{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03286384976525822, 'fraction_numerical': 0.007042253521126761, 'mean_word_length': 5.029874213836478, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Irony and Sound: The Music of Maurice Ravel (review)

The year 2010 marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Arbie Orenstein’s biography of Maurice Ravel, an indispensible resource to which any new study will inevitably be compared (Ravel: Man and Musician [New York: Columbia University Press, 1975; reprint, New York: Dover, 1991]). Orenstein’s seamless integration of historical background, biographical insight, and stylistic analysis makes his book, if not the first Ravel biography in English, then arguably the most accessible. The unwavering popularity of Ravel’s music and concurrent growth of scholarly research has not, however, erased significant lacunae, including the absence of a complete works edition. Crucial aspects of Ravel’s meticulous art remain elusive or underappreciated. Stephen Zank’s new study proposes to reexamine Ravel’s oeuvre through the lens of irony, a topic more commonly associated with literary theorists than music historians. While Ravel himself was reticent to use the term, his colleagues were not, and Zank locates numerous references to Ravel and the between Bülow’s comments about Mahler’s composition and Mahler’s conducting. Toward this end Walker is also careful to mention that Bülow’s perspective on music was different earlier in his career, when he championed new works, and his later years, when he seemed more concerned with more standard repertoire. Nevertheless, Walker makes clear the esteem Bülow had for Mahler as the “Pygmalion” of the Ham burg Opera (p. 427). Mahler, of course, had the final word, in taking a cue for the Finale to his Second Symphony from the setting of Klopstock’s “Auferstehung” sung at Bülow’s funeral (p. 454). While no programmatic link exists to connect Bülow to the Second Symphony, it is tribute indeed that Mahler commemorated the occasion in his own music. More than that, the documentation of Bülow’s passing not only rounds out this biography, but contributes perspectives on the posthumous reputation of this important figure. All in all, Walker’s study not only offers a full and nuanced image of Bülow, but it also portrays the conductor’s life engagingly. His characterization of the role of Liszt in the early part of Bülow’s career stops short of Freudian father-figure interpretation, as Walker brings out the interaction of two strong musical talents. Similarly, the complicated relationship between Bülow and Cosima has elements of melodrama, which Walker avoids in presenting clearly the details of Wagner’s affair with his colleague’s wife. And the information about Bülow’s illnesses offers insights into the musician’s behavior and the personal strength he summoned to follow through on his commitments. In this study Bülow emerges as a figure in the round, and it is to Walker’s credit that his perspective avoids hero worship. More than that, this book is a good read, a solid piece of writing on its own merits, as the author shares his knowledge of a fascinating life. While some may lament the sometimes innocuous way people write about musicians’ lives (see Rainer Hersch, “Why Are Musicians’ Biographies so Dull?,” BBC Music Magazine 18, no. 8 [April 2010]: 19), this is not so with Walker’s book, which engages the reader at many levels. Walker never becomes mired in details, but masterfully uses footnotes that interested readers can pursue if they like. His use of illustrations is apt in the way they amplify points made in the text, rather than serve any perfunctory function. While some of the more detailed biographies of composers are, at bottom, chronicles of their activities, Walker brings point and focus to his portrait of Bülow’s life. Hans von Bülow: A Life and Times is laudable for its mastery of its subject, and is a work of finesse suitable to it. James L. Zychowicz Madison, Wisconsin