The Genius of Valhalla: The Life of Reginald Goodall

by John Lucas

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When Sir Reginald Goodall died in 1990, at the age of 88, he had already acquired cult status and was considered one of the greatest Wagner conductors of our times. Although he had conducted the premiere of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes in 1945 and was admired by Erich Kleiber and Otto Klemperer, he suffered years of neglect until his triumphant return to conduct Die Meistersinger at Sadler's Wells in 1968.

John Lucas, author of theacclaimed Thomas Beecham: An Obsession with Music, examines the mysteries of Goodall's early career, his Mosleyite sympathies, his remarkable late flowering and the fame of his last 20 years. Drawing upon letters and diaries as well as extensive interviews with friends and colleagues, Lucas pieces together the life of this enigmatic, self-effacing figure - a great Wagner conductor in a tradition stretching back through Knappertsbusch and Karl Muckto Hans Richter.

Previously available as Reggie: The Life of Reginald Goodall - now available for the first time in paperback with a new Preface and Introduction. Published in association with the Peter Moores Foundation.
  • ISBN10 1843835177
  • ISBN13 9781843835172
  • Publish Date 15 October 2009
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
  • Imprint The Boydell Press
  • Format Paperback (US Trade)
  • Pages 264
  • Language English