"Arthur Hartmann (1881-1956), a celebrated violinist who performed over a thousand recitals throughout Europe and the United States, met Claude Debussy in 1908, when he received the composer's enthusiastic approval for his transcription for violin and piano of the song "II pleure dans mon cocur." Their relationship developed into friendship in 1910, when Hartmann and his wife, Marie, lived around the corner from Claude and Emma Debussy, and they socialized frequently. "In May 1910, the composer presented the violinist with an autographed copy of his just-published Preludes (Book 1), and Hartmann immediately transcribed "La fille aux cheveux de lin." Another transcription followed, of the prelude "Minstrels," and in 1914, Debussy suggested that he accompany Hartmann in performance of all three transcriptions. This memorable recital took place on 5 February 1914. The two friends saw each other for the last time on the composer's birthday, 22 August 1914, shortly before Hartmann and his family fled Europe to escape the Great War." "Now, with the publication of Hartmann's memoir "Claude Debussy As I Knew Him," along with the 22 known letters from Claude Debussy and the 39 letters from Emma Debussy to Hartmann and his wife, the richness and importance of their relationship can be appreciated for the first time. The memoirs cover the years 1908-1918. Debussy's letters to Hartmann span the years 1908-1916, and Emma (Mme) Debussy's letters span the years 1910-1932. "Also included are the facsimiles of Debussy's and Hartmann's manuscripts of the "Minstrels" transcriptions, three previously unpublished letters from Debussy to Pierre Louys, and correspondence between Hartmann and Bela Bartok, Nina Grieg Alexandre Guilmant, Charles Martin Loeffler, Marian MacDowell, Hans Richter, and Anton Webern, along with Hartmann's memoirs on Loeffler, Ysaye, Joachim, and Grieg. "A biographical sketch of Hartmann's career, gleaned from the Hartmann collections of the Sibley Music Library and the Free Library of Philadelphia, reintroduces a musician who was known and treasured by many of the leading composers and performers of his time."--Jacket.

Log in to favorite or list