldmine of analysis and memories. * MUSICAL OPINION *","brand":"Toccata Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49406515413335,"sku":"9780907689584","price":35.55,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780907689584.jpg?v=1730496112","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/discovering-berlioz-9780907689584","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}