{"product_id":"9780226255620","title":"Four Last Songs: Aging and Creativity in Verdi, Strauss, Messiaen, and Britten","description":"Aging and creativity can seem a particularly fraught relationship for artists, who often face age-related difficulties as their audience’s expectations are at a peak. In \u003ci\u003eFour Last Songs\u003c\/i\u003e, Linda and Michael Hutcheon explore this issue via the late works of some of the world’s greatest composers.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901), Richard Strauss (1864–1949), Olivier Messiaen (1908–92), and Benjamin Britten (1913–76) all wrote operas late in life, pieces that reveal unique responses to the challenges of growing older. Verdi’s \u003ci\u003eFalstaff\u003c\/i\u003e, his only comedic success, combated Richard Wagner’s influence by introducing young Italian composers to a new model of national music. Strauss, on the other hand, struggling with personal and political problems in Nazi Germany, composed the self-reflexive \u003ci\u003eCapriccio\u003c\/i\u003e, a “life review” of opera and his own legacy. Though it exhausted him physically and emotionally, Messiaen at the age of seventy-five finished his only opera, \u003ci\u003eSaint François d’Assise\u003c\/i\u003e, which marked the pinnacle of his career. Britten, meanwhile, suffering from heart problems, refused surgery until he had completed his masterpiece, \u003ci\u003eDeath in Venice\u003c\/i\u003e. For all four composers, age, far from sapping their creative power, provided impetus for some of their best accomplishments.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e With its deft treatment of these composers’ final years and works, \u003ci\u003eFour Last Songs\u003c\/i\u003e provides a valuable look at the challenges—and opportunities—that present themselves as artists grow older.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Chicago Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47084127092976,"sku":"9780226255620","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780226255620_p0.jpg?v=1769913947","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780226255620","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}