Memories of My Life
Written by Károly Goldmark
Translation from German, biography overview and index made by István Kecskeméti
Translation proofread and edited, pictures selected, annotations and afterword written by Balázs Mikusi
NSZL–Gondolat Publishing House Budapest, 2017, 220 pages
ISBN 978 963 200 671 0
Károly Goldmark (1830-1915), born in Keszthely and brought up in Németkeresztúr reached the peak of his career after settling in Vienna. It was there that he composed six operas (including The Queen of Sheba that brought him world fame), the Violin Concerto and the First Symphony also known as ”Rustic Wedding Symphony”. The memoirs of the composer tell about the most significant landmarks of this outstanding career, including the student years of poverty, the events of the independence war of 1848, the decade he spent in various theater orchestras as a violinist, and the composition process of The Queen of Sheba. The work also evokes the determining events of Goldmark’s travels abroad, and his relationship with famous contemporaries like Brahms, Wagner, Hans von Bülow and Anton Rubinstein.
In addition to the notably modernized translation, our volume presents illustrations from a rich selection of the documents that belong to Goldmark’s legacy in the collections of NSZL, and offers annotations based upon the most recent research to better interpret the memoir of the composer deceased more than a century ago.
Our publications are available in our bookshop, or can be ordered from the Publications Department of the NSZL using the contact details below: Főigazgatói Kabinet kiadványtára, Országos Széchényi Könyvtár, 1276 Budapest P.O. box 1205., phone: 06 1 232-3556, e-mail: kiadvanytar@oszk.hu.