# Recommended composer biographies?



## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

I'd like to have some recommended composer biographies, please (and perhaps bios of famous singers, too?)

The only one I can personally recommend is "Beethoven" by Barry Cooper.

This bio is fairly new (2008) and among the genre of "new scholarship" biographies. This is quite important so I'll explain the phrase "new scholarship"...

Biographies and histories have for a long time tended to be reflective of the era during which they were written. For example, Caesar. I can speak with some knowledge about this because I'm a student of Roman history... Caesar was a complex person, very likely the most amazingly intelligent person about whom we know, a real genius and authentic leader, scholar, soldier, etc. But Caesar was also controversial, and various bios of him have either made him saintlike or a spawn of satan (he was neither) depending on the political atmosphere of the timeframe and country where that bio was published. England, for example, during the expansive empire days, used Rome (and Caesar) as examples of imperious power that "civilized" an otherwise wild ancient world, "pax romana" (roman peace). So in that era, bios of Caesar were positive. And during the more "socialist leaning" eras, when empire-building was frowned upon, Caesar was vilified.

It's only recently that the advent of what's called "new scholarship" has brought even-handed treatment, unbiased research, and neutral assessment. These "new" bios are all written in the past 40 years or so, and they are a welcome change. By the way, let me highly recommend "Caesar: Life of a Colossus" (2008) by Adrian Goldsworthy. Best ever written. A long book but it reads like a novel. Anything by Goldsworthy is terrific!

So... I'm not saying that older bios aren't any good but the newer ones do tend to be less biased, pro or con, about the subject. Newer bios also have the advantage of finding old letters or articles or other written items about the subject that might not have been discovered when earlier bios were written.

That being said, I'd like some recommendations, and a short explanation as to why? Thanks! We'll start with the big 4 of opera: Wagner, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, plus other composers, and singers too?


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

I share you admiration of Goldsworthy's books, particularly that biography of Caesar, which I've recently re-read. His book on the Fall of the Roman Empire is also rewarding. 

Although he didn't write operas, I must recommend the English translation of Jens Malte Fischer's biography of Mahler, which I also mentioned in a different forum in this site. (Caution: the Kindle version is stripped of the photos that appear in the original print version.)


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

One of the most balanced musical biographies I ever read is Robert Schauffler's* Florestan: The Life and Work of Robert Schumann* (1945). It's an older book, yes, but it is very even-handed in its assessment of Schumann's achievements. It is also very judicious in addressing some of the more controversial parts of his life, especially his relationship with Clara (as well as Clara's relationship with Brahms).

The portion analyzing the music is the best writing of its kind I've read. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about him.


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## Ritter (Apr 11, 2013)

I would recommend the very comprehensive and exhaustive biography of Richard Wagner by Gregor-Dellin. A great and quite unbiased work, we know the man is a little controversial


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestions... I'll check out the Wagner bio, and hearing it's not partisan is what I'm looking for. I don't want a whitewash deification nor a lynching.


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