Maestro versus Meister: Roderick Swanston is swept up by a study of two 19th-century cultural colossi

This is a thoughtful, well-written and stimulating book. Its quality is to be expected from this author, but that should not be its only guarantee, and it can be heartily recommended to opera lovers, Wagner and/or Verdi enthusiasts and cultural historians in general. The book is full of insights, thoughtful judgments and well-informed aperçus. Conrad’s range of references is often dazzling. At times he almost overwhelms the reader with the depth of his reading, thinking and the multiple ways he looks at a host of different issues. I found myself again and again rushing to the shelves to find the texts he alludes to or quotes. However, this was not always easy, as the book lacks footnotes and references, which is a great pity in so meaty a publication as this.