Berlioz
By: Hugh Macdonald
Edition: [Pbk. ed., new ed.]
Series: The master musicians; Master musicians series
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2000
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 261
Subjects: Berlioz, Hector, -- 1803-1869; Composers -- France -- Biography
Genres: Biography
Description: "In this life-and-works study, Hugh Macdonald draws on Berlioz's numerous writings - his Memoires, his critical articles, and his extensive correspondence, including many unpublished documents. Berlioz's provincial upbringing, his enthusiasm for Parisian opera and theatre, his marriage to the actress Harriet Smithson, his activities as composer, critic, and conductor, are covered in a biographical section which concludes with a chapter on his character. Discussion of the music is chronological, from the time when Berlioz arrived in Paris in 1821 to study medicine, through the peak of French Romanticism in the 1830s, to the compositions of his later years. In a final chapter Hugh Macdonald traces influences on Berlioz's style and examines his treatment of melody, harmony, and rhythm, and his distinctive orchestral technique."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 248-251) and index