Celebrity Classics

The following audio is from a television interview from the early 1970s.

The unresolved and ambiguous details of Robert Schumann’s psychological decline and death have tended to dominate his biography. Yet in his time Schumann was lauded as a protean Romantic literary genius whose writings, as a music critic, poet, novelist and dramatist, eclipsed his musical creativity. How did Schumann reconcile these elements? Does his music suggest he suffered from bipolar disorder? How did his pianist wife, Clara, influence his compositions?

Much like The Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs Of Christmas, The Stories Behind The Great Traditions of Christmas and More Stories Behind The Best Loved Songs of Christmas this new Collins Christmas book will fill a void in the book world.

In "Ghosts Want Privacy" a man seeking to pry into the affairs of guests staying in Boston’s Omni Parker House, the city’s historic, notoriously haunted, landmark hotel discovers the ghosts there not only have a sense of humor but also value their privacy and the rights of their human guests to the same and unfortunate things happen when people breach the privacy of others in their domain. The story "Ghosts Want Privacy" is a standalone excerpt from the comedy "Josh, Josh, Josh and Josh Go To Yale" a romantic comedy, coming of age, buddy story, in which all Josh ever wanted to do was go...

Fifty years ago, a little boy was cast in a movie with some of Hollywood's brightest stars. The movie: It's a Wonderful Life; the boy: Jimmy Hawkins; today, he tells his story. Through personal recollection, careful research, and interviews with cast and crew, actor Jimmy Hawkins, who played four-year-old Tommy Bailey, takes you behind the scenes for a first-hand look at the American movie classic It's a Wonderful Life.

Is there any music more instantly recognizable and beautifully scored than Tchaikovsky’s wildly popular ballet Swan Lake? These and other works have become enduring classics, yet they were not uncontroversial in Tchaikovsky’s day, and there are those that still wonder if his style is fundamentally European or ardently Russian. Find out more about Tchaikovsky’s childhood obsession with music, his turbulent relationships with friends and colleagues, and how he overcame the deepest of personal crises to transcend all with an ambition that has left us with some of the greatest music ever written.

손열음의 이번 책은 타 클래식 입문서와는 다른 세 가지의 차별점이 있다. 첫째, 클래식 매니아뿐만 아니라 음악을 사랑하는 사람이라면 누구나 읽을 수 있는 쉬우면서도 밀도 높은 글이라는 점. 둘째, 청중의 눈을 포함해서 연주자의 눈으로 음악을 바라보는 방법에 대해 소개하고 있다는 점. 그리고 마지막으로 대중들이 평소 궁금해했던 비밀스러운 영역인 '연주자의 삶'을 진솔하고 담백하게 고백하고 있다는 점이다.

The making of the Oscar® Award-winning classic Rebecca is detailed in this enlightening and fascinating book which delves into the behind the scenes drama, struggles, and passion that went into the filming of this iconic movie. Biographical sketches of key figures such as author Daphne du Maurier and leading actors Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier are included.

This classic tale of Tarzan, the young English boy in the deepest African jungle, is one of imagination, adventure, and ultimate action. Raised by apes, he learns to speak to the animals, swing through the jungle, and survive happily as one of their own. Only when he meets a group of British tourists on safari does his world change completely. His first encounter with humans, and Jane especially, turns his known life upside down. This Edgar Rice Burroughs classic tale beckons listeners to escape their own world and visit a savage and untamed wilderness.

Entre las dos grandes guerras mundiales se originaron varios movimientos de vanguardia en el arte, incluso en la música, que, al poco de nacer, iban acompañados ya de una posvanguardia; ello explica la diversidad de estilos que configuran la mayoría de las décadas del siglo XX. Un compositor ruso, cuya extensa obra es síntesis del romanticismo e impresionismo, abrió vías hacia el vanguardismo.

During her more than 30 years of performing in the United States, Lillie Langtry came into contact with numerous men and women who are now legends. She was the mistress of Edward Albert, Prince of Wales and future King of England, then turned her talents to acting, her ultimate triumph. At first people came to see her out of curiosity, but she quickly won them over with her beauty, charm and personality if not her acting talent.

John W. Bubbles was the ultimate song-and-dance man. A groundbreaking tap dancer, he provided inspiration to Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, and the Nicholas Brothers. His vaudeville team Buck and Bubbles captivated theater audiences for more than thirty years. Most memorably, in the role of Sportin' Life he stole the show in the original production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, in the process crafting a devilish alter ego that would follow him through life.

The superb classic memoir from a dazzlingly eccentric and endlessly fascinating author - a woman very much ahead of her time - including her time spent on the glorious island of Skiathos. Nancy Spain was one of the most celebrated - and notorious - writers and broadcasters of the '40s, '50s and '60s. Hilarious, controversial and brilliant, she lived openly as a lesbian (sharing a household with her two lovers and their various children) and was frequently litigated against for her newspaper columns - Evelyn Waugh successfully sued her for libel...twice.

An aging pop star will stop at nothing to preserve her youthful beauty! "Classic horror tale with a fresh twist. Equal parts Friday the 13th, Eyes Without a Face and The Skin I Live In, Unmasked takes familiar ingredients, joyfully mashes them together, and creates something refreshingly new." "PREPARE TO BE SCARED! A Taut, Sexy Page-Turning Gothic Thriller!" "It has all the trappings of cult horror, but swims in the realm of a psychological thriller while commenting on the very real (and often dangerous) pursuit of beauty and fame in our media-driven society." The world-renowned pop star, ...

Ruth Padel's new sequence of poems, in four movements, is a personal voyage through the life and legend of one of the world's greatest composers. She uncovers the man behind the music, charting his private thoughts and feelings through letters, diaries, sketchbooks, and the conversation books he used as his hearing declined. She gives us Beethoven as a battered four-year-old, weeping at the clavier; the young virtuoso pianist agonized by his encroaching deafness; the passionate, heartbroken lover. Padel's quest takes her into the heart of Europe and back to her own musical childhood.

In 1976, under the guidance of legendary label Stiff Records, he transformed himself into the snarling, spectacled artist who defied the musical status quo to blaze the trail for a new kind of rock star with his debut album, My Aim Is True. In Elvis Is King, Richard Crouse examines how the man, the myth, and the music of this arrestingly original album smashed the trends of the era to bridge the gap between punk and rock ’n’ roll.

In 1934, a friend brought fledgling actress Vivien Leigh to see Theatre Royal, where she would first lay eyes on Laurence Olivier in his brilliant performance as Anthony Cavendish. That night, she confided to a friend, he was the man she was going to marry. There was just one problem: she was already married—and so was he. Truly, Madly is the biography of a marriage, a love affair that still captivates millions, even decades after both actors' deaths.

Johann Sebastian Bach, baroque music's finest composer: Life and works in a short biography! Everything you need to know, brief and concise. Infotainment, education and entertainment at its best!

Once called "the most gifted character actor of our time," Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954) was part of the illustrious Barrymore acting dynasty. Although he garnered success on stage and screen and was a talented actor, writer, director, visual artist, and composer, he never escaped the shadow of his family. Barrymore won the Academy Award for Best Actor in A Free Soul and was nominated for Best Director for Madame X. He is best known for his role as Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life and as the voice of Ebenezer Scrooge.

At thirteen years old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy who had captured the hearts of northern Europe, but his father Leopold was now determined to conquer Italy. Together, they made three visits there the last when Mozart was seventeen, all vividly recounted here by acclaimed conductor Jane Glover. Father and son travelled from the theatres and concert salons of Milan to the church-filled streets of Rome to Naples, poorer and more dangerous than the prosperous north, and to Venice, the carnivelesque birthplace of public opera.