The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power [Paperback]

Norman Lebrecht (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

In this masterpiece on the masters of music, Lebrecht enthralls readers with his insightful look into the lives and careers of the world's most celebrated conductors. of photos.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Music critic/provocateur Norman Lebrecht didn't make the high muckety-mucks of the classical music industry at all happy with this iconoclastic book, but he did open a lot of eyes. In 328 fascinating pages, he exposes the foibles and failings (musical and otherwise) of the great conductors of the last century. Why are there so few really outstanding conductors, and so many surface-skimming mediocrities? How did the conductor go from a mere time-beater to a powerful, immensely well-paid figure who jets from continent to continent and from podium to podium, hobnobbing with presidents and tycoons instead of with other musicians? Lebrecht explores all these factors, along with the history of conducting, and in the process dishes a few good anecdotes. He also shines the light on Ronald Wilford, the superagent of Columbia Artists Management, Inc., who controls the careers of more than 100 conductors--and, therefore, controls much of classical music. Lebrecht gets a few facts wrong (mostly minor--there haven't, for example, been stockyards in Chicago for some decades), but most of his points are well taken. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The most penetrating study of the role of the orchestra conductor to have appeared in recent years. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Citadel; 2 Rev Upd edition (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806520884
• ISBN-13: 978-0806520889
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #773,576 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Composers & Musicians > Classical

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gossip, but with a valid point, July 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power (Paperback)

Lebrecht is a journalist, and it shows. This is a gossipy, irreverent and sensationalistic tour through the lives of virtually all of the great Maestros of the 20th Century, seeking to debunk the "cult of the conductor" along the way. This it does quite effectively. Its style is breezy and engaging, not scholarly. It is entertaining and fun to read. Great vacation reading. But there is no depth to it. One theme is that most of these conductors were/are greedy, power-hungry egomaniacs. Hardly a revelation. It doesn't offer much psychological insight into the conductors considered. The most serious and important part of the book comes at the end, with an expose of the huge fees and cushy lives that the top conductors enjoy these days, particularly compared to the lives of their predecessors and the musicians they now conduct. Lebrecht makes a powerful case that things at the top are out of hand. His own indignation at this state of affairs comes across very clearly, and it is infectious. Conductors, he persuasively argues, have become part of the problem rather than the solution to the current malaise in classical music. Everyone who loves classical music should read this chapter. It makes the whole thing worthwhile. The rest is merely entertaining.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Riveting, but deeply flawed., November 30, 2000

By 

Augustus Caesar, Ph.D. (Eugene, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power (Hardcover)

Norman Lebrecht's "The Maestro Myth" is one of the most unique and controversial books on classical music ever published. In it, Lebrecht chronicles the lives, careers and conflicts of several important maestros (many notable conductors are left out) from Hans von Bulow to Sir Simon Rattle. I can scarcely think of another book on classical music that is as unputdownable or consistently fascinating, yet I had some strong reservations after finishing "The Maestro Myth."

Though the stories are invariably fascinating (with the exception of one excruciatingly dull chapter entitled "The Search for a Semi-Conductor"), there never seems to be an overall central idea or theme to "The Maestro Myth," despite its subtitle: "Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power." Very often, Lebrecht's writing is simply a collection of unflattering or embarrassing facts about various well-known musical personalities. Also, Lebrecht can be extremely inconsistent. Sympathetic towards Hans von Bulow, he follows it with an inexplicably nasty attack on Bruno Walter (who is portrayed generously and kindly in Sir Georg Solti's memoirs--and Solti was not one who minced words) and then ends with ten pages of bizarre sycophantic raving for Simon Rattle. In between, he compiles the usual litany of grievances against Toscanini and writes a hyperbolic and often blatantly dishonest thirty plus page attack on Herbert von Karajan. There are other examples. The bottom line is that Lebrecht often lets sensationalism interfere with fact. That is the biggest drawback to "The Maestro Myth."

That said, "The Maestro Myth" is well worth reading, indeed required reading, for anyone interested in the politics and tumultuous insider dealing involved in the 20th century conducting world. Fascinating overall, "The Maestro Myth" needs to be read with a grain of salt.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Delivers Most of the Time, March 30, 2001

By 

A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power (Hardcover)

Lebrecht's book on conductors begins with a short, yet interesting history of the beginnings of what we know as modern conducting and conductors. At the heart of the book is an examination of the motivations behind the men who conduct. Are they hungry for power? Money? Women? All of these aspects and many more are involved in the lives of many of the world's most famous conductors. When the author focuses on the theme of the book's subtitle, the book is very informative and interesting. Many times, however, Lebrecht takes the reader down "rabbit trails" that really have little to do with the given subject. Like another reviewer, I was surprised at the absence of several conductors, most notably the Chicago Symphony's Fritz Reiner. All in all, though, an interesting book.