GENIUSES, GODDESSES AND PEOPLE

Author Sargeant, who has moved through circles of celebrities for many years, turned his hand as a professional musician, critic, and more recently magazine writer, contributes here a random commentary on the gifts and foibles of geniuses, from the extremes of egotism (and bad manners) to the common quality of magic they all possess. Here, in the first part, there's an irresponsible gaiety and charm, an eye for the erratic and the eccentric a little reminiscent of the Joseph Wechsberg musical pieces. This section returns to Sargeant's early experiences with the San Francisco symphony and the peculiar cultural climate of California; to New York with the benevolent, paternal Damrosch and his foreign legion; and later the Philharmonic under Toscanini and his ""continuous psychology of crisis"". The second section, which consists of close-ups from Life magazine where they appeared, quiets down to straight reporting, will give you a familiar introduction to Toscanini, Rita Hayworth, Sir Thomas Beecham, Artur Rubinstein, Frank Lloyd Wright among others.... Entertaining.