Composers' Houses [Hardcover]

Gérard Gefen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

There is an endless fascination with the way people of genius live, as demonstrated by Vendome's highly successful Writer's Houses. This delightful sequel takes readers around the world from Mozart's home in Salzburg to Chopin's in Nohant, where he conducted a passionate affair with Georges Sand. Here are also the astonishing houses of great operatic composers: Richard Wagner's Haus Wahnfried at Bayreuth (where Adolph Hitler was a frequent guest), Giacomo Puccini's luxurious villa at Torre del Lago, its walls still lined with photographs, or the Villa de Sant'Agata where Guiseppe Verdi wrote most of "Nabucco," "Othello," "Rigoletto," and "Aida."

The author, Gerard Gefen, brilliantly links each of the composers' houses, work and life in a beautiful, all-color book that was years in the making.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this delightful sequel to Writers' Houses (Vendome, 1995), G?fen, who has authored several music biographical and historical works, richly describes the homes or haunts of some 23 composers. His clear prose is accompanied by some 250 beautiful color photographs. There are some rather surprising omissions and inclusions among the featured composers, however; Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Handel are missing, while Ole Bull and Vincent d'Indy are included. But music lovers will nonetheless be fascinated by the intimate glimpses into the lives and habitats of Chopin, Liszt, Wagner, Verdi, Elgar, Ravel, and others. Brief biographies of the composers and the addresses of the featured houses conclude the volume. This is not an essential purchase, but it is warmly recommended for libraries that support the leisure or browsing interests of their readers.AP. Steven Thomas, Central Michigan Univ. Lib., Mt. Pleasant
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Most of the musicians' homes Gefen and his two photographer collaborators present are the capacious structures successful people buy or build, yet a handful conform to the romantic image of the impecunious, austere composer. Schubert was born above the school his father ran and died in his brother's home; both buildings appear in warmer hues than one who lived in them might have seen. Beethoven could have dwelt in considerable comfort but moved a lot; the "almost rural cottage" in which he sojourned in the summer of 1802 is represented, though only by views of its courtyard and second-floor exterior gallery. Wagner, Verdi, Meyerbeer, Puccini, and Lehar lived quite grandly, as seems fitting for creators of musical drama, and Chopin lived well, for a time, in the novelist George Sand's house. Most impressive is the only noncomposer's home in the book, Norwegian violinist Ole Bull's elaborate summer home, a fantasia of carved wood resembling a Moorish mosque incongruously located on a far northern island. A luscious, luxurious browsing album. Ray Olson

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Vendome Press (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865659982
• ISBN-13: 978-0865659988
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 10.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,369,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely and evocative book, August 14, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Composers' Houses (Hardcover)

Despite a couple of glaring erros (Liszt had 2 daughters and a son, not three daughters) or the mispelling of the given name of Poulenc's 'aunt', it is easy to overlook all of this for what lies ahead in this beautiful volume. It is well worth owning and makes one want to go to the dwelling place where so much great music was created.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunningly beautiful book, October 6, 1998

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Composers' Houses (Hardcover)

it's not clear to me why this book has not been released as I just saw it in a bookstore in downtown San Francisco. The book is a gem. There is enormous satisfaction in seeing the milieu in which a great work of musical composition took place. The quality of the photographs have nothing banal or boring about them and enhance the very message they so succesfully convey. A gorgeous book and more than a volume to grace a coffee table. The text is also very worthwhile.