Évelyne Bloch-Dano, listening to Natalie Bauer-Lechner, musician and friend of Mahler

Audio 29:00

Writer Évelyne Bloch-Dano in studio at RFI (March 2021) © Catherine Fruchon-Toussaint \ RFI

By: Catherine Fruchon-Toussaint

32 min

Biographer, essayist, Évelyne Bloch-Dano is the author, among others, of the biographies of "Madame Zola" (1997, Grand Prix des readers de Elle), "Madame Proust" (2004, Renaudot Prize for the essay), " The Last Love of George Sand ”(2010),“ Une jeunesse de Marcel Proust ”(2017), but also the story“ Porte de Champerret ”(2013) or“ My writers' houses ”(2019).

She is also a member of the jury for the Prix Femina.

Her new book “Soul Sister” co-edited by Stock and France Musique highlights Natalie Bauer-Lechner who has remained in the shadow of musician Gustav Mahler.

Publicity

"Soul mate" © Stock / France Musique

"We do not know Natalie Bauer-Lechner. And for good reason: the name of this talented violist was erased by Mahler's entourage. However, it was she who first believed in Gustav Mahler, when in 1876 , she meets the musician, aged sixteen, at the Conservatory of Vienna. Until her marriage to Alma, she was his confidante, the first reader of his compositions, his hiking companion, the bather of the lake in the early morning ... soul mate. She has written Souvenirs, born of her conversations with him. Avant-garde, member of a renowned quartet of women, she is wary of the suffocating codes of Vienna. The Austrian capital is living its golden age: drunk with art and music, she acclaims the conductor but abuses the composer.

Évelyne Bloch-Dano takes us to meet three characters, a genius, an artist and a city, in a euphoric and ruthless era swept away by the First World War.

The story of an extraordinary intimacy that has the breath of a novel. "

(Presentation of Éditions Stock)

For further :

*

personal website of the author

*

Podcast on France-Music of "Soul Sister"

* Release of the CD "Intimate Mahler" by

Elstir

editions

.

Cover of the CD "Malher intime" © Elstir

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On the same subject

Evelyne Bloch-Dano, guest of the literary meetings of the Alliance Française Foundation - September 19, 2017