Why Handel Waggled His Wig

Description

What did Haydn's wife use for curling paper for her hair? What did Schubert do with his old spectacles case? Why was Dvorak given a butcher's apron when he was a little boy? In Why Beethoven Threw the Stew, renowned cellist Steven Isserlis set out to pass on to children a wonderful gift given to him by his own cello teacher - the chance to people his own world with the great composers by getting to know them as friends. In this second book he draws us irresistibly into the world of six more favourite composers, bringing them alive in a manner that cannot fail to catch the imagination of children encountering classical music for the first time.

Steven Isserlis' whole family was musical - his father plays the violin, his mother played the piano, and his two sisters play the violin and viola - so he took up the cello because he didn't want to get left out. He soon decided that playing the cello was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. These days, he travels all over the world, playing concerts to whoever wants to listen (and to a few who don't too) and making recordings. He studied in England, Scotland and America. In 1998, he was awarded a CBE, for 'services to music'; and in 2000, the city of Zwickau bestowed the Schumann Prize 2000 upon his curly head. He lives in London, with his wife and son, lots of cellos and a piano.