The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz: Introduced by David Cairns (Everyman's Library Classics Series)

About this book

Hector Berlioz (1803-69) autobiography is both an account of his important place in the rise of the Romantic movement and a personal testament. He tells the story of his liaison with Harriet Smithson and his even more passionate affairs of the mind with Shakespeare Scott and Byron. Familiar with all the great figures of the age Berlioz paints brilliant portraits of Liszt Wagner Balzac Weber and Rossini among others. And through Berliozs intimate and detailed self-revelation there emerges a profoundly sympathetic and attractive man driven finally by his overwhelming creative urges to a position of lonely eminence. For this new Everymans edition of The Memoirs the translator--the composers most admired biographer--has completely revised the text and the extensive notes to take into account the latest research. (Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)