Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times

Lives

by Kathleen Krull, Kathryn Hewitt (Illustrator)

It's no secret that Beethoven went deaf, that Mozart had constant money problems, and that Gilbert and Sullivan wrote musicals. But what were these people—and other famous musicians— really like? What did they eat? What did they wear? How did they spend their time? And—possibly most interesting of all—what did their neighbors think? Discover the fascinating and often humorous stories of twenty famous musicians—people of all shapes, sizes, temperaments, and lifestyles, from various countries and historical periods. Beginning with Vivaldi and ending with Woodie Guthrie, Lives of the Musicians brings musical history to life!

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Picture Books, Middle Grade

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Benjamin Zapata · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining survey of living,breathing anecdotes about 20 of the greatest musicians that ever lived. From Antonio Vivaldi to Woody Guthrie,it's an irresistible package,leaving you hungry to know more about this amazing artists. Kathleen Krull has done an amazing job collecting all the fact,and putting it into writing,and Kathryn Hewitt has created some very beautifull potraits/illustrations about each musician,a complement to each chapter about each of them.
Just read the chapter about Mozart : "Until he was three,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an ordinary baby.Then at age four,..." And so on,to discover that at age 7,he proposed marriage to Marie Antoinette(the future Queen of France).
I don't want to spoil it for anybody,so if you get the chance,read this very entertaining book,the first one I read in a serie created by Kathleen Krull about the lives of amazing people!A colorful,entralling introduction into our cultural heritage!

[Susan Forsgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Krull has compiled an enjoyable assortment of sketches on 16 famous musicial giants that will have readers rushing to the stereo. In three or four pages each, such masters as Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky; popular composers such as Gilbert & Sullivan, Joplin, and Gershwin; and even folk hero Woody Guthrie are profiled. Gossipy, nitty-gritty personal habits and quirks are presented, along with a sense of appreciation for the musicians' lives and times. Hewitt's full-page caricatures are surrounded by important details. In subdued but striking colors, she captures the personality and temperament of these composers. This is a humorous, delightful, appreciative treat. While it doesn't have enough information for reports, it's a fine, personalized way to introduce children to the creators of great works that are a part of every music curriculum.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

** Read by John C Brown & Melissa Hughes
app 2 hrs

the audio version is a series of 5min sketches of 20 musical artists + a hint of their music
light-hearted
great introduction for kids (8+?)

But - Woody Guthrie???

[Dee Maselle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly absorbing. Colorful, accessible synopses of composers' personal lives, habits, and scandals, most of which I hadn't known even a hint before. Their extremely human life experiences make me want to dig into their oeuvres again--or for the first time. I did wish for more race and gender diversity, and I'm going to do some research among the "greats" to see whom else the authors might have incorporated.

[Elisa Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, if you have ever heard of more than three famous composers, you need to read this book. This highlights 20-ish of the more noted composers of all time...but not with the typical historical perspective. Rather, it is commentary on how their habits shaped their lives, and what the neighbors observed of their frequently uncanny behavior. After reading this book, I never listened to or performed Chopin or Stravinsky the same way again.

[Talie · Rating 2 out of 5]

تاب ابتدایی و برای کودکان و نوجوانان بود.
یک سری نکات از زندگی ۲۰ موسیقیدان را انتخاب کرده. نویسنده هیچ توضیحی درباره ی
دلیل انتخاب این 20 موسیقیدان ارائه نکرده.
یک مورد نمونه: بتهوون تف کردن را دوست داشت و بعضی وقت‌ها بدون پرداخت صورتحساب
از رستوران بیرون می رفت و بعضی وقت ها هم روی صورتحساب موسیقی می نوشت.

اگر سعی کنید یک سری از آثار مهم این موسیقیدان ها را هم پیدا کنید و گوش کنید
سود بیشتری از این کتاب می برید.

[forthefamilyssake Hailey White · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible book for the young aspiring musician, as well as the seasoned musician. We checked this out at our library over 5 times in a row and when we finally had to return it, I put it on my book list to purchase! My 8 year old daughter loves it and has read it cover to cover many times.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. We had to return it to the library so I found a used copy and bought it on Amazon. Wonderful book to use throughout the year when we do unit studies on each of the musicians.

[Chloe Colyar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally picked up this informational text because of the title, I thought the “What the Neighbors Thought” was a really creative way to phrase the name of the book. The book, full of beautiful illustrations, covers musicians throughout the history of music from Beethoven to Stravinksy to possible unfamiliars such as Clara Schulman and Erik Satie. I really enjoyed reading about these history makers in our musical history because the author offered unique perspectives that you may not have thought about when researching these individuals. By providing information like that Gershwin was known to eat a pint of ice cream in one sitting or that Tchaikovsky always took cabs to take him from place to place, makes these monumental human beings seem more human. I learned a lot about a bunch of new people I had never heard of and I am thankful for that!
After reading this book, I looked into more of what Krull has written, only to find a ton of biographical books as well as more books in this series. I like the thought of having books written by her in the classroom to have students begin to research someone who they would want to learn more about for a biography project. These books are nice because they provide a quick but unique glimpse into a person’s life, so students will be able to figure out whether they want to continue research rather quickly. There would have to be a bit of work done on the teacher’s part though if this was going to be implemented in an elementary classroom because the book does bring up heavy ideas such as suicide.

[Andrea Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an informational book that lists various musicians. It gives a background of their lives, when they lived, genre of music, and even impact of music. The genre for this book would be a collection of short biographical forms of literature. I would use this book in an upper elementary school to middle school.
I gave it a 4/5 because I read the second version of this book, and I thought it was much better. I do not think the book intend to include more male musicians than woman musicians. The second version of this book however does have more women musicians, so I like it a lot better. As far as the content goes it is pretty accurate because I looked up about 4 of the musicians randomly to fact check and it was all right.

[Clued-in With A Book (Elvina Ulrich) · Rating 4 out of 5]

***3.5 stars***

Another light-hearted read from Kathleen Krull that features a collection of 19 mini biographies of famous musicians, such as Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Joplin, Boulanger, and many more! We also get to know some intriguing details, humorous characteristics of their lives. For example, Chopin was known as "Velvet Fingers"; Nadia Boulanger was a tender tyrant and she was the first woman to conduct the Boston symphony.

I listened to an audiobook for this and once again narrators - Melissa Hughes & John C. Brown - did a great job! It was easy to listen to. The brevity of each biography made this an easy read and is a good way to introduce young readers to these famous musicians.

[Rocio Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Biography
Award: N/A
Audience: 5th - 7th grade
A. The biography is a collected biography that explain the people’s complete life. The books chapters are each about a different musician from their birth to their death.
B. This an authentic biography because the details included in the text are pure facts about the person, and there is nothing that we could question about it being factual or not.
C. What does each person’s most famous song sound like? Did any of them know each other when they were alive?

[CE]

Seven years ago, I listened to this series via audio book and didn't care for them. They read to me like a gossip column. However, my husband-of-the-magnificent-memory who happened to be listening recently quoted some tidbit from this one. He even remembered where he heard it. So, they're memorable and entertaining, even to eavesdroppers. And he has a better sense of humor than me, so feel free to take his word for it.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for older children and adults as it includes mature elements about the composers' lives such as harsh treatment of children, suicide, homosexuality, love affairs, etc. This is obviously not the fault of the author; many musicians just had rough lives. I was disappointed Debussy was not included. I did enjoy the illustrations.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lives of the Musicians: Good times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought was an interesting, quick read. Kathleen Krull wrote short, humorous chapters about different classical musicians. The illustrations by Kathryn Hewitt added a lot to the stories. This was another unknown, picked up at a library book sale. Definitely a good read!

[Tanaia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book has very few illustrations and when they appear they are fantastic because the musicians have big heads. The book could be used to have a musician of the day or month. The book has great detail to it with the words that describe the musician for that chapter and with the illustrations.The book is for a student who is interested in learning more about older musicians.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book with short little bios of famous composers. Very interesting details of these people that are entertaining to children and adults! Made me feel like I really knew them. I’ve been reading this book with my children, a composer a week and then we spend 30 minutes or so listening to their music. It’s been educational and FUN! I’m very pleased with this book.😁

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

We checked this out of our city library to find out facts about Peter Tchaikovsky, who turns out to have been a very quirky fellow. I went on to read this and loved sharing the things I learned about the nineteen different composers.

[michael feldt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. It's about many different musicians and more about their lives. It includes musicians like Beethoven and Woody Guthrie. It's very cool to know more about the artists behind all the songs we've heard for years.

[Beth Lorow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book in homeschooling and each Monday we read about a musician and then listened to their music throughout the week. I thought these vignettes were full of interesting tidbits about the artists' lives. Meredith (age 8) thought they were all weird! She's not totally wrong!

[Ellie Seaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This less than 2 hr audiobook gave 5 minute sketches on ~20 famous composers. I enjoyed the short format and quick tidbits, but wish there was a tad more included on each composer, or more composers. I’m thinking this was intended for young adults/kids??

[Eric Orchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect little book.

[Linda Maycock · Rating 3 out of 5]

this would've been a good book to read while taking 'Music History'. . . little inside snippets to remember each composer.

[Allison Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend the audiobook- it was a very quick listen, and had audio clips of works by each composer.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun introduction to a bunch of musicians. It's filled with really random facts that you'd never know about them from a traditional music class!

[Whole And · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light overview of many musicians but not very thorough for deeper exploration and understanding.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chock full of fun facts and interesting (often funny, surprising) anecdotes.

[Shishir · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely short book that offers summaries of famous musicians

[Tressa · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book I ever read in this “series” as a kid. It was nice to revisit it as an adult.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a simple and fun book for kids. Lots of odd, entertaining facts.