Customer Reviews

Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music

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This is a detailed, chronological account of Finzi. Important episodes in his life are punctuated by discrete sections that provide analysis of concurrent musical works. Finzi is shown as a man who loved poetry and music (he had significant collections of each) and whose entire life was devoted to what he felt was his role as an artist in modern society. He comes off as a bit cold and critical, dismissive of those who didn't evince creativity, but endlessly giving of time and attention to his fellow musicians, especially composers. As a reader who knew very little about the world of music in mid-20th-century England, I rather enjoyed being plunged into the company of those who lived for discussion, ideas, and performance. Yet Finzi's world, his rural cottage life, and his devotion to works of long-dead artists seem utterly disconnected from the world of popular culture around him. After all, this was the ago of Big Bands and Jazz. But it appears that nothing in the popular taste had an impact on Finzi and his coterie. In fact, very little in the "outside" world seems to matter, except of course World War II, which found Finzi clerking in London and not terribly productive musically. The author pauses now and again to offer a discourse into Finzi's way of approaching work, and his attitudes toward art. The portraits of his companions, and especially his wife, Joy, suggest what was likable about Finzi and never intrude greatly on the narrative. Musicologists will appreciate the extended musical analyses. Much of this was over my head, so I read and skipped along in these parts and didn't worry so much about whether I fully underestood them. I was after a portrait of the man and his times, and while I can't say Finzi led a dramatic life, his life is certainly one of intense dedication and integrity with regard to his work, and in that sense has much to recommend it. The long labors of the author are obvious in this at times fascinating account.

This "Life and Music" title is a good addition to any Music Library. There is a need to understand Gerald Finzi's contribution to this period in musical growth.