My Favorite Intermissions: Lives of the Musical Greats and Other Facts You Never Knew You Were Missing

by Victor Borge

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Genres: Music, Humor, Nonfiction, Comedy, History, Biography

189 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Victor Borge, born Børge Rosenbaum, was a Danish comedian, conductor and pianist, affectionately known as The Clown Prince of Denmark, The Unmelancholy Dane,and The Great Dane.

Reviews

[Delicia Haines Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. Victor Borge is amazing. You don't even lose his voice in the book (which I was afraid would happen), mostly due to his hilarious footnotes. Very worth reading, even if he isn't your hero.

[Mynameisandycostello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy god! What an outstanding book! Every page is filled with hilarity, ranging from the lewd to the most subtle irony. It gives you short, compact, fact-based biographies on each composer that has prospered in the opera tradition.

Each composer is represented by the comical actions in his lifetime, and with this approach, Borge still managed to paint a nice overview. Like most good comedy, there is a hint of truth in his jokes. For example, he did a great job in painting Wagner fairly, while still hinting to what an ass he was, and laughing all the while.

I am so happy that Borge put his wonderful spirit for classical music on to the printed page! (He writes jokes the same way he tells them) This is the musicology of the future!! Something that people, both musical and non-musical can actually read and enjoy! There is something so fresh about scholarly content presented in a non-scholarly voice.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victor Borge's on-stage brilliance and wit translate surprisingly well into this format. You can almost hear him saying some of the funnier lines in the book (particularly the extra snarky footnotes). Highly recommend to anyone interested in music or Victor Borge (or both). It's a fun read that can be finished in one quick sitting or doled out one composer at a time. (And though the title doesn't indicate this, it has a decided focus on opera and operetta. But don't let that scare you away if opera/operetta isn't your favorite.)

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for fans of the late, wonderfully talented Victor Borge. His distinctive Scandinavian accented voice leaps out from every page, and one can imagine oneself in the front row of the audience. I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to reading "My Favorite Comedies in Music" and his autobiography.

[Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and I learned a lot! Victor Borge is always amusing and here he shows extensive musical knowledge in the field of opera and operetta mainly, with the sort of fascinating quirky facts that I like to use to keep the interest of young instrumentalists. Worth a place on my music book shelf.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just re read this one, and I think it is getting more brilliant, the older I get and the more I've seen and heard in life. Because I seem to understand Victor Borge's subtle humor and irony the longer the better...

[Matthew Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend Ethel lent me this book, and I didn't know what to expect. I wasn't familiar with Victor Borge going into this and opera wasn't a subject that particularly interested me.

I'm glad I did read it. There wasn't a sentence in this book that wasn't hilarious. It's a light read full of humorous and irreverent stories about the great opera composers of history, and it's chock-full of puns and double-entendre. Not only do I plan on reading his second book, but also I want to watch some of the operas he mentioned.

[Karl Muller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just fun. It helps if you're a fan of Borge's shtick, as this is a good portion of that, without the visual comedy and piano playing. He tells stories (I presume they're true) about the great composers - they were real people, and not always the towering figures we think of them as. Full of bad jokes and puns, it's... well, it's Borge. Watch his clips online and you'll get a good sense of what you're in for. It's a quick read, and will arm you with little factoids you can pull out at parties (hey, I don't judge what kind of parties you go to).

[Hobbitviolinist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful stories as only Victor Borge could tell them. Very much wish that the stories were able to be verified though. A fifth star would have been given for that!

[Charlotte Gunther · Rating 4 out of 5]

very funny -- as you would expect

[Irish Gal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious!

[Jason Presley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun and I know almost nothing about opera, composers or classical music.

[Roger Custer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Victor Borge and opera, this is the book for you! However the types of jokes wear off after a while so I give it 4 stars

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lately I have been reading a rather large and serious work on 14th Century Europe and at times I have wondered how much I really wanted to continue with this. My salvation has been finding this gem by Victor Borga to read on the sidelines. It provides such a light counterpoint to the other book that completing the more ponderous book now seems possible. So you can understand why I might seem overly enthusiastic for this little book. What Mr Borga does so delightfully is to take the wacky moments from classical music history and give them his own wacky spin. By the way, those of you who find footnotes too burdensome to read will be missing half the fun. While nearly every chapter prompted laugh out loud moments, the chapter on Verdi was, in my experience, the pinnacle of hilarity. I'll grant that this may only be the case because it was an unusually rough day in the 14 century for me.

[Joy H.]

Added 12/24/12

Recommended by Arnie of my GR group. Arnie wrote the following at my group on 12/24/12: "Also, for comic relief, Victor Borge's 'My favorite Comedies in Music'---Borge gives hilarious accounts of the lives of the great composers and musicians---if you like Dave Barry, or Richard Armour, you'll love this---he also has a second equally funny book, 'My favorite Intermissions in Music..'"

[Bernice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phillip's review of this great little book was right on and he's right, you do not want to skip the footnotes. Be sure to insert them in your reading where they belong or they may not make sense. I did miss the author's personal delivery. I wish he'd left us a few more books to remind us of his unique and light humor.

[Trine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very funny telling of a lot of unknown facts about music and composers. You can almost hear Victor Borge standing on the stage and dryly give all these hilarious remarks. My only complaint is that it gets monotonous. This book is best in small doses.

[Austin Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Specifically about opera composers, which I didn't find clear from the title.

So great! Pokes fun at composers in a light way- oddly sanitized for the truly horrible ones. Good natured and enjoyable to read - actually makes it easy to follow connections between composers, places and movements.

[Andrew Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the more ridiculous things I've ever read. Apparently all the facts and stories in this are true, but some are extremely far fetched. Victor Borge's humor comes through, but probably not a good read if you are not interested in music history

[Brenda Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so worried I would lose his hilarity and voice in this book. No way. Hilarious footnotes and now my sides hurt. He investigates and disseminates every act, with pure comedic rhetoric. I will have dinner with him, in my dreams, someday.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting tidbits about familiar composers. Not greatly impressed with the writing style, but all in all an easy enjoyable read.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very humorous. A little too much innuendo.

[David Loftus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming, eye-opening, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. I read the Hector Berlioz chapter aloud in its entirety at my "Story Time for Grownups" on March 18, 2013, and got a lot of laughs.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful romp through opera history. Victor Borge is brilliant!

[David Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an entertaining read. Borge tells many stories about famous conductors' lives in a way that's engaging and humorous. Worth a read if you like his humor.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer]

I just got this at a used book sale. I love Victor Borge!