For the music market largely, but an accomplished autobiography, -- cultivated, classical, distinguished by quiet wit and an...

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A MINGLED CHIME

For the music market largely, but an accomplished autobiography, -- cultivated, classical, distinguished by quiet wit and an enlightened outlook. Sir Thomas Beecham ranks as one of the greatest modern conductors and innovators. This book is not a complete autobiography, since it covers his early years and enterprises, and closes in 1924 when the bankruptcy of his Covent Garden Theatre brought about his retirement from business enterprises. At six he had determined to play the piano; he went through public school, studied at Oxford, went abroad for further work in composition. It was his close friend, Delius, who directed him towards conducting. He founded the New Symphony Orchestra, through which he introduced many of the leading moderns, as well as the unknown; and continued this policy in his own theatre, supporting the Russian ballet, introducing Stravinsky, Straues, and others. Not a personal record -- but the story of a musical career.

Pub Date: April 30, 1943

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1943

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