The Sunday Times bestseller The tale of two Waltz Kings: how the Strauss family took Europe by storm during the nineteenth century. The Strauss family name is forever intertwined with Vienna - as is their music. Two generations of this remarkable family transformed and popularised the waltz, delighting all of Viennese society with their prolific compositions. But behind the melody lay a darker discord, as the Strausses tore themselves apart while Vienna itself struggled to secure its place in a rapidly changing world. In The Last Waltz John Suchet skilfully portrays this gripping story, capturing the family dramas, the tensions, triumphs and disasters, all set against the turbulent backdrop of Austria in the nineteenth century, from revolution to regicide. Discover the truth behind Vienna's extraordinary musical dynasty.

Giuseppe Verdi remains the greatest operatic composer that Italy, the home of opera, has ever produced. Yet throughout his lifetime he claimed to detest composing and repeatedly rejected it. He was a landowner, a farmer, a politician and symbol of Italian independence; but his music tells a different story.; An obsessive perfectionist, Verdi drove collaborators to despair but his works were rightly lauded from the start as dazzling feats of composition and characterisation. From Rigoletto to Otello, La Traviatato to Aida, Verdi's canon encompassed the full range of human emotion. His private life was no less complex: he suffered great loss, and went out of his way to antagonise many erstwhile supporters, including his own family. An outspoken advocate of Italian independence and a sharp critic of the church, he was o en at odds with nineteenth-century society and paid the price.; In Verdi: The Man Revealed, John Suchet attempts to get under the skin of perhaps the most private composer who ever lived. Unpicking his protestations, his deliberate embellishments and disingenuous disavowals, Suchet reveals the contradictory and sometimes curmudgeonly character of this great artist, convicted throughout much of his life but ultimately unable to walk away from the art for which he will be forever known.

DISCOVER THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WORLD'S MOST-LOVED COMPOSER; Musical history is full of tormented geniuses, tortured despite - or because of - their enormous talent. Yet perhaps the greatest musical virtuoso the world has ever known cannot be counted among them. Though he faced great hardships, Mozart was surely the happiest composer who ever lived.; In Mozart: The Man Revealed, John Suchet breathes new life into the story of the 'boy genius', revealing a complex character, yet one who always remained comfortable with himself and at ease with his gift. His musical legacy may be immortal, but the man behind the music was gloriously human.

The Sunday Times bestseller, revised and updated for the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. ---- As heard throughout 2020 on Classic FM ---- You know the music... but do you know the man? ---- Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the world's best loved and most influential composers. His life - its dramas, conflicts, loves and losses - is played out in his music. ---- In this special edition to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth - with a new section featuring his most celebrated pieces - John Suchet shows us the man behind the music. He reveals a difficult and complex character, struggling to continue his profession as musician despite increasing deafness, alienating friends with unprovoked outbursts of anger one moment, overwhelming them with excessive kindness and generosity the next, living in a city in almost constant disarray because of war with France. ---- This is the real Beethoven, and Suchet brings him faithfully and vividly to life. ---- This updated edition of Suchet's acclaimed biography contains new material, including a detailed guide to Beethoven's most important compositions, family tree and timeline.

Beethoven scholar and classical radio host John Suchet has had a lifelong, ardent interest in the man and his music. Here, in his first full-length biography, Suchet illuminates the composer's difficult childhood, his struggle to maintain friendships and romances, his ungovernable temper, his obsessive efforts to control his nephew's life, and the excruciating decline of his hearing. This absorbing narrative provides a comprehensive account of a momentous life, as it takes the reader on a journey from the composer's birth in Bonn to his death in Vienna.
Chronicling the landmark events in Beethoven's career--from his competitive encounters with Mozart to the circumstances surrounding the creation of the well-known Fur Elise and Moonlight Sonata--this book enhances understanding of the composer's character, inspiring a deeper appreciation for his work. Beethoven scholarship is constantly evolving, and Suchet draws on the latest research, using rare source material (some of which has never before been published in English) to paint a complete and vivid portrait of the legendary prodigy.