Synopsis
Praise for Berlioz, Volume I:
"We now have a biography that not only takes in the immense documentation of Berlioz's early life but goes far beyond it in piecing together an incomparably rich portrait of the man and his milieu. . . . The picture is so vivid and the prose so magnetic that not a word seems wasted. . . . Cairns's biography of Berlioz must take its place with the handful of great lives of composers, such as Thayer's Beethoven, Newman's Wagner, and Walker's Wolf."—Hugh MacDonald, The Listener
"Even at this halfway stage, [Cairns's] Berlioz stands as one of the great biographies of our day, and also one of the great feats of literary sympathy with an artistic genius, filled with a love, knowledge, and understanding of his subject that flame up on every page."—Max Loppert, Financial Times
"This biography is kindled by sympathy and enthusiasm for its subject, and is written with a lifelong professional experience of Berlioz behind it. It is also beautifully and interestingly written. The chapters flow together like Berlioz's own harmonic changes, and with equal resonance."—Roger Norrington,
Independent
Dallas Morning News
Just as Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Les Troyens and Requiem usually leave listeners stunned and exhilarated, so David Cairns' massive biography will have readers gasping for breath as they turn each page A project bound to stand as long as the music is heard. As overwhelming as the music.