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“An ideal ‘first book’ on Beethoven” from one of the world’s most eminent classical music aficionados (Booklist). Beethoven scholar and classical radio host John Suchet has had a lifelong, ardent interest in the man and his music. Here, in his first full-length biography, Suchet illuminates the composer’s difficult childhood, his struggle to maintain friendships and romances, his ungovernable temper, his obsessive efforts to control his nephew’s life, and the excruciating decline of his hearing. This absorbing narrative provides a comprehensive account of a momentous life, as it takes the reader on a journey from the composer’s birth in Bonn to his death in Vienna. Chroniclin...
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's life - and premature death - has long been mythologised and misunderstood. John Suchet draws back the curtain to show us the real man behind the music. A shy, emotional child, Tchaikovsky came late to composing as a career. Doubting himself at every turn and keenly wounded by criticism, he went on to become one of the world's best-loved composers. Yet behind the success lay sadness: the death of his mother haunted him all his life, while his incessant attempts to suppress his homosexuality took a huge toll. From his disastrous marriage to his extraordinary relationship with his female patron, his many amorous liaisons and his devotion to friends and family, Suchet shows us how the complexity of Tchaikovsky's emotional life plays out in his music. Long hidden behind sanitised depictions by his brother and the Russian authorities, Tchaikovsky: The Man Revealed examines the complex and contradictory character of this great artist, and how he came to take his rightful place among the world's greatest composers.
When Nula's husband James becomes forgetful they put it down to the stress of his work. But his behaviour becomes more erratic and inexplicable, and he is eventually diagnosed with Pick's Disease, early onset and aggressive dementia. Their lives change from comfortable middle-class creatives through the shock of diagnosis, coping with the ongoing illness, not coping with the illness, to the indignities of care home life. The Longest Farewell is a moving description of James' utter mental and physical deterioration, and the effect that it had both on him and on the people from whom he was involuntarily retreating, particularly Nula. Her life is completely taken: her frustration at trying to c...
This authoritative and innovative book tells the story of Beethoven's life and works, and highlights some of the most important events with the inclusion of facsimile memorabilia, much of it only available for viewing in museums around Europe.
We think we know the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's life. Austrian-born to a tyrannical father who worked him fiercely; unhappily married to a spendthrift woman; a child-like character ill at ease amid the aristocratic splendor of the Viennese court; a musical genius who died young thus depriving the world of future glories.Yet only that last point is actually true. In this comprehensive biography, John Suchet examines the many myths and misunderstandings surrounding the world's best-loved composer. From his early days as a child prodigy performing for the imperial royal family in Vienna to the last months of his short life, driven to exhaustion by a punitive workload, one thing remained constant: his happy disposition.Through trials and tribulations, grand successes and disheartening setbacks, Suchet shows us the real Mozart—blessed with an abundance of talent yet sometimes struggling to earn a living. His mischievous nature and earthy sense of humor, his ease and confidence in his own incredible abilities; these were traits that never left him. His music has brought comfort to countless generations; his life, though brief, is no less fascinating.
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'The Dementia time Bomb' has come to describe the devastating potential of a disease that, so cruelly, does not shorten life but rather eats away at it.
In the summer of 2013 David Suchet will film his final scenes as Hercule Poirot. After 24 years in the role, he will have played the character in every story that Agatha Christie wrote about him (bar one, deemed unfilmable) and he will bid adieu to a role and a character that have changed his life. In Poirot and Me, David Suchet tells the story of how he secured the part, with the blessing of Agatha Christie's daughter, and set himself the task of presenting the most authentic Poirot that had ever been filmed. David Suchet is uniquely placed to write the ultimate companion to one of the world's longest running television series. Peppered with anecdotes about filming, including many tales of the guest stars who have appeared over the years, the book is essential reading for Poirot fans all over the world.
Daily Mail Showbiz Memoir of the Year 'A beautiful book' Chris Evans 'Terrifically entertaining' Mail on Sunday 'An arresting photographic voyage through the life and loves of this enigmatic English star' S magazine 'Though not a conventional autobiography, we learn what makes the national treasure tick' Daily Express In the early days of my career, I didn't think I stood a hope in hell. Look at me: I'm short, stocky, slightly overweight, deep of voice, passionate, dark haired, olive skinned, hardly your typical Englishman. What chance did I have, going into the world of British theatre? David Suchet has been a stalwart of British stage and screen for fifty years. From Shakespeare to Oscar W...
Is Dai Morris a brutal murderer or the victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice? Author and former solicitor John Morris investigates the Clydach murders, which occurred in 1999, for which Dai Morris was convicted in 2006. In a case which shocked the country Mandy Power, her bed-ridden mother and her two young daughters were battered to death. The crime sparked a huge investigation yet the police made little progress. This widely researched book contends that Morris, convicted for the murders in 2006, is a scapegoat, an innocent man against whom justice was miscarried. No forensic evidence or DNA connected him to the crime; he was convicted because he lacked of a solid alibi, because his ...