wednesday books
13 March 2024 22:01![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
landofnowhereMendelssohn and Victorian England, by Colin Timothy Eatock. A couple weeks ago I fell down the rabbit hole of the archives of Not Another Music History Cliche by the late Linda Shaver-Gleason, which is delightful (especially if you enjoy feeling superior to ignorant musical snobs). From there I looked up Shaver-Gleason's Ph.D. thesis on Mendelssohn's legacy in England, from which I found this book.
There was a decent amount I knew already from previous reading, but this book helped me put it in context. It makes for an interesting comparison with Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, in its exploration of the social status of musicians, Mendelssohn's breakthrough into musical society as a "gentleman musician", and his transformative influence on English culture. A passage that stood out:
Also interesting that while relatively recent (2009), it's just old enough to describe Fanny's Easter Sonata as being lost. But really the most important thing about this book is that it alerted me of the existence of Charles Auchester.
Charles Auchester, Elizabeth Sara Sheppard. already reviewed here.
Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher. Only just started this, but it's compelling so far. Looking forward to reading more.
There was a decent amount I knew already from previous reading, but this book helped me put it in context. It makes for an interesting comparison with Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, in its exploration of the social status of musicians, Mendelssohn's breakthrough into musical society as a "gentleman musician", and his transformative influence on English culture. A passage that stood out:
Although clearly a foreigner, Mendelssohn was the living incarnation of a particularly English set of ideals: he was brilliantly talented and well educated, yet modest and hard working; businesslike, but not too businesslike; affluent, generous, charming and endowed with good taste. He enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow men, and was also fond of the company of women – in the most proper and morally upstanding way. He was a gentleman.
Also interesting that while relatively recent (2009), it's just old enough to describe Fanny's Easter Sonata as being lost. But really the most important thing about this book is that it alerted me of the existence of Charles Auchester.
Charles Auchester, Elizabeth Sara Sheppard. already reviewed here.
Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher. Only just started this, but it's compelling so far. Looking forward to reading more.