Description
Book SynopsisHans Keller's text and Milein Cosman's vibrant illustrations combine to produce a unique and enlightening book on Stravinsky.Stravinsky the Music-Maker is the third incarnation of a book that has been greeted with superlatives on each previous appearance. Hans Keller and Milein Cosman collaborated down the decades of their married life, Keller'spen analysing music, Cosman's catching its makers at work. Stravinsky was a source of fascination for them both, and their
Stravinsky at Rehearsal appeared in 1962, to be expanded, two decades later, as
Stravinsky Seen and Heard. Stravinsky the Music-Maker offers the most generous compilation of their work yet: it includes Keller's complete articles on Stravinsky, written between 1954 and 1980, and augments Cosman's celebrated prints and drawings with a number not previously published. The introduction, by the composer Hugh Wood, sites the Keller-Cosman partnership in the framework of the British musical life they enriched.HANS KELLER (1919-85) fled Austria in1938 and became a commanding critical voice in British music journalism and on the BBC from the end of the war until his death. He is the author of numerous books, many illustrated by his wife Milein Cosman, including
Criticism (Faber),
The Great Haydn String Quartets (Dent), Essays on Music (CUP),
Jerusalem Diary, Film Music and Beyond and
Music and Psychology (all Plumbago). A critic of insight and integrity throughout his life, he remains a powerful influence to this day.
Trade ReviewOne writer and musicologist who embarked upon a deep study of the essence of Stravinsky, was the great Hans Keller - a Viennese intellectual who became a cultural Svengali at the BBC in the 1960s [...] This extremely well-produced, well-organised book [is] a fitting tribute, both to the critic and his composing hero. [...] what undoubtedly 'lightens the load' of this Stravinsky treasury, are the many curious and engaging illustrations from the pen of Keller's wife, the artist Milein Cosman. [...] Cosman's work provides the ideal epilogue to this survey of a great man's life. * QUARTERLY REVIEW *
Now there is more than ever to provide insight into the variety, profundity, breadth and genius... of Stravinsky's work. It's meticulously-produced, well-indexed, closely annotated and referenced. ... [a] useful and recommendable book which you should certainly consider adding to your collection if you are interested in Stravinsky's work at all. * CLASSICAL.NET *
