A bravura history of the House of Steinway, whose name has remained synonymous with fine pianos for well over a century. Drawing on previously untapped records and private papers as well as secondary sources, Fostle, a journalist and documentary filmmaker, provides an absorbing generation-spanning account of a German-American family that earned fame and fortune in the New World. At the heart of the exhaustively detailed narrative is the story of William Steinway (nÇ Steinweg) who, in 1871 at the age of 35, took control of the family's 18-year-old Manhattan-based firm. With technical assistance from brother Theodore, the enterprising William showcased the immensely profitable company's prize-winning instruments in concert halls and secured the endorsement of world- class artists like Ignacy Jan Paderewski. An imaginative industrialist and prominent civic figure, he was less successful in his personal life, plagued by marital unhappiness and rheumatoid arthritis. Despite a tradition of fractious labor relations, the multinational concern prospered well into the 20th century under the stewardship of the maestro's less aggressive heirs— ``custodians, not architects,'' Fostle calls them. Over time, though, wars, a global depression, imports, and rapid changes in the state of the entertainment art (the pianola, radio, TV) took a steady toll. By 1972, CBS Inc. had acquired the much diminished firm, only to sell it off in the 1980s for the mercantile equivalent of a song. The buyers—a group of arguably unmusical MBAs—have not fared all that well with their leveraged purchase, in part because the vast majority of the roughly 200,000 Steinway grands built in the US during the past 100 years play as well as a new piano fresh from the factory. Fostle occasionally offers tedious particulars on the auditory afflictions of supporting players and other curiosities on which his research has shed light. This cavil apart, a gloriously complete chronicle of a dysfunctional dynasty whose renown has long since outlived its actual participation in the music trades.
Pub Date: May 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-684-19318-3
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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