HECTOR BERLIOZ

by Victor Seroff ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1967

A fast-moving colorful account of an unconventional figure whose life was replete with the sturm and drang typical of the music of the Romantics. Adequate, non-technical coverage is given to Berlioz's musical accomplishments, but focus is on the composer's personal life and attitudes. The reader sees Berlioz the young man struggling against parental attitudes and financial difficulties in order to become a musician; Berlioz the student arguing with his professors at the Paris Conservatory and repeatedly failing to win the coveted Prix de Rome because of his refusal to conform to the musical concentions of the time; and Berlioz the mature musician striving for excellence. Mr. Seroff's treatment of Berlioz's lovelife (a major part of his life) is comprehensive but tastefully devoid of lurid details. There's a good deal of attention to the extra -ordinary affection Berlioz bore for Estelle Duboeuf, the woman he met when he was twelve, and with whom he finally tried to establish a relationship when he was sixty-one! Berlioz was close to the common conception of the mad genius; Mr. Seroff makes him very much a man.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION