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Details
| Genre/Form: | Electronic books Biographies Biography |
|---|---|
| Named Person: | Victor Herbert; Victor Herbert |
| Material Type: | Biography, Internet resource |
| Document Type: | Book, Internet Resource |
| All Authors / Contributors: |
Neil Gould; ProQuest (Firm) |
| OCLC Number: | 1261954049 |
| Reproduction Notes: | Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest, 2015. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest affiliated libraries. |
| Description: | xv, 610 p. : ill. |
| Responsibility: | Neil Gould. |
Reviews
Publisher Synopsis
"Victor Herbert: A Theatrical Life by Neil Gould delves into the life of the Irish composer and his tremendous impact on the American musical theater." -Publishers Weekly "Not only much needed, but a joy to read and a fascinating journey into the life of a remarkable man. Thorough, accurate, and readable, it is a must for anyone interested in the rich history of the American musical theater." -- -Thomas S. Hischak co-author of The Oxford Companion to the American Theatre A half century has passed since the appearance of the last major study of Victor Herbert. Now Neil Gould has written the book that we have needed all that time. He is the first writer to do more than give a superbly readable account of Herbert's brilliant musical career as cellist, conductor, composer, fluent and melodious creator of nearly 50 operettas and musical comedies, and leader in the fight for effective copyright and performance rights protections for composers. Indeed, he does all that. His discussion of the operettas makes the reader long to hear many of them--not only the biggest hits, but quite a few that were overlooked for one reason or another in the past, yet sound fascinating and delightful. Surely some of these could be revived, to the great pleasure of us all. But Gould's book also employs a wide range of personal and family documents which no previous writer was allowed to use. In weaving these new materials into his vivid account, he gives us Victor Herbert the man in all his colorful Irish feistiness: generous to a fault, Rabelaisian in his tastes and habits, sometimes short-fused but always ready to tell a joke in any of several languages (and several levels of ribaldry, depending on the audience), while always diligently maintaining high goals for the future of American music and the American composer. It is high time for Victor Herbert's star to rise again, and Neil Gould could well be the "astronomer" who makes it happen. -- -Steven Ledbetter New England Conservatory of Music "A great trinity of towering masters, a direct line from 1894 to the present ... Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers." -- -Gerald Bordman author of American Musical Theater: A Chronicle " ... Captures not only [Herbert's] genius, but the spirit of a country from which Herbert's brilliance-and the American musical-sprang." -- -Judith Sebesta New England Theatre Journal "Victor Herbert: A Theatrical Life is an impressive achievement. The first biography of the composer in more than fifty years, Neil Gould makes skillful use of interviews, archives and unpublished memoirs to trace Herbert's life from his birth in Dublin, through his early years in Germany, to a major career in the United States." Through a richly detailed narrative, Gould makes a strong case that while Herbert created two grand operas and forty operettas, his greatest legacy lies in his establishing the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, virtually transforming these professionals' lives and ultimately transforming American musical culture." -- -Joan Peyser author of Bernstein: A Biography Read more...
