Books in the Musical Lives series

This book, first published in 1999, is a biography of Russia's greatest musical dramatist, Modest Musorgsky, known for his opera Boris Godunov, for his innovative realistic art songs, and for 'Pictures at an Exhibition'. It emphasizes the psychological and economic factors that contributed to the composer's remarkable autodidactic rise and tragic, premature end.

In his lifetime Joseph Haydn achieved a degree of fame that easily surpassed that of Mozart and Beethoven. Presenting a fresh picture of Haydn's life and work, this biography captures all the complexities and contradictions of the composer's long career.

Mozart was not only an extraordinary musical genius but a man who lived through the great change from the old society to the modern one in which we still live. This book, first published in 1998, sets Mozart's life within the history of an age plunging into revolution and European war.

This account of Beethoven reveals the life of a creative musician in Bonn and Vienna in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It describes his early years as a court musician, his public career as a pianist-composer and his difficult relationships with patrons and musical institutions of the day.

This biography of the American composer Charles Ives (1874-1955) clarifies the complexity of the man and his music. Ives's music is uniquely autobiographical, and Feder's straightforward discussion of the music itself illuminates the narrative.

One of the most influential and idiosyncratic composers of the twentieth century, Messiaen was at the centre of many significant developments in music throughout his lengthy career. This accessible and informative study traces the life and works of this intriguing personality, detailing how he formed his own individual musical voice.

This biography covers Strauss's musical development, his emergence as a tone poet in the late nineteenth century, his turn to the stage early in the twentieth century, the successes and failures of the post-World War I era, the turbulent 1930s, and the period during the Second World War and its aftermath.

Michael Musgrave presents a new focus on Schumann as a practical working musician, building a career and interacting with the professional world. The study emphasizes the value of Schumann's often neglected later works and sees his total achievement as central to emerging musical culture.

This challenging 2003 biography asks many questions. What was Bach like as a young man, as a father, as an ageing church servant? How did he compose and perform so much music? And has our understanding of him been hindered by the deference displayed towards him since his death?

No detailed biography of Debussy has been published since 1965. Since that time much new material has come to light, which Roger Nichols incorporates into his biography. He considers the life and music of this seminal figure, placing the life of Debussy within the context of his age.

As a leading European conductor and the composer of enormous and controversial symphonies, Gustav Mahler inspired mythologisers in his own lifetime. In this 1997 biography, Peter Franklin re-confronts the myth of Mahler and attempts to find the person behind the legends.

This important biography of Elgar draws on letters and documents which became available in the preceding twenty-five years. Michael Kennedy, a distinguished musical biographer, uses this material, which includes Elgar's own vast correspondence, in an attempt to get to the centre of the composer's complex personality.

Verdi's life spanned Napoleonic rule and the age of broadcasting. In this biography, John Rosselli considers a boldly innovative artist, offering novel insights into operas which still fill theatres today. He investigates Verdi's businesslike running of a highly successful career, and his complex relationships with two women singers.

This biography of composer and pianist Felix Mendelssohn traces his development from child prodigy to a conductor whose advocacy of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven has had influence to this day. The book discusses all the major musical works within the context of Mendelssohn's early nineteenth-century cultural surroundings.

Christopher Gibbs takes a fresh look at this misunderstood composer, particularly the unfolding of his professional career, his relationship to Beethoven, the growth of his reputation and public image and the darker side of drinking, depression and sexual ambiguity.

Tells the story of Berlioz, the greatest French composer of the nineteenth century.

In this prize-winning biography John Rosselli re-assesses the life and work of Bellini. He examines his personality, his relationships and his short, but dazzling career in Naples, Milan and Paris.

Kathryn Bailey presents a fascinating and highly accessible biography of Anton Webern, focusing on several aspects of Webern's life that have been treated only briefly in earlier accounts. These include his dependence on Schoenberg, his naive nationalism and his absolute belief in the value of his music.