William Weaver

At I Tatti Bernard Berenson assembled a choice collection of Renaissance art, including works by Giotto, Sassetta, Domenico Veneziano, and Lorenzo Lotto. He also formed a prodigious art historical research library and photograph collection. When he died in 1959, he bequeathed the house, its contents, and the gardens to Harvard University as a Center for Renaissance Studies. This book documents the colorful life the Berensons led at I Tatti, the rich intellectual atmosphere they fostered there, and the spirit that continues and is nurtured by the Harvard Center. A Legacy of Excellence: The Story of Villa I Tatti is the first published account of life at the villa from the Berensons' early years there until the present day. The lavish illustrations include many new color photographs of the house, gardens, and art collection, as well as archival photographs of the Berenson circle. The book offers a fascinating view into their unique world, and into that of the Harvard Center today.

The operas of Giacomo Puccini are regularly performed throughout the world, enthusiastically attended by an adoring public. In this book, William Weaver, distinguished writer on musical subjects and translator of Italian prose, joins forces with Simonetta Puccini, granddaughter of the great composer, to bring together a fascinating selection of articles and photographs concerning Puccini's life and works. Simonetta Puccini has contributed as essay full of intimate details about her family; William Weaver addresses the question of Puccini's spectacular talent for dramaturgy. In addition, Julian Budden writes on Puccini's experiences in Lucca and Milan as a young musician, Harvey Sachs explores Puccini's intimate musical relationship with Arturo Toscanini, and Arthur Groos compares the depictions of East-West tensions in the different versions of the libretto for Madama Butterfly. Mary Jane Phillips-Matz describes the creation of La fanciulla del West vis-a-vis the composer's excursions to the United States, Leonardo Pinzauti examines the startling musical language of Il trittico, and William Ashbrook discusses the genesis and early history of La rondine. Michael Kaye considers Puccini's nonoperatic works, and David Hamilton, through a study of early Puccini recording, outlines transitions in performance style from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. This lively and informative collection touches upon all of the master's operas and also offers select bibliographies, a chronology, and a dramatis personae of the countless people who participated in Puccini's career.

Examines Verdi's life and works from different points of view and includes a documented chronology of his life.