Talks With Great Composers

by Arthur M. Abell

Gathers the author's interviews with Johannes Brahms, Giacomo Puccini, Richard Strauss, Engelbert Humperdinck, Max Bruch, and Edvard Grieg.

167 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Núria Llach · Rating 5 out of 5]

És molt interessant saber com pensen els compositors sobretot quan parlen d'aquests temes més abstractes i espirituals. S'hi veu clarament un pensament molt romàntic que cal tenir en compte, però a mi m'ha agradat molt com relacionen la inspiració amb una força superior i que hi creguin tant. Brahms venia a dir que si un és ateu, manca totalment d'inspiració, i que els compositors ateus que havia conegut caurien en l'oblit ràpidament. Potser no queda bé que ho digui i pot semblar que em falta esperit crític, però hi estic una mica d'acord perquè per mi la vida sense fe no té sentit i perquè crec que l'art pot arribar a parlar-nos des del més enllà.

[Dandee0513gmail.Com · Rating 4 out of 5]

The difficulty validating this book is not unsurrmountable and the result of unique circumstances. First and foremost, its author was asked to wait until 50 years after Brahms died before publishing his interviews. The 50th year was 1948. When finally published here, it was 1955. Arthur M. Abell was virtually unknown to American readers.

I bought the book in 1962 in a used book store in Seattle. I was very skeptical. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading such a fantastic book. In the last few years I have learned much that truly validates its author.

I learned that, for 25 years (1893-1918), Arthur M. Abell was the chief music critic and correspondent for The Musical Courier in Europe. (The Musical Courier stopped publication in 1961.)

Arthur Abell died in 1958 at his home in Hastings on Hudson, New York. His widow, Louise Abell, subsequently gave her husband's articles, photos, correspondence and manuscripts to the New York Public Library. A description of what is in those 17 boxes can be found online at http://archives.nypl.org/mus/20021.

One example of Mr. Abell's high regard in Europe, is illustrated by what happened at one of his dinner parties. He had invited to his home in Berlin many of the most accomplished violinists of his day. They had been invited to hear the first Berlin performance of Jascha Heifetz. Among those in attendance was Fritz Kreisler.

After 12-year-old (!) Heifetz performed Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, Kreisler said to his colleagues, "We might as well break our fiddles across our knees."

I have no doubt that these interviews took place and were faithfully reported in his book. I further believe the book gives good insight into inspired creativity, most notably that of Johannes Brahms.

[José Enrique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hermoso libro, una verdadera joya. Las conversaciones que tiene con grandes compositores de la época y la forma en la que se relaciona con ellos como grandes amigos nos enseña la verdadera forma en la que pensaban y cómo desarrollaban su proceso creativo a partir de la inspiración. Estas entrevistas se sienten íntimas y nos dejan ver el verdadero retrato de artistas que, tan solo escuchar sus obras, se sienten imponentes e inalcanzables, pero al leer las notas de Abell, se siente su verdadera humanidad inspirada por lo que llaman una Fuerza creativa.

Disfrute leer cada párrafo de este libro y espero volver a releerlo en un tiempo cercana.

Igualmente, la introducción de Cifré es asombrosa, la pregunta con la que aborda la inspiración y sobre a quién le aplaudimos realmente al final de un concierto me dejó más que intrigado y con ánimos de investigar más de los trabajos de este musicólogo.

[Christoffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arthur M. Abel was a lucky guy! He had a chance of knowing Johannes Brahms, Joseph Joachim, Max Bruch, Richard Strauss, Giacomo Puccini, Engelbert Humperdinck, Edvard Grieg, Fritz Kreisler and many other musicians that imparted pace the World culture in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Moreover he talked to them regularly and made them talk about the deepest secrets of their creativity - how and what inspired them and how they found the stuff for their great music. They are telling him the story of their composing process, they entrust him their views on others composers the time and they disclose what was the most essential for their spiritual elevations.
Many of those celebrities reveal in the same time how limited they were in the assessment of musical phenomena of their time and how difficult it was for them to evaluate judge the contemporary professional fellow-composers.
"Talks With Great Composers" by Arthur M. Abell should be mandatory reading of every concertgoer, music lover and student of Musicology. It definitely deserves five stars out of possible five.

Ch.Kofler

[Daniel Kushner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is worth it for the discussions with Johannes Brahms alone! Almost to good to be true, it often reads as if it was scripted, too ideal to have ever occurred in real life. Regardless, a must read!