Talks with great composers / by Arthur M. Abell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Abell, Arthur M., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Composers--Interviews.

Composers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (167 pages)

Place of Publication:

[Place of publication not identified] : Pickle Partners Publishing, 2016.

Summary:

Who does not ponder what inspires creativity? Why does one person excel as a doctor, another as an artist, and yet a third as a composer? Why do some fortunate people seem overly endowed with an abundance of creativity--this most precious of gifts--and others with little or none at all? Can creative inspiration be nurtured slowly and, suddenly, spring forth to mesmerize and enchant the world? In the words of Emanuel Ax, we are given "fascinating glimpses into the innermost thoughts of some of our greatest composers" in this series of intimate and deeply felt conversations between Arthur Abell and Brahms, Puccini, Strauss, Humperdinck, Bruch, and Grieg. And through these revelations, one can understand with greater clarity the essence of genius. In its entirety, the book is a paean to both the musical world and to those few who achieved greatness during the latter part of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century. We cannot fail to be deeply impressed by the intense outpouring of emotion demanded by great creative endeavor. And here, nothing is spared. We are privy to the highs and lows--the great triumphs and the wrenching failures. Talks with Great Composers brings to life the thoughts, fears, self-doubt, inherent religiosity, and the unparalleled joys that, by the end of the book, we come to appreciate must accompany all of life's greatest challenges and accomplishments.

Contents:

Intro

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FOREWORD

A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

CHAPTER I.

Brahms and Joachim Discuss Inspiration

Brahms Takes Beethoven As His Guide

How Brahms Contacted God

Brahms Takes Mozart as a Model

Brahms and the Invocation of the Muse

The Religious But Unorthodox Brahms

Brahms Quotes Matthew 7:7

How Laotze Appropriated Divinity

CHAPTER II.

Brahms and Jesus' Miracles

Daniel Home Walks in the Air

Daniel Home Demonstrates His Powers in Paris

Blind Tom and Zerah Colburn

CHAPTER III.

Brahms' Opinion of Atheism

Brahms' Fascination with Tennyson's Concept of Creation

Tennyson Discusses Creation with Darwin

Brahms' Veneration for Tennyson's Views on the Immortal Soul

CHAPTER IV.

Brahms' Interest in My Home Town

Queen Victoria and Sitting Bull

Brahms, Tartini and the Devil

Brahms' Reverence for Shakespeare and Milton

CHAPTER V.

Why Brahms Believed in Immortality

Brahms' and Milton's Invocation of the Muse

Brahms Stresses the Importance of Seclusion

CHAPTER VI.

The Barren Efforts of Most Composers

Brahms Berates Spohr's Shortsightedness

Brahms' Definition of Genius

Brahms' Visions When In An Exalted Mood

Brahms, Williamowitch and the Thief on the Cross

Brahms Binds Me To Secrecy for Fifty Years

CHAPTER VII.

Joachim's Reaction to Brahms' Revelations

Joachim Analyzes Brahms' Detractors

A Look at Some of Brahms' Biographies

CHAPTER VIII.

Weimar and Richard Strauss in 1890

With Strauss in His Own Home

Strauss Discusses the Source of His Inspiration

I Hear Strauss Conduct Tannhaeuser

Weimar As A Cultural Center in the 1890s

I Meet The First Elsa and Telramund

Woman of Character

Composer's Thanks

Historic Occasion

CHAPTER IX.

Richard Strauss Tells of Alexander Ritter

Strauss Takes Exception to Emerson

Lassen's Reaction to DON JUAN

I Hear Strauss' First Opera GUNTRAM

When Strauss was Composing Salome

CHAPTER X.

The ROSENKAVALIER Premier at Dresden

The ARIADNE Premiere at Stuttgart

Strauss' Declining Years

CHAPTER XI.

I Meet The Composer of BOHEME, TOSCA and BUTTERFLY

The Great Fiasco of MADAM BUTTERFLY Premiere

Puccini Tells How He Appropriated Divinity

Puccini's Setting of LA BOHEME

CHAPTER XII.

Torre del Lago and the Maestro

How Puccini Composed LA BOHEME

Puccini's Glowing Tribute to Toscanini

Music and Libretto at Strife

Puccini Stresses Sadness in the Major Key

CHAPTER XIII.

A Fundamental Italian Characteristic

Puccini Tells How He Composed TOSCA

How The Play BUTTERFLY Fascinated Puccini

CHAPTER XIV.

Humperdinck Tells How Richard Wagner Composed

Wagner Takes His Cue from Shakespeare

Humperdinck Belittles Himself as a Composer

CHAPTER XV.

Max Bruch and His G Minor Violin Concerto

Max Bruch Discusses Inspiration

Bruch's Estimate of Brahms

Max Bruch in His Old Age

CHAPTER XVI.-Edvard Grieg and His Norse Idioms

Ole Bull Frees Grieg from Niels Gade's Influence

Jadassohn's Pupils Play a Joke on Him

CHAPTER XVII.

Jadassohn Criticizes Grieg's Methods

Grieg's Response to Jadassohn's Criticism

Grieg's Reaction to Brahms' Views

Grieg's Impressions of Ole Bull's Playing

Grieg Quotes Longfellow's Tribute to Ole Bull

Grieg Refuses a Fee of 25,000 for a Single Concert.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-78625-836-6