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Reviews

“Who knew canon formation could be a form of erotica? Fine’s page-turner traces the relics, pilgrimages, and poetry that formed the rituals and liturgy of composer devotion, with special attention to the role of women devotees. Meticulously researched and cogently argued, The Composer Embalmed is a genuine delight to read.” * Joy H. Calico, University of California, Los Angeles * “The Composer Embalmed asks how such household names as Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, and Liszt became part of a persistently feted canon of Western classical composers. In a totally unprecedented rush of documentary detail, with vivid narration and persuasive argumentation, Fine shows that these composers and others were quickly elevated with quasi-religious fervor to the status of icons by their fans, who cherished and worshipped (and hoarded, stole, counterfeited, dissected) their possessions and their bodies themselves.” * Kevin C. Karnes, Emory University *

""Fine focuses on the esteem in middle-class, consumerist Germany and Austria between 1870 and 1930 for buried bodies, abodes, and tokens of 18th- and 19th-century musical composers. . . . Based on gems such as old museum guest books and German and Austrian archival holdings, this is a worthwhile, scholarly, and challenging intellectual and cultural history."" * Library Journal * ""Fine's granular study The Composer Embalmed explains the development of this continuing 19th-century devotion, and how admiration veered into religious fervor as [composers'] belongings and bodies became relics. . . Herewith the beginnings of today's exit-through-the-gift-shop culture. . . Fine focuses on Austro-German heritage in this fascinating account that through careful excavation of hitherto neglected sources offers valuable insights into the origins of the Western canon."" * BBC Music Magazine * “Who knew canon formation could be a form of erotica? Fine’s page-turner traces the relics, pilgrimages, and poetry that formed the rituals and liturgy of composer devotion, with special attention to the role of women devotees. Meticulously researched and cogently argued, The Composer Embalmed is a genuine delight to read.” * Joy H. Calico, University of California, Los Angeles * “The Composer Embalmed asks how such household names as Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, and Liszt became part of a persistently feted canon of Western classical composers. In a totally unprecedented rush of documentary detail, with vivid narration and persuasive argumentation, Fine shows that these composers and others were quickly elevated with quasi-religious fervor to the status of icons by their fans, who cherished and worshipped (and hoarded, stole, counterfeited, dissected) their possessions and their bodies themselves.” * Kevin C. Karnes, Emory University *

Author Information

Abigail Fine is assistant professor of musicology at the University of Oregon.

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