EBOOK Charles Munch

A mesmerizing figure in concert, Charles Munch was celebrated for his electrifying        public performances. He was a pioneer in many arenas of classical        music--establishing Berlioz in the canon, perfecting the orchestral work of Debussy        and Ravel, and leading the world to Roussel, Honegger, and Dutilleux. A pivotal        figure, his accomplishments put him on a par with Arturo Toscanini and Leonard        Bernstein.In Charles Munch, D. Kern Holoman provides the first full biography of        this giant of twentieth-century music, tracing his dramatic survival in occupied        Paris, his triumphant arrival at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and his later years,        when he was a leading cultural figure in the United States, a man known and admired        by Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy. He turned to conducting only in        middle age, after two decades as a violinist and concertmaster, a background which        gave him special insight into the relationship between conductor and orchestra. At        the podium, his bond with his musicians unleashed something in them and in himself.          "e;A certain magic took wing that amounts to the very essence of music in concert,"e;        the author writes, as if "e;public performance loosed the facets of character and        artistry and poetry otherwise muffled by his timidity and simple disinclination to        say much."e; In concert, Munch was arresting, even seductive, sweeping his baton in an        enormous arch from above his head down to his knee. Yet as Holoman shows, he        remained a lonely, even sad figure, a widower with no children, a man who fled        admirers and avoided reporters.With groundbreaking research and sensitive, lyrical        writing, Charles Munch penetrates the enigma to capture this elusive musical        titan.