Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
Autobiographical account by the Russian born composer Vladmir Dukelsky, who in the middle 1930s became better known as Vernon Duke, writer of songs for stage and screen. Duke recounts his earliest, privileged years in Russia, his musical exposure and education, the haunting memories of his father's death, the generous spirit and strength of his mother and the nightmarish few years of suffering during the revolution of 1917, which eventually forced the family from their homeland for good in 1920.
Duke follows with accounts of his extensive travel in Europe and the US, the development of his conflicting musical leanings, details of the origins of his compositions and how they fared in their respective arenas, and his wide range of intimate friends and colleagues in both musical realms in which he became accomplished: Diaghilev, Prokofiev, Koussevitsky, Massine, Balanchine, the Gershwins, Ogden Nash, Larry Hart and countless others. Duke recounts his repeated, deeply painful heartbreaks over failed relationships, his years of service in the United States Coast Guard during WWII and follows with an honest, often indignant, assessment of his subsequent failures on the American stage. His final chapter reveals a happy, final relocation to California, where both his creative and personal lives slowly become simpler and more focused.
Personally self-effacing, professionally self-important, and ever loyal to his family, friends and musical roots and ideals, Vernon Duke paints a direct and highly literate picture of a determined, born artist who possessed perhaps too many gifts.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
Subjects
Correspondence, MusiciansShowing 1 featured edition. View all 1 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1 |
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
First Sentence
"According to Who's Who, I have spent my "entire career" (come, come, I'm still spending it) writing two kinds of music: the serious or unrewarding kind as Vladimir Dukelsky and the unserious but lucrative variety as Vernon Duke."
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Autobiographical.
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?History
- Created April 1, 2008
- 10 revisions
Wikipedia citation
×CloseCopy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?
September 19, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
April 14, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Linked existing covers to the edition. |
December 14, 2009 | Edited by WorkBot | link works |
August 25, 2009 | Edited by an anonymous user | Edited without comment. |
April 1, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from Scriblio MARC record |