Slapti didžiųjų kompozitorių gyvenimai. Nutylėti faktai apie muzikos pasaulio garsenybes

by Elizabeth Lunday

Rašydama šią biografinę knygą autorė atliko nemenką darbą – ji surinko pačius keisčiausius ir įdomiausius pasakojimus net apie trisdešimt keturis visų laikų žymiausius kompozitorius. Juk iš tiesų smalsu sužinoti, kokia Verdžio operų sėkmės paslaptis arba kodėl Čaikovskis taip vengė savo jaunos žmonos, kad net šoko į ledinę upę. Kas patikėtų, kad Bethovenui nusiaubti apartamentus būdavo juokų darbas, o Mocartas baisiausiai keikėsi? Bachui teko sėdėti cypėje, o Šumanas sirgo sifiliu. Muzikos pasaulio meistrų gyvenimas išties nebuvo ramus, ką ir kalbėti apie įvairiausias audringas meilės istorijas ir su jomis susijusius skandalus... Tačiau šie įspūdingi pasakojimai nė kiek nesumenkins puikių operų ir simfonijų – perskaitę nenuobodžias biografijas, su dar didesniu malonumu niūniuosime pamėgtas melodijas.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Biography, Humor, Biography Memoir, Classical Music

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2009

About the author

I love telling stories about the arts, because art, literature, music and architecture can lift us out of our workaday muddling of laundry and dirty dishes and overflowing recycling bins and fill us with wonder, sorrow, amazement, and joy. Even more remarkable to my mind is that the people who create the experiences aren’t some sort of higher form of the species–artists aren’t separate from the rest of us. They are us, human, with all the foibles and follies that implies. (And oh how much fun those foibles are to recount!)

What makes artists different is their belief in possibilities. A painter believes he or she can take a blank canvas and some oily pigments and invent a new vision. Writers believe they can put one word in front of the other and create a whole new world. Composers believe they can arrange sounds according to some sort of plan and transport your soul. To believe these things takes supreme self-confidence and an act of powerful will. If nothing else inspires you about art, let that inspire you: the belief that anything is possible.

Reviews

[KayKay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book consists of short chapters recapped major events and trivial interesting tidbits of some of the biggest names in the classical music world. I'd not recommend this book to someone who wishes to learn about the composers because this book is not academic/informational but for entertaining purpose mostly. For experienced and knowledgeable readers on the topic, there isn't anything new or major that they haven't heard of. In fact, be ready for plenty of trivial, fun information.

I loooved the book and totally enjoyed every single page. The humors were spot on, and it was a definite "juicy" read. Each chapters were about 5 or 6 pages long, and I liked reading few composers each setting. Entertaining! 4.5 stars. Scaled down because of lack of "depth."

[Efka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Šita knyga yra tokia biškį... Kaip čia gražiau išsireiškus... Tuliko simfonija. Iš tikro joje nėra nieko blogo, be kiek popsovo požiūrio į kompozitorių gyvenimą, o popsuchą aš kartais visai mėgstu, ypač kai tai susiję su popkultūra. Ir nors geriau pagalvojus koks Debiusi ar Štrausas su šiuolaikine pop kultūra ne kaži kokias sąsajas turi, čia švelniai dar pasakius, bet dzin, nesvarbu. Tiesiog labai norėjau ką nors kvazi-protingo apie popkultūrą suvelt, tai, manau, pavyko. O rimčiau kalbant, tai didžioji šios knygos bėda yra ta, kad ji neturi absoliučiai jokios išliekamosios vertės. Ji yra faktų ir datų rinkinys apie žymių kompozitorių gyvenimus ir, nors parašyta tikrai gan sklandžiu, šmaikštoku ir lengvu stilium, po penkių minučių tiesiog nei velnio nebeprisimeni, ką ir apie ką skaitei. Ne veltui ir sakau, kad ši knyga - tuliko simfonija. Nėra geresnės vietos ir geresnės paskirties šiai knygai, kaip paskaityt pripuolamai po penkias minutes, kol tupi tupikas.

[Patrick Johns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, informative and entertaining. But far too US-centric. Almost all of the 20th century composers listed were American or lived in the USA. Where was Vaughan Williams, Prokofiev, Grainger, Delius and Britten ? (and these had plenty of dark secrets to be revealed!) Most alarming of all, where was Schubert, who must be on everybody's list of the 10 most important composers?

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

My goodness, what a parade of bullying parents, mental illness and adultery. That said, I feel I know these composers much better overall after reading this series of 6-ish page biographies. Yes, the odd gets more attention than in, I expect, most biographies. But I think that goes a long way to humanizing these folks who at times are put on ridiculous pedestals by people who believe in "genius." Ms. Lunday is often witty and writes very engagingly. This is a rich collection and a great pleasure to read.

[Terry Kuny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highbrow bathroom reader. Enjoyable trivia. Certainly easier going than Schonberg's Lives of the Great Composers. Not that you would want to replace that one with this. But you will get useful party banter from the Secret Lives.

[Shana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buy it for the priceless pic of Schoenberg and the demons of atonality. Cute, irreverant look @ the great western classical composers.

[Musicdoodle · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this book and wish I had it in undergrad as a companion to my music history courses! Very informative and entertaining, and makes the "old dead guys" come to life!

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The great composers were the rock stars of their eras, and they acted like it. They trashed rooms and had terrible personal hygiene (Beethoven); used incredibly foul language (Mozart, who frequently ended his letters with, “Shit into your bed until it creaks”); were alcoholics (the majority, it seems); had numerous affairs with married women (most of them, except for the homosexuals); served prison time (Bach wrote the Well-Tempered Clavier while jailed); wracked up considerable debt (Wagner wrote Lohengrin while on the run from creditors); contracted VD (Schumann and Liszt); had adoring fans mobbing them on the street (Liszt); crossed-dressed (Wagner); played bawdy songs in bars (Brahms); committed theft to support bad habits (Puccini stole pipes from the church organ and sold them to buy cigarettes); and womanized like nobody’s business (Gershwin said, “Why should I limit myself to only one woman when I can have as many women as I want?”). Ah, the creative types never change!

[Zen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gave me basically exactly what I was expecting. The Secret Lives of Great Composers contains a lot of short chapters about famous classical music composers. They are arranged in chronological order which makes it easier to see the connections of the various composers and how their music was influenced by each other. The book also references historical events happening during the composers lives and how this influenced their world view and musical styles.

Although I generally prefer to listen to the more traditional classical styles, I did find some of the stories of composers I am not as familiar with fascinating. I especially enjoyed the chapter on John Cage.

Overall a handy reference book. As one other reviewer said, it contains lots of (hopefully) useful trivia!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veľmi zaujímavé čítanie, ktoré by som opäť doporučovala ako výukový materiál pre deti. Mne sa veľmi páčilo, že pri každom skladateľovi bolo uvedené, odkiaľ poznáme ich diela - napr. že v Tomovi a Jerrym sme počuli Franza Liszta, Brahmsove uspávanky je počuť snáď z každej uspávacej hračky pre bábätko ... Práve vďaka tomuto som si uvedomila odkaľ všade na nás hrá vážna hudba, ako sa nám dostáva do podvedomia a ani o tom nevieme. Určite je to skôr písané zábavnou formou a znalci hudby a umenia by sa možno nad niečím v knihe zhrozili, ale pre mňa ako laika to bola veľmi zábavné čítanie, vďaka ktorému som sa dozvedela docela hodne vecí.

[Vaida · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather nice collection of trivia, but probably not in the best format. It reminds you a lot of something that you find in, say, the last page of a newspaper next to a comic strip and horoscopes. Some of the little facts or pieces are interesting, but it's not something you should read tens or hundreds of pages of at once.
If you are familiar with the composers in the book, you probably won't find too much of what you haven't heard before. If you are not, reading about a bunch of them in a row makes the details mix up in your memory. Therefore, it's entertaining but forgettable.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy classical music as much as I do, I think you will get a kick out of this book! Light and easy-reading history without being frothy - I really learned a great deal through these synopses of selected composers. All artists are a little bit whacky, there's no doubt about it! Whets the appetite if you'd like to take a plunge into a deeper biography, too.

[JDK1962 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining enough, but a very shallow version of "capsule biography," and much space taken by illustrations that added very little (if you want to be a graphic novel or a comic book, be those things).

[Aurimas Nausėda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lengva forma aprašyti garsiausių kompozitorių gyvenimai, muzikinių kūrinių atsiradimo aplinkybės. Knygos privalumas - sąsajų ieškojimas su XX-XXI amžiaus filmais, kultūros reiškiniais.

[Marcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and entertaining biographies of great composers. Would be five stars if the author had cited his sources.

[Sydney Haskett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised at how accurate the information was in accordance with what I have learned in a school of music.

[Ioannis Tryfonas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing, entertaining and informative book about things that you didn't know about your favourite classical music composers!

[Roxie]

Entertaining and informative—I definitely recommend this if you're looking for a fun and light overview.

[Katrina Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun yet Cole's Notes version that offers insight to many of the world's greatest composers. Perfect for a non-musician like me who is always keen to know more.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful fun. A perfect bus read.

[Sarah Salisbury]

I will be thinking about Toscanini’s panettone for the next seven years okay

[Susan Liston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite their cheesy appearance, these "secret lives" books are pretty good, conveying their information in an entertaining manner.

[Bjorn · Rating 2 out of 5]

**1/2

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Sunku tapti rimta menininke,kai visi tave laiko prostitute."

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed reading the program notes at orchestra concerts. I am not a music theorist nor a musician, so I tend to skim over the sections specifically on the music but I love the biographical sketches. This book reads like biographical program notes so it's enjoyable, but it also has several deficiencies.

It's badly edited. There are grammatical errors throughout, and in several sections the author says composer when she means conductor and vice-versa.

The illustrations are cartoonish and for some inexplicable reason, certain passages are boxed in or printed in red. I found the format annoying.

There isn't anything ground breaking here and anyone familiar with classical music will know most of the information, at least passively. However even the music snob will pick up a few details they may have missed, especially about any composer of whom they may not be a fan (Rachmaninoff the man is vastly more interesting than his music). For example, I was not familiar with Vladimir de Pachmann and his Chopin interpretations prior to reading.

Amusing. Not as salacious as the cover promises. Trivia.

[Cheryl Gatling]

Technically, there are no secrets here. If you read a standard biography of any of these composers, you will learn everything that you read in this book. But it is true, as the introduction says, that the love affairs, feuds, idiosynchracies, and career twists don't usually make it into the symphony program. This is what you might get if The National Enquirer wrote the liner notes. It isn't really packed with as much scandal as advertised, but the writing style is lively, the cartoonish drawings are amusing, and the chapters are short, so that I was always tempted to read "just one more," and "just one more." This book is a good jumping off place for someone who wants to learn more about these composers. You can read a bit, stop, listen to the music, and look up more information on Wikipedia. The book is fun, and now that I have learned it is part of a series, I want to read the rest, Secret Lives of Great Authors, Great Artists, and Great Filmmakers.

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this at borders just after publication, and as a fan of the secret lives series, picked it up on the spot. I was pretty pleased, although I haven't fully read through it yet, I've skipped around and read whichever composer I'm in the mood for when I have a few spare minutes. Books of this type, meaning those not destined for cover-to-cover treatment, are perfect for such times. The anecdotes are entertaining enough, and the background information provided is delivered well. While this book is not the most well edited, as another reviewer stated, it is perfect for growing children to give them some insight into the minds that they're learning about in music class. I'll definitely save it to share with mine, and if all goes according to plan, they won't be fooled or taken in by the typos and other minor errors, either.

[Tory Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book about the lives of classical, baroque, and modern composers in the Western world. Most will be familiar to readers with short (3-4 pages) about each composer. The info is mostly biographical in nature and focuses on their most important works. The first page of each profile highlights their most well-known piece and explains where you are most likely to have heard it. Most of the references are to popular movies or TV shows. (Think Looney Tunes). Although I listen to NPR daily, I haven't heard some of these works in awhile, so I may revisit some of these great works of music.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy, breezy, gossipy skim across the more scandalous exploits of the long lineage of white men who established our canon of Western classical music. The author addresses the obvious lack of women or people of color, but that's not the same as doing something about it. Some amusing illustrations. Surprising number of typos and other editorial errors, though.