Book description
The inspirational story of Kathleen Ferrier, whose reputation as the
greatest lyric contralto of the twentieth century is something rarely,
if ever, disputed, is here told with compelling insight and perception
by Maurice Leonard. Drawing on a variety of sources, from photographs,
diaries, and private letters, the memories and recollections of those
who knew her best, he charts her life 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. 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 before her
untimely death at the age of forty-one. 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.
Maurice Leonard is a top television producer and a distinguished
biographer. He was born in Surrey, and studied drama at the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama. In addition to Kathleen, he has written
several titles, including a biography of the Russian soprano Oda
Slobodaskya, under whom he studied singing, and that of the American
screen legend in Mae West.
