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Pierre Monteux, Maître
John Canarina
Foreword by Sir Neville Marriner
Pierre Monteux became famous at the age of 38 for conducting the riotous world premiere of Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring in Paris on 29 May 1913. The composer, fearing bodily harm, escaped through a backstage window, while the imperturbable conductor persisted, forever to be identified with the event. He would also conduct the first concert performance and one of the first two recordings of Stravinsky's masterpiece, the other one conducted by Stravinsky himself.
Though French by birth (he lived from 1875 to 1964), the distinctively portly man with the walrus mustache resisted being typecast as a French conductor. He could have been a European maestro: he played for Brahams, worked with Grieg, presided over the world premieres of major works by Ravel, Stravinsky, and many others, was Diaghilev's conductor of choice. But it was Monteux's American audiences, especially in San Francisco and Boston, who would love him the most over the course of a long career. He conducted many American premieres, works of Debussy, Falla, Ravel, and among the more than a dozen Boston premieres, those of The Rite of Spring and of Mahler's First Symphony.
But ultimately it was his students-including Marriner, Maazel, Kunzel, Previn, Zinman and author John Canarina-who would be his dearest successes, along with the living legacy of the conducting school he founded in Hancock, Maine, in 1943.
Canarina, a conductor and teacher of conducting himself, studied with Monteux for seven summers and brings great personal warmth and understanding to this wise, admiring, and honest book, the first full-length biography of the man whom so many knew and loved as "Maitre."
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1-57467-082-4, 372 pp, 35 b/w photos, 3 line drawings, 6 x 9", hardcover, © 2003
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Price: $29.95 US
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Media Reviews
"Monteux is here treated to his first full-scale biography.... Complementing the detailed ... narrative are an extensive discography, a list of "significant world premieres," and a handsomely reproduced selection of photographs."
— Chester Lane, Symphony Magazine
"Writer, critic, and former conductor John Canarina writes a thoughtful account of the personal and professional life of French-born conductor Pierre Monteux, whose life and career intersected with some of the most renowned musicians and seminal musical moments in 20th century classical music history."
— Reference & Research Book News
"Monteux's performances were invariably direct, honest and refreshing. The same could be said of this splendid, long overdue biography."
— Godell, American Record Guide
"It's about time someone did this . . . . And Mr. Canarina has done the job right. We get a balanced picture of the man and the musician, though the biographer's task does require appreciation, and we get plenty of that, too . . . . the reader really gets to know and like this man . . . The photos . . . are wonderful . . ."
— American Record Guide
". . . this biography creates an affectionate portrait of a man who worked with the best."
— The Bookwatch
"This amiable, . . . affectionate biography by a one-time student of Monteux's, and now university teacher of Orchestral Studies, shows that . . . [Monteux] was an extraordinarily energetic, dedicated, demanding and self-demanding, genial musician and person . . . we . . . learn a great deal about the nature of the musician and the musical culture in which he throve."
— Michael Tanner, International Record Review
"I highly recommend this book because John Canarina captures the genius of Monteux with insight, compassion, and knowledge. . . . Those who teach and study conducting are indebted to John Canarina for sharing his experiences [as a student and friend of Monteux'] in this excellent biography."
— John Knight, The Instrumentalist
"Canarina paints a vivid and engaging portrait of the former LSO Principal Conductor [Monteux] . . . in this fascinating biography . . ."
— London Symphony Orchestra
"Canarina writes with a fondness and appreciation for this famous conductor while also relating much on the workings of the international world of 20th century music as a participant in this. Canarina is a generous author of this work for music-lovers and music historians."
— Small Press Book Review
"Long awaited! . . . As a former student of his (Monteux's) I read it with much interest and nostalgia. There are a myriad of unfamiliar details which I was enchanted to discover . . ."
— Jonathan Sternberg, Editor-at-Large, Podium Notes; conductor & student of Pierre Monteux, 1946-1947, Podium Notes
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