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From: greg@olivee.UUCP (Greg Paley)
Newsgroups: net.music.classical
Subject: Re: Suitable subject matter (musical biographies)
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Date: Mon, 26-Aug-85 13:37:08 EDT
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Posted: Mon Aug 26 13:37:08 1985
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The musical biographies that I find I most enjoy reading have to satisfy the
following requirements:

	(1) Provide some insight into the artistic process of its subject
		beyond what I could derive myself from listening to the
		music.

	(2) Supply factual information as to dates, people and places
		relevant to the musician's life.  I am, however, wary
		of a writer's claims about who influenced whom, or those
		who construct a theory about a particular artist 
		(especially those who want to group artists into 
		particular "classes" or "schools") and selectively edit
		the known facts about the actual incidents in their subject's
		life so as to fit that theory.

	(3) Be well written enough that the biography could be enjoyable
		as a work of prose apart from the inherent interest its
		subject matter would arouse.  These are, granted, hard
		to find.

For clarity, wit, insight, and an enlivening style of writing, one of
my favorite writers is W.J. Turner.  Unfortunately, most of his works
are out of print.  If you can find them in a library, I recommend his
books on Berlioz, Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner (don't be put off by
the miniscule length of the latter, it's a gem).

Other books that I've found outstanding in this regard have been
J.W.Sullivan's book on Beethoven and Frank Walker's biography of
Hugo Wolf.

I enjoy reading all of the critical writings of George Bernhard Shaw.
Even those dealing with performances of music that doesn't particularly
interest me by performer's I've never heard of (such as his report
on his first hearing of Boito's "Mefistofele") I find worthwhile because
of the sense of humor, marvelous descriptive ability, and the general
mental process involved in drawing conclusions.

Aside from the Turner book on Berlioz, there is his own autobiography.
Unfortunately, I know of no good translation.  I find those of Newman
and Cairns inadequate at depicting the virile, bracing quality of
Berlioz's use of the French language.  If you have any degree of reading
knowledge of French, by all means try to find a copy of the original.

I highly recommend Harvey Sach's biography of Toscanini - a very welcome
antidote to the muck churned out by George Marek, the dubious "insights"
of Chotzinoff and others.  Also fascinating are B.H.Haggin's "Conversations
with Toscanini" and, especially, "The Toscanini Musician's Knew" - a
collection of remarkable interviews with instrumentalists and singers who
had worked directly with Toscanini over varying lengths of time.

	- Greg Paley