Sonata Mulattica: Poems
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Detailing the volatile relationship between the black violinist George Bridgetower and Beethoven, this is a "masterful collection" (Los Angeles Times).
The son of a white woman and an “African Prince,” George Polgreen Bridgetower (1780–1860) travels to Vienna to meet “bad-boy” genius Ludwig van Beethoven. The great composer’s subsequent sonata is originally dedicated to the young mulatto, but George, exuberant with acclaim, offends Beethoven over a woman. From this crucial encounter evolves a grandiose yet melancholy poetic tale. A New Yorker's A Year's Reading; Booklist Editors Choice Award.
Customer Reviews
Wonderful
Rita Dove has an amazing mastery of language. These poems wander in and out of gorgeous halls of elegance, sometimes taking detours through bawdy alleys of humor and irony, and often provide the most achingly perfect descriptions of what it means to live and breathe music.