ETHELBERT NEVIN

A musical biography, which will interest not only people who love music, but people who enjoy the gentler sort of biography, dealing with a man who achieved success, and who came from a cultured background. This is a sympathetic and painstaking record of a short life, including many letters, excerpts from contemporary sources, and conversations with the composer's widow. A small boy in Pittsburgh, composing his own accompaniments at the age of five, he faced the disapproval of his family in his choice of a career. Later, he won fame through the composition of The Rosary and many hauntingly lovely melodies that live today for their sentiment and tunefulness. His tragic last days are soft-pedalled -- the emphasis being kept on the musical sides of his career. Good book to suggest for music prize, etc.