Against the backdrop of Darwin, that small, tropical hothouse of a port, half-outback, half-oriental, lying at the tip of northern Australia, a young and newly arrived southerner encounters the 'maestro', a Viennese refugee with a shadowed past. The occasion is a piano lesson, the first of many. 'I enjoyed Maestro enormously. Besides its thoughtfulness and bright sensuality, it has a playful quality, a love of jest, which appealed to me very much.' Helen Garner, SYDNEY REVIEW On release, MAEStRO was hailed 'a splendid achievement, a wise, deeply felt novel that continues to haunt well after one has finished it. It is distinguished by subtlety, by economy and by a quality often lacking in even the best of recent novels - an unerring quality of tone' by Andrew Riemer in the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. It has sold over 200,000 copies in Australia and was voted by members of the Australian Society of Authors as one of the top 40 Australian Books of All time. 'the necessary elusiveness of perfection, the unplumbed ocean beneath articulateness, the ambivalence of beauty - these are the revolving concerns of Peter Goldsworthy, and handled not just with irony, but with an effervescent, compassionate wit. He can't help being funny, but he's wise too.' - AUStRALIAN BOOK REVIEW

Before the current re-birth of Shanghai and before the stagnation brought on by China's Cultural Revolution, there was a vibrant European community in Shanghai. An important element of this cultural oasis in China during the first half of the 1900's was the musical efforts of Maestro Mario Paci, an Italian pianist and conductor who reorganized the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and taught piano and singing to a large number of devoted Chinese and European pupils. Intertwined with her father's life, Floria, the Maestro's daughter, shares her memoirs, from being born in Surabaya, Java to her English schooling in Shanghai and trips to Italy.

A conductor reveals powerful leadership lessons by explaining the inner workings of a symphony orchestra Roger Nierenberg, a veteran conductor, is the creator of The Music Paradigm, a unique program that invites people to sit INSIDE a professional symphony orchestra as the musicians and conductor solve problems together. He captures that experience in Maestro: A Surprising Story about Leading by Listening, a parable about a rising executive tough challenges. The narrator befriends an orchestra conductor and is inspired to think about leadership and communication in an entirely new way. For instance: • A maestro doesn't micromanage, but encourages others to develop their own solutions. There's a big difference between conducting and trying to play all the instruments. • A maestro helps people feel ownership of the whole piece, not just their individual parts. • A maestro leads by listening. When people sense genuine open-mindedness, they offer more of their talent. If not, they get defensive and hold back their best ideas. • Truly great leaders, whether conductors striving for perfect harmony or CEOs reaching for excellence, act with a vision of their organization at its best. For more information, visit: www.MaestroBook.com

Much has been written about Luigi Pirandello, the great artist and grandiose personality. His beloved actress, Marta Abba’s side of the story, on the other hand, has never been adequately told.It’s a tale that includes intriguing behind-the-scenes vignettes of the early history of filmmaking, including Pirandello’s suspicions of Walt Disney; Marta’s meeting with Mussolini – a fan of hers – and her candid impressions of him; Marta’s marriage of convenience into the prominent Millikin family of Ohio; glimpses of an Italian media dynasty and its heavy-handed influence on the arts in general, and on Pirandello’s legacy and Marta’s career in particular.This book sketches out the story of a modern romance between an author and an actress, between an artist and his collaborating muse, between an older man and younger women. It also attempts to tackle the subject of Marta’s sexuality – an aspect of her life that has been little known until now.

The intimate memoir of Leonard Bernstein and his family, that helped inspire the new movie Maestro The oldest daughter of revered composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein offers a rare look at her father on the centennial of his birth in a deeply intimate and broadly evocative memoir The composer of On the Town and West Side Story, chief conductor of the New York Philharmonic, television star, humanitarian, friend of the powerful and influential, and the life of every party, Leonard Bernstein was an enormous celebrity during one of the headiest periods of American cultural life, as well as the most protean musician in twentieth century America. But to his eldest daughter, Jamie, he was above all the man in the scratchy brown bathrobe who smelled of cigarettes; the jokester and compulsive teacher who enthused about Beethoven and the Beatles; the insomniac whose 4 a.m. composing breaks involved spooning baby food out of the jar. He taught his daughter to love the world in all its beauty and complexity. In public and private, Lenny was larger than life. In Famous Father Girl, Bernstein mines the emotional depths of her childhood and invites us into her family’s private world. A fantastic set of characters populates the Bernsteins’ lives, including: the Kennedys, Mike Nichols, John Lennon, Richard Avedon, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins, and Betty (Lauren) Bacall. An intoxicating tale, Famous Father Girl is an intimate meditation on a complex and sometimes troubled man, the family he raised, and the music he composed that became the soundtrack to their entwined lives. Deeply moving and often hilarious, Bernstein’s beautifully written memoir is a great American story about one of the greatest Americans of the modern age.

The Daughter of the Merchant of Venice is an intriguing love story that follows the romance between an apprentice artist named Stefano D’Alvino and Giustina Boschetti, the daughter of a Venetian merchant. Theirs is a story of love, betrayal, forgiveness, and triumph over adversity, vividly detailed and depicted in 16th-century Venice, Candia (Crete), and Constantinople. Accompanied by their merchant father on the San Giuliano, twin sisters Giustina and Giovanella set out in 1532 on a challenging adventure to Syria. The family was captured by Barbarossa and his Turkish Corsairs during the sea voyage and later sold Giustina and Giovanella at the slave market in Constantinople. The Grand Vizir buys the Venetian twins and enslaves them in the Harem at the Topkapi Palace. Two years passed, and the twin sisters remained trapped in an Ottoman world full of intrigue, sensuality, female rivalry, and fear. The Venetian sisters plan their escape – but how? Enslaved in the Imperial Harem for two years, Giustina has not seen her beloved Stefano. Will Giustina be able to reunite with her beloved Stefano in Venice? A story that’s both captivating and sensuous, full of passion, mystery, and intrigue. It takes you on a journey to the heart of Venice and Constantinople, where the Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Harem, sultan, and concubines await.

In Dean Dixon: Negro at Home, Maestro Abroad, conductor and scholar Rufus Jones Jr. brings to light a literal treasure trove of unpublished primary sources to tell the compelling story of this great American conductor. A testament to Dixon’s resolve, this first-ever full-length biography of this American musical hero chronicles Dixon’s musical upbringing, beginnings as a conductor, painful decision to leave his own country, rise to fame in Europe and his triumphant stand twenty-one years later when he returned to the United States to serve as a model for aspiring Black classical musicians. Dean Dixon: Negro at Home, Maestro Abroad will interest anyone who wants to know more about Black American history, American musical culture, and Black American concert music and musicians. More information is available at: www.maestroabroad.com