Kathleen Ferrier;: A biography Hardcover - amazon.com

by Paul Campion

Kathleen Ferrier &#; A Memoir, edited by Neville Cardus: (Hamish Hamilton, – pp, Hardback).
A collection of six beautifully written tributes to Ferrier by some of her closest friends and colleagues: Sir John Barbirolli, Benjamin Britten, Neville Cardus, Roy Henderson, Gerald Moore and Bruno Walter.

Extensively illustrated.

The Life of Kathleen Ferrier, by Winifred Ferrier: (Hamish Hamilton, – pp, Hardback).
The first authoritative biography, a very well written and affectionate tribute by the family member closest to Kathleen Ferrier.

Kathleen ferrier biography book Kathleen Ferrier has a reputation as the greatest lyric contralto of the twentiety century. Her story, from her humble beginnings as a telephone operator in Blackburn to the height of international fame as one of the world's leading concert artists and her untimely death at the age of forty-one, is told told with compelling insight and perception, using a variety of sources, from photographs, diaries, and private letters to the memoirs and recollections of those who knew her best. Despite having no formal musical training, Kathleen worked with all the celebrated conductors of the time, and is remembered for her performances of music by Brahms, Schubert and Mahler, as well as a handful of operatic roles. Enlarging considerably on many alternative biographies, this excellent account captures the warmth, humour and charm of a figure whose astonishing life and career proved to be, sadly, all too brief. Account Options Connexion.

Extensively illustrated. Since this book has been re-printed in paperback on several occasions.

Kathleen Ferrier, by Charles Rigby: (Robert Hale, – pp, Hardback).
An unauthorised biography, the subject of much controversy on its publication. Inaccurate in many ways, it does include some photographs of Ferrier not published elsewhere.

Extensively illustrated.

Kathleeen, by Maurice Leonard: (Hutchinson, – pp, Hardback).
An excellent portrait that enlarges considerably on earlier biographies. It reveals aspects of Kathleen&#;s life and illness that her sister had been reluctant to focus on so soon after Kathleen&#;s death, and was written with Winifred&#;s full co-operation and help.

Extensively illustrated. A revised and updated version was published in May by Nonsuch Publishing, but without illustrations ( pp, Paperback).

Kathleen Ferrier, by Jérôme Spycket: (Payot Lausanne, – pp, Paperback).
A short biography in French, alternate pages being devoted to superb photographs, many of which are unpublished elsewhere.

Michael jordan biography books Jump to ratings and reviews. Want to read. Rate this book. Kathleen: The Life of Kathleen Ferrier. Maurice Leonard.

Spycket’s La vie brève de Kathleen Ferrier was published by Fayard in

Ferrier &#; A Career Recorded, by Paul Campion: (Thames Publishing/Music Sales, – pp, Hardback).
A detailed annotated discography that considers Ferrier&#;s recordings, made between June and January , in the context of her short, busy career; it also includes recording dates, venues and issue numbers, with numerous anecdotes and stories.

All of Ferrier’s recordings known at the time of writing are discussed, including a number ‘re-discovered’ shortly before the book’s publication; a special section discusses Ferrier on film and DVD. Extensively illustrated.

The Letters and Diaries of Kathleen Ferrier, Klever Kaff, edited by Christopher Fifield: (Boydell & Brewer, – pp, Paperback).
This new paperback edition of Dr Fifield’s book contains much recently-discovered material to add to the already fascinating surviving letters from Kathleen Ferrier to numerous correspondents in the UK and North America.

The diaries, too, reveal the sheer pressure of work and travel that Ferrier endured during the tough wartime and post-war period. Included is a new section on Kathleen Ferrier and the BBC. Extensively illustrated.

Other useful references:

The Grand Tradition, by John Steane: (Duckworth, )
Singers of the Century volume 1, by John Steane: (Duckworth, )
Opera on Record, volume 1, ed Alan Blyth: (Hutchinson, )
Opera on Record, volume 2, ed Alan Blyth: (Hutchinson, )
Song on Record, volume 1, ed Alan Blyth: (C.U.P., )
Song on Record, volume 2, ed Alan Blyth: (C.U.P., )
Choral Music on Record, ed Alan Blyth, (C.U.P., )
Putting the Record Straight, by John Culshaw: (Secker & Warburg, )
Walter Legge &#; A Discography, by Alan Sanders: (Greenwood Press, )
Benjamin Britten &#; A Biography, by Humphrey Carpenter: (Faber and Faber, )
Reggie &#; The Life of Reginald Goodall, by John Lucas: (Julia MacRae, )
More Legendary Voices, by Nigel Douglas: (Andre Deutsch, )
Glyndebourne Recorded, by Rosy Runciman and Paul Campion: (Julia MacRae, )
La voix de Kathleen Ferrier, by Benoit Mailliet le Penven: (Balland, )
Time and Concord: Aldeburgh Festival Recollections, by Jenni Wake-Walker: (Autograph Books, )
Klever Kaff, in Granta, by Ian Jack: (Winter )
Parting is such sweet sorrow, article in Gramophone, by Martin Cullingford: (September )
Barbirolli &#; Conductor Laureate (revised version), by Michael Kennedy: (Barbirolli Society, )