Overview

"Alan Walker's ground-breaking "Hans von Bülow: A Life and Times" is the first objective biography of a major player who, for all his social ineptitude, shaped the musical world as we know it today." --Wall Street Journal"Once again Walker has accomplished the difficult task of infusing a scholarly work with witty and captivating writing. Von Bülow emerges as a complex, immensely gifted and versatile musician, as well as a fascinating person. Enlightening and enjoyable!"--Veda Kaplinsky, Chair, Piano Department, The Juilliard School"At a time when the study of musical performance is becoming ever more important, Alan Walker's meticulous and vivid account of one of the greatest of all 19th-century performers is of immense value. Musicologists have for so long studied works; now here is a chance to engage with one of those who brought great new works to life, from Wagner'sTristanto Tchaikovsky'sFirst Piano Concerto, during his remarkable career. A fine, long overdue biography in English of a supreme performer."--Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Managing Director, Barbican Centre"It seems that Alan Walker has left no stone unturned."--Musical Opinion"This superb biography of virtuoso pianist and conductor Hans von Bulow does for the 19th-century music scene what Alex Ross'The Rest Is Noisedid for the 20th, leaving the reader awestruck at the author's command of his research and skillful storytelling...A treat to read." --The Washington Times"Throughout the book, Walker delights the reader with rich insights and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the field, always infusing his elegant prose with a love of detail and irony, anecdotes and connections fuelled with wit and wisdom, all of which brings the subject alive. As a result his book promises to enrich scholars and music lovers alike, and to turn Beethovenians and Wagnerians into Von Bulowians: a must-read." --Arietta"Worth the wait...In English, Walker's book has no competition. Its sixty-three illustrations and programme reproductions add much to the reader's pleasure...A remarkable repository of information on Bulow." --The Hungarian Quarterly"A fascinating study of a man who intersected with all the great musicians of his day...Walker describes all of this in this engaging, well-written book. Highly recommended." --Choice"This magnificent long-overdue biography is the monument to Bülow that never was...What Truman Capote did inIn Cold Bloodtowards creating a new genre of fiction - faction - that is to say a documentary with all its existential drama built in, Walker has contrived to do by extension in biography - or should we call itbiografaction- where by connecting up data in the form of letters, civic documents and newspaper reports, together with an uncanny interpretive gift for reading between the lines, he creates a vital context whereby his book, quite apart from its profundity, finishes by being as unputdownable as the latest historical novel by Mary Renault. " --EPTA Piano Journal"Von Buelow's legacy lasts to this day, and Walker takes us through his life always with the respect for who he was and what he accomplished even as he reveals his difficult and intractable personality. It is a non-judgmental and thoroughly absorbing account of one of the greatest figures in the history of western music, one who up to this book has been unappreciated and under-valued." --American Music Teacher"Walker's narrative unfolds with energy, and provides an impressively rounded portraitof his subject, full of flaws as well as strengths. He explores numerous avenues andleaves some open for further research--for instance Bülow's compositions, little known,for which the inclusion of a useful complete catalogue may, it is hoped, stimulate newperformances. We also learn of some lost cylinder recordings of his performances,which may eventually turn up. Generously laced with witty, wise anecdotes, copiousfootnotes, elegant illustrations and a family tree, as well as a hefty index and source list,the book represents a seminal study of one of the movers and shakers of 19th-centurymusic, a relatively unsung hero of musical history." --The Wagner Journal"Walker...can only be thanked for allowing us this intimate, entertaining, and compelling portrait of a very great musician." --Wagner Notes"This book is a good read, a solid piece of writing on its own merits, as the author shares his knowledge of a fascinating life...Walker never becomes mired in details, butmasterfully uses footnotes that interested readers can pursue if they like. His use of illustrations is apt in the way they amplify points made in the text, rather than serveany perfunctory function...Hans von Bülow: A Life and Timesis laudable for its masteryof its subject, and is a work of finesse suitable to it.Notes"This study of Hans von Bülow must stand as one of the most important and indeed necessary biographies of a musician published in recent times. With the lives of many nineteenth-century composers researched to the point of overkill it is right to turn to the principal executants who brought the iconic works of nineteenth-century music into the public domain. Yet Bülow emerges as so much more: with his formidable musicianship supported by a well-furnished mind he represented the best (and worst) of the broad humanistic culture of the intellectual elite of late nineteenth-century Germany. Alan Walker's compelling biography more than justifies Franz Liszt's description of Bülow: 'From Alpha to Omega. He is Music personified' (p. 3). " --Music & Letters"This study of Hans von Bülow must stand as one of the most important and indeed necessary biographies of a musician published in recent times...Compelling." --Music & Letters"[An] engaging biography." --The Beethoven Journal"Walker's book can be highly recommended for its engaging style and its wealth of information about Bülow's up-and-down relations with family members, Wagner, and other composers. We become familiar with the exceptional talents of a truly one-of-a-kind nineteenth-century musician." --The OperaJournal