First Nights Five Musical Premieres Thomas Forrest Kelly

This lively book takes us back to the very first performances of five famous pieces of music: Monteverdi's Orfeo in 1607, Handel's Messiah in 1742, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in 1824, Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique in 1830, and Stravinsky's Sacre du printemps in 1913. Thomas Forrest Kelly brings to life the fascinating details of these premiere nights - the cities, concert halls, audiences, conductors, musicians, the sound of the music, and the responses of audiences and critics.

"First Nights presents a mass of technical information in an unusually accessible way. The book is always enjoyable." Judith Weir, Times Literary Supplement "A smart and lively book... replete with precious nuggets of information through which Kelly indulges our (and his) impulse to be there then knowing what we know now, to view history as it was being made... Kelly has a talent for colourful narrative and lucid prose that conjures up the palpable excitement as well as the artistic birth-pains that attended many of these premieres." Jeremy Eichler, The New Republic "A brilliant essay... With its abundant portfolios of documents and sensitively chosen illustrations, this is the kind of book that has us crying, 'Oh, that we were there!' " Jonathan Keates, New York Times Book Review