40 biografías de músicos de los últimos 300 años. 40 relatos muy bien escritos y que mantienen totalmente el interés. 40 historias que maravillan y entretienen. 40 veces una buena lectura. Me encantó esta obra, que conservo entre mis más preciados libros. El autor reconoce desde el prólogo que no tenía ni idea de música y que consideró que escribir un libro era una buena manera de aprender. Pues le salió redondo... ( )

This book, though quite compelling and full of great anecdotes, falls short of his Great Composers, Great Pianists, and Great Conductors books. Nevertheless, no one has written about music and its artists of all types with more love and insight then Schonberg, and this book will have you searching for archival recordings of Caruso, Hofmann, and lots of others. If only they existed for Liszt and Paganini! Quoting from eyewitnesses, Schonberg tries to give us a feeling for what made each performer, whether a singer or an instrumentalist special. He is diligent to seek out both strengths and weaknesses, though he has to look pretty hard for weaknesses in a few cases. Throughout, he writes in his standard compelling but opinionated mode. There is a great deal of regret that contemporary performers (i.e., 1985) lack the power, insight, or spontaneity of prior generations. He would definitely jump in a time machine to 1920 if he had the chance. Many of his readers will want to do the same. ( )