Overtones, a book of temperaments : $b Richard Strauss, Parsifal, Verdi, Balzac, Flaubert, Nietzsche, and Turgénieff

"Overtones: A Book of Temperaments" by James Huneker is a series of essays that untangle the emotional and intellectual lives of famous artists and thinkers like Richard Strauss, Verdi, Balzac, and Nietzsche, showing how their personalities shaped their masterpieces. The book starts with Richard Strauss, painting him as a musical rebel who wasn't afraid to ditch old rules for a new kind of realism in music. Huneker shows how Strauss took the symphonic form to new heights, aiming for deep feelings and smart ideas instead of just pretty sounds, while connecting him to musical giants like Bach and Beethoven. Huneker highlights how Strauss broke with the traditional forms that allow the reader to understand a vision for a new era of music. He uses the essays to show how that the intersection of music, literature, and philosophy can offer new insights into classical masters and revolutionize one's own work.