[ePub] San Francisco: A Map of Perceptions (Page-Barbour Lectures) by Andrea Ponsi at Arts-Photography

Description

The Austrian composer Hanns Eisler was Bertolt Brechts closest friend and most politically committed collaborator. In these conversations with Hans Bunge which took place over a period of four years; from 1958 until his death in 1962; Eisler offers a compelling and absorbing account of his and Brechts period of exile in Europe and the USA between 1933 and 1947; and of the quality of artistic; social and intellectual life in post-war East Germany. Brecht; Music and Culture includes a discussion of a number of Brechts principal plays; including Life of Galileo and The Caucasian Chalk Circle; considers the place of music in Brechts work and discusses the time that Brecht was brought before The House of Un-American Activities Committee. It includes lively accounts of Brechts meetings with key cultural figures; including Arnold Schouml;nberg; Charlie Chaplin and Thomas Mann; and offers throughout a sustained response to the question of the purpose of art in a time of political turmoil.Throughout the conversations; Eisler provides illuminating and original insights into Brechts work and ideas and gives a highly entertaining first-hand account of his friends personality and attitudes. First published in Germany in 1975; and now published in English for the first time; the conversations provide a fascinating account of the lives and work of two of the twentieth centurys greatest artists.