Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull

Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought) Reviews

• 
  Benjamin Zapata

  An entertaining survey of living,breathing anecdotes about 20 of the greatest musicians that ever lived. From Antonio Vivaldi to Woody Guthrie,it's an irresistible package,leaving you hungry to know more about this amazing artists. Kathleen Krull has done an amazing job collecting all the fact,and putting it into writing,and Kathryn Hewitt has created some very beautifull potraits/illustrations about each musician,a complement to each chapter about each of them.
  Just read the chapter about Mozart : "Until he was three,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an ordinary baby.Then at age four,..." And so on,to discover that at age 7,he proposed marriage to Marie Antoinette(the future Queen of France).
  I don't want to spoil it for anybody,so if you get the chance,read this very entertaining book,the first one I read in a serie created by Kathleen Krull about the lives of amazing people!A colorful,entralling introduction into our cultural heritage!
• 
  Susan Forsgren

  Krull has compiled an enjoyable assortment of sketches on 16 famous musicial giants that will have readers rushing to the stereo. In three or four pages each, such masters as Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky; popular composers such as Gilbert & Sullivan, Joplin, and Gershwin; and even folk hero Woody Guthrie are profiled. Gossipy, nitty-gritty personal habits and quirks are presented, along with a sense of appreciation for the musicians' lives and times. Hewitt's full-page caricatures are surrounded by important details. In subdued but striking colors, she captures the personality and temperament of these composers. This is a humorous, delightful, appreciative treat. While it doesn't have enough information for reports, it's a fine, personalized way to introduce children to the creators of great works that are a part of every music curriculum.
• 
  Anna

  ** Read by John C Brown & Melissa Hughes
  app 2 hrs
  
  the audio version is a series of 5min sketches of 20 musical artists + a hint of their music
  light-hearted
  great introduction for kids (8+?)
  
  But - Woody Guthrie???
• 
  Tyler Jones

  Short and interesting pieces on great musical figures, including one I'd never heard of - Nadia Boulanger. My purpose in reading it is suspect (gotta get better in classical music in my on-line trivia league!) but I could easily see it holding the interest of more precocious children.
• 
  Dee Maselle

  Surprisingly absorbing. Colorful, accessible synopses of composers' personal lives, habits, and scandals, most of which I hadn't known even a hint before. Their extremely human life experiences make me want to dig into their oeuvres again--or for the first time. I did wish for more race and gender diversity, and I'm going to do some research among the "greats" to see whom else the authors might have incorporated.
• 
  Elisa Jones

  Okay, if you have ever heard of more than three famous composers, you need to read this book. This highlights 20-ish of the more noted composers of all time...but not with the typical historical perspective. Rather, it is commentary on how their habits shaped their lives, and what the neighbors observed of their frequently uncanny behavior. After reading this book, I never listened to or performed Chopin or Stravinsky the same way again.
• 
  Talie

  تاب ابتدایی و برای کودکان و نوجوانان بود.
  یک سری نکات از زندگی ۲۰ موسیقیدان را انتخاب کرده. نویسنده هیچ توضیحی درباره ی
  دلیل انتخاب این 20 موسیقیدان ارائه نکرده.
  یک مورد نمونه: بتهوون تف کردن را دوست داشت و بعضی وقت‌ها بدون پرداخت صورتحساب
  از رستوران بیرون می رفت و بعضی وقت ها هم روی صورتحساب موسیقی می نوشت.
  
  اگر سعی کنید یک سری از آثار مهم این موسیقیدان ها را هم پیدا کنید و گوش کنید
  سود بیشتری از این کتاب می برید.
  
• 
  feastingwithlight

  An incredible book for the young aspiring musician, as well as the seasoned musician. We checked this out at our library over 5 times in a row and when we finally had to return it, I put it on my book list to purchase! My 8 year old daughter loves it and has read it cover to cover many times.
• 
  thereadingowlvina (Elvina Ulrich)

  ***3.5 stars***
  
  Another light-hearted read from Kathleen Krull that features a collection of 19 mini biographies of famous musicians, such as Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Joplin, Boulanger, and many more! We also get to know some intriguing details, humorous characteristics of their lives. For example, Chopin was known as "Velvet Fingers"; Nadia Boulanger was a tender tyrant and she was the first woman to conduct the Boston symphony.
  
  I listened to an audiobook for this and once again narrators - Melissa Hughes & John C. Brown - did a great job! It was easy to listen to. The brevity of each biography made this an easy read and is a good way to introduce young readers to these famous musicians.
  
• 
  Heidi

  This book is for older children and adults as it includes mature elements about the composers' lives such as harsh treatment of children, suicide, homosexuality, love affairs, etc. This is obviously not the fault of the author; many musicians just had rough lives. I was disappointed Debussy was not included. I did enjoy the illustrations.
• 
  Barbara

  Lives of the Musicians: Good times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought was an interesting, quick read. Kathleen Krull wrote short, humorous chapters about different classical musicians. The illustrations by Kathryn Hewitt added a lot to the stories. This was another unknown, picked up at a library book sale. Definitely a good read!
• 
  Brooke

  Fantastic book with short little bios of famous composers. Very interesting details of these people that are entertaining to children and adults! Made me feel like I really knew them. I’ve been reading this book with my children, a composer a week and then we spend 30 minutes or so listening to their music. It’s been educational and FUN! I’m very pleased with this book.😁
• 
  michael feldt

  I liked this book. It's about many different musicians and more about their lives. It includes musicians like Beethoven and Woody Guthrie. It's very cool to know more about the artists behind all the songs we've heard for years.
• 
  Beth Lorow

  I used this book in homeschooling and each Monday we read about a musician and then listened to their music throughout the week. I thought these vignettes were full of interesting tidbits about the artists' lives. Meredith (age 8) thought they were all weird! She's not totally wrong!
• 
  Eric Orchard

  Perfect little book.
• 
  Linda Maycock

  this would've been a good book to read while taking 'Music History'. . . little inside snippets to remember each composer.
• 
  Allison Z

  I recommend the audiobook- it was a very quick listen, and had audio clips of works by each composer.
• 
  Sara

  What a fun introduction to a bunch of musicians. It's filled with really random facts that you'd never know about them from a traditional music class!
• 
  Whole And

  A light overview of many musicians but not very thorough for deeper exploration and understanding.
• 
  Erin

  Chock full of fun facts and interesting (often funny, surprising) anecdotes.
• 
  Shishir

  A lovely short book that offers summaries of famous musicians
• 
  Kristi

  This would be a simple and fun book for kids. Lots of odd, entertaining facts.