Audiobooks by Romain Rolland

Beethoven

"Amongst all the figures in the history of Western art forms, Beethoven is one of the most radical and influential. Not only did he produce some of the most celebrated and recognizable music of all time, but his influence dramatically accelerated the development of musical composition. He was instrumental in raising the status of the composer from that of a court servant to one of an independent artist. Much has been written on Beethoven, including many substantial biographies. The most notable of these is a monumental work by Alexander Wheelock Thayer. But there are also many shorter and more accessible works, like this entertaining text by novelist, art historian, and music critic, Romain Rolland. A passionate devotee of music, Rolland also wrote a number of substantial essays about other musicians, including biographical sketches of Handel, Wagner, and Berlioz. The book also contains the famous Heiligenstadt Testament, selected letters, and recorded thoughts of the great composer."

Romain Rolland (Author), Denis Daly (Narrator)

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[French] - Jean-Christophe: L'aube. Le matin

"«Detstvo» i «YUnost'» – pervye dva toma desyatitomnogo romana «ZHan-Kristof», napisannogo francuzskim romanistom i dramaturgom Romenom Rollanom. Eto – roman-istoriya duhovnoj bor'by, muki i radosti tvorchestva, formirovaniya vysokoodarennogo kompozitora. Ne tol'ko sud'ba syna skripacha i kuharki dana Rollanom v epopee «ZHan-Kristof», no i shirokaya social'naya panorama Evropy nachala HKH veka. «Detstvo» i «YUnost'», tonko pronikaya v psihologiyu molodogo cheloveka, povestvuyut o nezhnyh godah kompozitora, o radostyah i trevogah pervoj strasti. Imenno v eih tomah pokazano, kak sformirovalas' lichnost' buntarya-odinochki ZHana-Kristofa, cheloveka «s chistymi glazami i serdcem», geroya bethovenskogo plana, to est' cheloveka takogo zhe duhovnogo geroizma, buntarskogo duha, vrozhdennogo demokratizma, chto i genial'nyj nemeckij kompozitor."

Romain Rolland (Author), Patrick Rollin (Narrator)

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Pierre and Luce

"Pierre and Luce were an unlikely young pair who found themselves in the chaos of Paris during the war; Pierre, the shy, recently conscripted pacifist, and Luce, the free spirited artist in training, and both confused about the things going on around them. Why were these war birds flying overhead? Why these warning sirens, and occasional bombs exploding in the distance? Why did the government leaders, who didn't even know one another, hate and destroy so much? Why did these two delicate young adults find each other now? This story takes place between Jan. 30 and Good Friday, May 29, 1918. (Introduction by Roger Melin)"

Romain Rolland (Author), Roger Melin (Narrator)

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[Italian] - Vita di Michelangelo

"Romain Rolland (1866-1944), premio Nobel per la letteratura nel 1915, ha dedicato l'opera e la vita alla diffusione di un credo umanitario di pace e di fraternità. Compose numerose biografie esemplari, tra cui questa di Michelangelo, nel 1905. La vita dell'eroe della Sistina (come lo chiama l'autore) viene percorsa più volte analizzando vari aspetti della sua vita: la lotta, la sua ossessione artistica, gli amori idealizzati, e infine, l’amore per Dio e il desiderio della liberazione dalla vita. Cornice musicale: l'Eroica di Ludwig van Beethoven."

Romain Rolland (Author), Silvia Cecchini (Narrator)

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