ROSSINI

by Herbert Weinstock ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 15, 1967

Herbert Weinstock had originally planned to tell the life and give a critical analysis of the achievements of Rossini, that stellar operatic composer who is mainly known today for The Barber of Seville, but he found the subject too extensive for one volume, settled on a ""life and times"" approach. From Rossini's birth into a family of minor musicians in 1792 at Pesaro to his death full of fame and years in Paris, 1868, Professor Weinstock dutifully follows the composer's progress from one opera capital to another. Only in the later Paris years does the pace slacken to incorporate anecdote; an interview with Wagner and a brief encounter with Beethoven, who urged him to ""make a lot of Barbers"" stand out, but there are also the encouragements and hospitality offered younger musicians, duly recorded. Mr. Weinstock gives a sense of the music world of the times as well as the private one of the composer, an exuberant extrovert who suffered seemingly from manic--depression in his later years. Rossini bows as man and Maestro, in a biography of authority that doubtless will be the definitive book on him for some time to come. The market will be appreciably that of Weinstock's Donizetti. Appendices.

Pub Date: Jan. 15, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION