Bax A Composer and His Times [Hardcover]

Lewis Foreman's classic biography of the composer Arnold Bax (1883-1953) was first published in 1983. Documenting the life and times of a remarkable figure whose life touched a wide circle in England and Ireland, it was notable for having many of Bax's friends and contemporaries as sources, most of whom have since died. It also informed the remarkable revival of Bax's music and reputation which has taken place over the last twenty years. Now completely revised in the light of much new material including the huge archive of the pianist Harriet Cohen, Bax's mistress, which has only just become available for research, it is a notable portrait of a unique musical milieu. Bax's extensive musical output is now comprehensively recorded and widely known and here all the music is discussed from first hand acquaintance with all the revivals and recordings. This is the essential handbook to Bax and his period. LEWIS FOREMAN is a freelance author and advisor to record companies.Completely revised and updated from recently discovered archive material, Lewis Foreman's classic biography is the essential handbook to Bax and his contemporaries.1883-1900: The Backround1900-1905: The Royal Academy of Music1905-1909: Many Influences1909-1910: Ireland and Russia1910-1911: Marriage1912-1914: Rathgar and London1914-1916: The Great War1916-1918: Harriet Cohen1918-1920: Peace and Success1921-1923: Triumph1924-1925: Crisis1926-1928: New Directions1928-1929: Dreams and Reality1930-1932: Going Northern1933-1936: Past Fifty1937-1939: `I can't grow up'1939-1945: The Second World War: Storrington1945-1953: Last YearsAfter 1953: Decline and RevivalAppendix A: Dermot O'ByrneAppendix B: King KojataAppendix C: The Happy Forest by Herbert FarjeonAppendix D: Bax's Symphonies at the PromsAppendix E: Felix Aprahamian's Foreward to the First Edition [1982]