ReviewsPraise for Lost in the Stars:
"Alexander Siloti (1863-1945) occupies a legendary position in Russian music history, as a world-class pianist, student of Franz Liszt, teacher, and widely influential impresario... During his heyday in the decades surrounding fin de sičcle Russia, Siloti also impressively perpetuated the time-honored art of musical transcription.
"Until the appearance of the indispensable volume of Siloti reprints compiled and introduced by Charles Barber as part of Carl Fischer's estimable Masters Collection series, one often had to search many library shelves to find this music... The ingenuity of Siloti's musical mind, and his reverence for extending the transcriber's art, are everywhere on display in Barber's collection of 40 of Siloti's 205 editions, transcriptions and arrangements for solo piano.
"Informed introductory notes on both Siloti's life and music clearly add to the attraction of this well-conceived volume... Simplicity can offer the most heartfelt rewards. One need only turn to the first work in this volume, Bach's B-Minor Prelude, to realize what a sensitive transcriber Siloti became. This haunting work is easy to play note-wise, if ever-challenging to bring off in concert with the type of rapt, withdrawn quality that the best virtuoso musicians can project.
"Largely due to Barber's advocacy, the renewed awareness of Siloti as a composer-pianist and the easy availability of his editions will undoubtedly led to more recordings of his transcriptions and arrangements."
Robert Rimm
Music Library Association Notes
December 2004
"Lost in the Stars is an admirable attempt to recover from the past a shadowy figure whose
historical importance in the musical life of
Russia and later America is not to be
underestimated... The procession of great names
in Charles F. Barber's biography owes nothing to
mere name-dropping, for Siloti became a central
figure in St Petersburg until the October
Revolution. His activities are documented in the
fullest detail, with rounded pictures of the
famous personalities encountered along the way.
"In St Petersburg, Siloti dominated an era as
conductor and pianist and as impresario... he was
crucial in making Rachmaninoff's career possible.
"Charles Barber marshals his information (two
full pages of acknowledgements indicate the
magnitude of the task) persuasively, and his
writing style carries one forward -- as
satisfyingly for the general reader as for
academics.
"The book is a pleasure to handle, there are
conveniently placed chapter-by-chapter footnotes,
and key personages are brought to life in some
thirty evocative photographs and illustrations,
including splendid cartoons of Casals with
Siloti, and of Liszt presenting to the
piano-maker Julius Blüthner on a plate his pupil
Alexander Siloti."
Peter Grahame Woolf
Music and Letters
Oxford University Press
Volume 85, Issue 3 / August 2004
"Perhaps the greatest strength of 'Lost in the Stars' is the new
window it opens on the musical culture of the era, particularly the
friendships and conflicts among musicians. Stravinsky was just one of
many to acknowledge the importance of Siloti in bringing his music to
the public. Siloti's talents and ambition made him a driving force in
the musical life of Russia and worthy of the serious treatment Barber
has devoted to him. Accompanying materials support his case.
"If not all of his arguments are entirely convincing, he succeeds in
presenting the grand sweep of Siloti's life, and 'Lost in the Stars'
offers fascinating reading for anyone interested in the piano, Russian music
and, yes, Liszt's legacy."
Brian C Thompson
Music Library Association Notes
March 2004
"Thorough and well written, the book provides a vivid picture of
Siloti's personality and character. The appendices are particularly
interesting, with Siloti concert programs from 1903 - 1917 and a list
of his publications, editions, and transcriptions. His editions of
Liszt and Tchaikovsky were approved and praised by both composers.
"The book is a wonderful resource for students, teachers, and musicologists."
Ernst Zaltsberg
Clavier
February 2004
"Of all the biographies resurrecting unfamiliar names from the
musical past which have passed across this desk over the years, few
have plugged such a yawning gap in our knowledge as this one...
Barber tells the story persuasively, cutting a nice balance between
erudition, concision and readability... in examining the years spent
teaching at the Juilliard School, Barber includes magical insights
into Siloti's pianistic priorities (tone, feeling for melody,
free-flowing lyricism) from former pupils.
"The book bulges with appendices, especially detail of the concert
programmes put together for St Petersburg. The tragedy of course is
that there are next to no recordings to consider. Siloti hated the
whole idea of recording, and has paid a terrible posthumous price in
terms of vanished profile. Happily, a recording of his Bach
transcriptions, played by James Barbagallo, comes with the volume."
Andrew Green
Classical Music Magazine
January 2004
"Barber tells a great story and a wonderful, though sad, tale it is... This book is a magnificent contribution to musical literature and should be read by any who wonder what pianists once were: highly intelligent, cultured, and at the pinnacle of society.
"The book should also go far toward re-writing the history of turn of the century St Petersburg (I hope there will be a Russian translation soon) and is an important contribution to the legacy of Franz Liszt. Charles Barber has achieved something extraordinary in returning from oblivion the memory and achievement of Alexander Siloti. In short: highly recommended."
Gordon Rumson
Music and Vision
November 2003
"Siloti's personality is vividly brought to life and the reader is
constantly reminded of his generosity to musicians...
Barber paints a vivid
portrait of Russian musical life just before the Revolution, where a host
of talented artists interact with Siloti... This is a thoroughly researched
book, using materials from the Siloti Archive at Stanford University as
well as many interviews conducted by the author with people who are now
sadly no longer with us. Glowing testimonials by Richard Taruskin and
Carlos Kleiber reaffirm the appeal of this important and fascinating book."
Jonathan Summers
International Piano Magazine
September October 2003
"This is a fascinating book, as absorbing in its detail of Russian upper
class life at the turn of the century as it is about the musical politics
and rivalries of the great cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow.
"Although this book is beautifully and thoroughly researched, I wish the
documentation had been presented as footnotes on each page rather than
notes at the end of each chapter, eliminating the constant need to refer
back and forth. There is a valuable listing of programs from all of the
Siloti concerts between 1903 and 1917. These are a living example of the
extraordinary contribution Siloti made to Russian musical society."
Lyn Bronson
Books and Recordings
American Music Teacher
May 2003
Advance praise for Lost in the Stars:
An amazing book about an amazing man -- nearly lost to musical history.
"Alexander Siloti was probably the greatest pianist who could have made records but didn't, and so his greatness has been forgotten. Charles Barber has made a heroic rescue effort, and if even he cannot bring back the lost sounds, he does offer the compensations of exhaustive research into Siloti's many-faceted career, a vivid store of descriptive quotes, and an irresistibly unabashed devotion to his subject. Regarded during his lifetime as the last link to a glorious past, Siloti regains that aura in these fascinating pages."
Prof. Richard Taruskin, University of California at Berkeley, and author Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions
A remarkable work of research, told in a remarkable way.
"To most people who listen to and read about classical music, Siloti is at best a name in a footnote to a program note about his cousin Rachmaninoff. But an immense public force and presence in his great years, Siloti was a remarkable musician --- pianist, conductor, composer, teacher, editor, impresario --- whose life-path intersected with those of a multitude of characters from Liszt to Eugene Istomin by way of Tchaikovsky, all three piano-playing Rubinsteins, Elgar, Scriabin, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Ysa˙e, and Casals, to list just a few of the most famous. Charles Barber, scrupulous researcher, intelligent interpreter, and commanding story-teller here does justice to an artist too long and unjustly obscured."
Michael Steinberg, music historian and author The Concerto, The Symphony, Oxford University Press
The story of a fabulous pianist, the culture he inspired, and the music he created.
"A very well researched and well written, interesting and informative book which I truly enjoyed reading and would recommend to everybody who loves music. Although Alexander Ziloti had to leave Russia, his star always shone brightly for us there. Now that Charles Barber has rediscovered this star and introduced it to the musicians and music lovers in the West, I hope that they will always find inspiration in its beautiful and mysterious radiance."
Evgeny Kissin, pianist
A book written for the lay reader interested in the story of 19th and 20th century pianism, conducting, and Russian music-making --- and richly documented for libraries, scholars and professionals.
"Thanks to Dr Charles Barber's amazing research we now can read the fascinating story of Alexander Siloti, one of the most important and influential musicians in pre-revolutionary Russia. Astonishingly he appears to have been entirely overlooked since that time. This book provides a wonderful insight into artistic life in St. Petersburg and the important influence on many famous names of the period by this remarkable polymath of a musician. Essential reading for anyone interested in Russian music and theatre."
Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor
A recreation of legendary times and people, and of a man at the center of it all.
"I remember very well - during my student years at the Moscow Conservatory - that the name Alexander Siloti was pronounced with the utmost reverence. His reputation as teacher, pianist, conductor and composer was legendary. I am very happy that there is now a well researched book on this extraordinary musician."
Vladimir Ashkenazy, pianist and conductor
"Alexander Siloti was one of my predecessors at the Kirov Mariinsky Opera and one of Russia's greatest musicians. It is a tragedy that he has been forgotten. This new book is a wonderful contribution to our understanding of Siloti's life and work and the people in his orbit. If you want to understand music in St. Petersburg prior to 1917, read it."
Valery Gergiev, conductor, General Director Kirov Mariinsky Opera, and Principal Guest Conductor, The Metropolitan Opera
A biography and a cultural history which will appeal to music lovers everywhere.
"How extraordinarily wonderful that Charles Barber has been the musical-archeologist able to bring the great career and music of Alexander Siloti to light for all musicians. I, for one, am fascinated by Siloti and look forward to hearing his music and reading more about him."
Marilyn Horne, singer
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