![]() ![]() The author is a practicing musician as well as a skilled biographer (his magnificent Charles Ives was deservedly a National Book Award finalist), and his work here is truly revelatory. ![]() ![]() Brahms himself played a roll in creating his own mystery by recalling and destroying letters and documents, leaving very little save for the main outlines of his life as well as a number of anecdotes his life and personality, however, has never received the kind of close attention that Swafford has lavished on it in this all-embracing book. Although he lived well into the era of photography and almost into that of recordings-providing any interested biographer with recent and tangible grist-his life has not been as thoroughly scrutinized as those of Beethoven and Mozart, for instance. His music has never ceased to be played and loved in the century since his death (a fact that would have much surprised the composer, who imagined he would quickly go out of fashion) nevertheless, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) has remained an elusive figure. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |