The Cello and the Nightingales: The Autobiography of Beatrice Harrison

The Cello and the Nightingales: The Autobiography of Beatrice Harrison by Harrison, Beatrice. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780719542084.

Beatrice Harrison wrote her autobiography shortly before her death in 1965. Written with infectious zest, this book tells the story of an historic career, from pre-1914 days when Beatrice studied in Germany and, much to the Kaisers disgust, carried off the coveted Mendelssohn Prize at the age of 17, to the Second World War. In 1924, Harrison became world famous with a BBC broadcast, from her Surrey garden, of a nightingale accompanying her cello - the first of many live broadcasts that sent the public wild with enthusiasm. Beatrice Harrison gives vivid glimpses of the musical life of her time, in which she shared with three exceptionally gifted sisters. She tells of her adventures touring in the early years of the century in Europe, Russia and America, meeting such figures as Faure, Popper, Glazunov, Paderewski and Kodaly. She associated with many of the important composers of one of the richest era of English music. Delius wrote his Double Concerto for Beatrice and her sister, May, after hearing them play.