Bax - 3rd Edition by Lewis Foreman (Hardcover)

About the Book

Completely revised and updated from recently discovered archive material, Lewis Foreman's classic biography is the essential handbook to Bax and his contemporaries.

Book Synopsis

Completely revised and updated from recently discovered archive material, Lewis Foreman's classic biography is the essential handbook to Bax and his contemporaries.

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.

Review Quotes

A more wide-ranging study of Bax and his work than ever before...This book is a tour de force and the fitting culmination of a lifetime's dedicated research.--Julian Haylock "CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE"

[Foreman's] big Bax biography...is surely his central achievement...The book established itself at the outset as the standard work on one of the most important and least understood British composers of his time...The new edition makes [it] more indispensable than ever.--Calum MacDonald "BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE"

Baxians everywhere owe Lewis Foreman a profound debt of gratitude and newcomers can rest assured that he is an absorbing and painstaking biographer...mandatory reading.--Andrew Achenbach "GRAMOPHONE"

For its contribution to the ongoing documentation of an extraordinary period of British musical creativity it is invaluable.-- "BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY NEWS"

Foreman's latest effort is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Bax.-- "JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF MUSICOLOGY IN IRELAND"

Highly recommended.-- "CHOICE"

One of the great biographies of an English composer just got even better. May it snare still more converts to this betwitching composer.-- "CLASSICAL MUSIC"