Georges Auric (Hardcover)

Colin Roust

ISBN 10: 0190607777 / ISBN 13: 9780190607777

Published by Oxford University Press Inc, New York, 2020

About this Item

Hardcover. Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie, Moulin Rouge - the names popularly associated with film composer Georges Auric's career conjure visions of a distant and glamorous early twentieth-century Parisian art world. Auric wrote well over 100 film scores, including the soundtrack for Roman Holiday, and was notably affiliated with Les Six, a group of French composers reacting to the musical establishment of the 1920s. But Auric's life and work spanned far beyondthis limited sphere. A lifelong involvement in politics - from his leftism during the Popular Front years of the 1930s to his significant role in the French Communist Party's musical resistance of the 1940s - heavilyinfluenced his sound and aesthetic. His advocacy on behalf of his fellow musicians led him into the fight for fair copyright laws, initially in France and then worldwide. And over the course of a seven-decade-long career, Auric took on roles as diverse as music critic, opera director, and arts administrator, revealing a deep involvement in his country's musical life that makes the label of "composer" seem inadequate.The first English-language biography of Auric,Georges Auric: A Life in Music and Politics rethinks the conventional ideas of what it means to be a composer. Drawing from an astonishing three dozen untapped archives, including the private archives of Auric'swidow, author Colin Roust presents a picture of Auric that is as multifaceted as the man's career. Using Auric's life as a lens, Roust reveals the transforming role of music - and the composer - in twentieth-century society. The first English-language biography of this major French film composer, George Auric: A Life in Music and Politics examines not only the impact of Auric's leftist politics on his work, but also the myriad roles he held outside of film composition - including but not limited to music critic, opera director, and arts administrator. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780190607777

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Georges Auric (Hardcover)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, New York
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0190607777
• ISBN 13: 9780190607777
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie, Moulin Rouge - the names popularly associated with film composer Georges Auric's career conjure visions of a distant and glamorous early twentieth-century Parisian art world. Auric wrote well over 100 film scores, including the soundtrack for Roman Holiday, and was notably affiliated with Les Six, a group of French composers reacting to the musical establishment of the 1920s. But Auric's life and work spanned far beyond this limited sphere. A lifelong involvement in politics - from his leftism during the Popular Front years of the 1930s to his significant role in the French Communist Party's musical resistance of the 1940s - heavily influenced his sound and aesthetic. His advocacy on behalf of his fellow musicians led him into the fight for fair copyright laws, initially in France and then worldwide. And over the course of a seven-decade-long career, Auric took on roles as diverse as music critic, opera director, and arts administrator, revealing a deep involvement in his country's musical life that makes the label of "composer" seem inadequate.

The first English-language biography of Auric, Georges Auric: A Life in Music and Politics rethinks the conventional ideas of what it means to be a composer. Drawing from an astonishing three dozen untapped archives, including the private archives of Auric's widow, author Colin Roust presents a picture of Auric that is as multifaceted as the man's career. Using Auric's life as a lens, Roust reveals the transforming role of music - and the composer - in twentieth-century society.

About the Author

Dr. Colin Roust is Assistant Professor of Musicology at the University of Kansas. His research interests include twentieth-century music, film music, music history pedagogy, music and politics, and the intersection of music and the other arts in multimedia genres. He is also a co-editor of The Routledge Film Music Sourcebook and co-translator of William Ritter: Studies of Foreign Art.