Music Made Me (Hardcover)

Raymond Leppard is one of the most respected international conductors of our time, having appeared with nearly all of the world's leading orchestras in his five decades on the podium and with more than 200 recordings to his credit. As an author and composer, he was among the first of his time to transcend the academic and performing classical music worlds with a legacy that includes the scholarly realisations of the early Italian operatic composers, Monteverdi and Cavalli. The many distinguished and colourful colleagues he associated with at Cambridge and the performing arts communities of New York, London, Glyndebourne, Manchester and throughout Europe included several of the musical, theatrical, literary and social icons of the time, including members of the British Royal family, Joan Sutherland, Wynton Marsalis, Sir Peter Shaffer and Sir Peter Hall amongst others. In his memoir Music Made Me, he shares how these friendships have enriched his life as a musician and continue to do so as an active octogenarian. His account of aspects of his life and experiences in this impressive community of friends and associates is poignant and punctuated with colourful anecdotes, both thought-provoking and entertaining. HRH The Prince of Wales provides a lively foreward to these recollections and offers his own on the influence of Maestro Leppard's music and friendship has had on three generations of his family and their contemporaries.