Musical Visitors to Britain

By Peter Gordon

Art

Routledge
Publication date: August 2005

ISBN: 9780203964170

Digital Book format: PDF (Adobe DRM)

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Over the centuries Britain has attracted many musical visitors. This book tells the stories of the many composers who visited--a varied and often eccentric collection of individuals. The earliest were invited by Royalty with musical tastes some were refugees from religious and political oppressions; others came as spies, a few to escape from debt and even murder charges. However, the main motive was a possibility of financial reward.The rise in the nineteenth century of the celebrity composer, who was often also a conductor, is also traced. With the development of new forms of transport, composers were able to travel more extensively, both from the Continent and from the USA. New opportunities were also presented by the opening of public halls, where concerts could be held, as well as the growth of music festivals. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries the airplane has enabled a regular influx of composers, and the book ends with a consideration of the universalizing of music as well the impact of new forms, such as jazz."Musical Visitors to Britain" is a fascinating book which is aimed to appeal to both the general reader and those with a special interest in music history.