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Charles Mackerras
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Edited by:
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Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2015
About this book
Comprising a brief biography and chapters written by those who worked with him, such as Janet Baker and Alfred Brendel, this is a celebration of an exceptional, creative life.
By the time of his death in 2010 at the age of 84, Sir Charles Mackerras had achieved widespread recognition, recorded extensively and developed into a conductor of major international significance. In addition to areas in which he already had forged a distinctive profile (Janácek, Mozart, Handel, Sullivan) he revisited - and rethought - much of the standard repertoire. The last thirty years were particularly momentous in the coming to fruition of so manycherished projects: not only the Janácek operas but the Gilbert and Sullivan series, the Mozart operas, the two Beethoven cycles, other projects with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Schumann and Brahms at Edinburgh; the outstanding late Mozart) and at the Royal Opera House and the Met. Unspoilt by fame, and undeterred by personal tragedies and increasing physical frailty, he remained productive and inventive: for him music-making, whether with world-classsingers and orchestras or with students, was a kind of joyous oxygen that kept him going right to the end.
A detailed account of his life is complemented by contributions from performers and scholars who worked closely with Mackerras, as well as interviews with his family. The book is richly illustrated with photographs and documents, and includes a comprehensive discography along with listings of many of his concert and opera performances. While SirCharles's whole life is considered, emphasis is given to his final quarter century, a period in which so many important projects were realized. This book celebrates and epitomizes an exceptional life.
NIGEL SIMEONE is awriter and teacher. He has published extensively on Messiaen and Janácek and recently edited The Leonard Bernstein Letters.
JOHN TYRRELL is Honorary Professor of Music at Cardiff University. He has published bookson Janácek and Czech opera and, with Sir Charles Mackerras, edited two Janácek operas. CONTRIBUTORS: Janet Baker, Alfred Brendel, Ales Brezina, Alex Briger, Rosenna East, Anne Evans, Nicholas Hytner, Simon Keenlyside, David Lloyd-Jones, David Mackie, Chi-chi Nwanoku, Antonio Pappano, Nigel Simeone, John Stein, Heinz Stolba, Patrick Summers, John Tyrrell, Malcolm Walker, David Whelton, Jirí Zahrádka.
By the time of his death in 2010 at the age of 84, Sir Charles Mackerras had achieved widespread recognition, recorded extensively and developed into a conductor of major international significance. In addition to areas in which he already had forged a distinctive profile (Janácek, Mozart, Handel, Sullivan) he revisited - and rethought - much of the standard repertoire. The last thirty years were particularly momentous in the coming to fruition of so manycherished projects: not only the Janácek operas but the Gilbert and Sullivan series, the Mozart operas, the two Beethoven cycles, other projects with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Schumann and Brahms at Edinburgh; the outstanding late Mozart) and at the Royal Opera House and the Met. Unspoilt by fame, and undeterred by personal tragedies and increasing physical frailty, he remained productive and inventive: for him music-making, whether with world-classsingers and orchestras or with students, was a kind of joyous oxygen that kept him going right to the end.
A detailed account of his life is complemented by contributions from performers and scholars who worked closely with Mackerras, as well as interviews with his family. The book is richly illustrated with photographs and documents, and includes a comprehensive discography along with listings of many of his concert and opera performances. While SirCharles's whole life is considered, emphasis is given to his final quarter century, a period in which so many important projects were realized. This book celebrates and epitomizes an exceptional life.
NIGEL SIMEONE is awriter and teacher. He has published extensively on Messiaen and Janácek and recently edited The Leonard Bernstein Letters.
JOHN TYRRELL is Honorary Professor of Music at Cardiff University. He has published bookson Janácek and Czech opera and, with Sir Charles Mackerras, edited two Janácek operas. CONTRIBUTORS: Janet Baker, Alfred Brendel, Ales Brezina, Alex Briger, Rosenna East, Anne Evans, Nicholas Hytner, Simon Keenlyside, David Lloyd-Jones, David Mackie, Chi-chi Nwanoku, Antonio Pappano, Nigel Simeone, John Stein, Heinz Stolba, Patrick Summers, John Tyrrell, Malcolm Walker, David Whelton, Jirí Zahrádka.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Nigel Simeone
NIGEL SIMEONE is a scholar, writer and broadcaster specializing in twentieth-century music. He was editor of The Leonard Bernstein Letters (Yale, 2013) and for the Boydell Press has published Charles Mackerras with John Tyrrell (2015), The Janáček Compendium (2019) and most recently Ralph Vaughan Williams and Adrian Boult (2022) and Edward Elgar and Adrian Boult (2025).
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Contributor: Jiří Zahrádka
JIŘÍ ZAHRÁDKA is Director of the Janáček Archive in Brno and a musicologist. He is the editor of critical editions of many works by Janáček including the Sinfonietta, Taras Bulba, Káťa Kabanová, The Cunning Little Vixen and The Makropulos Affair, and author of books on Janáček including acclaimed full-length studies of the operas.
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Contributor: Nigel Simeone
NIGEL SIMEONE is a scholar, writer and broadcaster specializing in twentieth-century music. He was editor of The Leonard Bernstein Letters (Yale, 2013) and for the Boydell Press has published Charles Mackerras with John Tyrrell (2015), The Janáček Compendium (2019) and most recently Ralph Vaughan Williams and Adrian Boult (2022) and Edward Elgar and Adrian Boult (2025).
Topics
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Frontmatter
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Contents
vi -
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List of Illustrations
viii -
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List of Abbreviations
x -
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Preface and Acknowledgments
xi -
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About the Contributors
xiv -
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Charles Mackerras: A Chronology
xviii -
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Prologue: A Eulogy for Charles
1 -
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1 An Immense Stylist Evolves: 1947–87
3 -
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2 A Personal Portrait of Charles Mackerras
39 -
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3 Mackerras and Janáček
45 -
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4 Goat’s Milk in Vienna Three Memorable Meetings
61 -
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5 The Lion: Charles Mackerras
67 -
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6 ‘The Musical Values of Opera’ WNO, 1987–92
87 -
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7 Triumphs and Tribulations Opera, 1993–2001
107 -
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8 Rethinking Old Favourites Opera, 2002–10
126 -
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9 The Last Great ‘Czech’ Conductor
149 -
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10 Reminiscences of a Friend and Colleague
160 -
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11 Reconstructing a Better Version of The Greek Passion
165 -
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12 Reconstructing Sullivan’s Cello Concerto
169 -
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13 Three Orchestras
175 -
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14 Coda
194 -
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Appendix 1 Mackerras in Performance
205 -
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Appendix 2 Desert Island Lists
232 -
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Discography
235 -
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Bibliography
276 -
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Editions and Arrangements by Charles Mackerras
278 -
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Index
280
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
April 3, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9781782044741
Original publisher:
Boydell Press
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781782044741
Keywords for this book
Charles Mackerras; Conductor; Music; Janácek; Mozart; Handel; Sullivan; Gilbert and Sullivan; Schumann; Brahms; Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Royal Opera House; Met; Music-Making; Musician's Life; Music Biography; Classical Music
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
