Christian Reimers - A Spirited Performer
by Paul Blackman
Now Available
ABOUT
When Christian Reimers went to Dusseldorf, he lived with and became a close family friend of the composer Robert Schumann and his concert pianist wife Clara. From a musical point of view, he not only played through the Schumann Cello Concerto in its draft form with the composer at the piano but also the now-lost Cello Romances. He also met many of the main composers & players at the time. When Robert Schumann encouraged investigation into the latest fad out of the USA - Spiritualism, he found in the young man someone keen to explore this new mystery. These few short years would have a profound effect on the path his life would take. Already a talented artist, the rest of Reimers' turbulent life would be dominated by music and spiritualism, especially blossoming in Manchester, London and Australia.
rEIMERS tHE aRTIST
Christian Reimers was a talented artist who made many caricatures, especially to earn an income as a young adult. Some feature members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra when he was a player there. Others are made during his time in Dusseldorf and show amusing aspects of town & village life at the time
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COMMENTS
"A fascinating tale, told with real flair. Who'd have thought that there would be such a strong link between Schumann, spiritualism and 19th- century Adelaide? But there was - read, and discover!"
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"It is a treat for readers with all kinds of interests: for those avid for details about the life of Robert Schumann, for those wishing to find out about 19th-century spiritualism, for historians interested in Australian musical life in the 1880s; or indeed for anyone who likes an absorbing, poignant, unusual story. "
- Steven Isserlis, international cello virtuoso
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You have written a terrific book. Wonderful what obsession can accomplish, in the hands of someone with the sense to know how to get about finding the facts!
- Styra Avins, author & cellist New York and member of the Board of Directors of The American Brahms Society
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‘Reimers’ remarkable story offers a unique and unsuspected link between the famed high musical culture of Dresden in the mid 19th Century, and the emerging new musical culture of Australia from then onwards. The book is the fruit of much painstaking research and personal commitment.
- Michael Musgrave, Honorary fellow, Royal College of Music (F.R.C.M.), Juilliard School, member of graduate faculty, 2005—
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“It’s a wonderful tale, well told”
Peter Goers, OAM, ABC Radio Presenter
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"A fascinating book!"
- Martin Buzacott, ABC FM Presenter
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"Congratulations on your excellent book about Reimers, with its immense amount of thoughtful research, full of interest and entertaining; equal to the best biographies I have read (e.g. about Berlioz, Mozart etc) and much better than many others."
- Mark Smith
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"....very informative, interesting, and entertaining"
Peter Webb, OAM, Conductor Unley Symphony Orchestra
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"A really interesting read. Most enjoyable."
- Mark Sander SA
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Welch ein spannendes Buch von Paul Blackman über das bewegte, schillernde Leben von Christian Reimers, renommierter Cellist aus Altona und Kammermusikvertrauter Robert Schumanns, mit dem Schumann seine späten Cellowerke durchgegangen ist.
Durch Reviews in Zeitschriften aus Adelaide wissen wir nun nachweislich von Aufführungen von einigen Sätzen von Bachs Cellosuite mit der durch Schumann komponierten Klavierbegleitung. Auch die gleichermaßen verschollenen Romanzen für Cello mag Reimers in Australien gespielt haben. Welch ein „Sehnen und Verlangen“ der Cellisten und mindestens ebenso der Fagottisten nach diesen vergilbten Notenblättern, die möglicherweise noch zu entdecken wären auf einem Speicher Down Under?
- Gabriele Nilsson-Püchner bassoon maker
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I think you've written a great yarn. In many ways it's a kind of adventure story; you never know where Reimers is going to take you next, or what he might get up to.
- Patrick Brislan https://www.amazon.com/author/patrickbrislan
http://www.vividpublishing.com.au/heresiesofmusic/
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