An account of how the flowering of the European Enlightenment, two World Wars, and the Holocaust can be remembered through the poignant works of music created in their wake. Eichler shows how four towering composers—Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Benjamin Britten—lived through the era of the Second World War and the Holocaust and later transformed their experiences into deeply moving, transcendent works of music, scores that echo lost time.
Erudite, passionately argued, and extraordinarily moving ... Some of Eichler’s most fascinating pages are devoted to Arnold Schoenberg’s searing 'A Survivor from Warsaw' ... Poses an eloquent challenge to readers.
An engrossing recovery project ... Lyrical prose ... Eichler’s book excels when it ponders the struggles, possibly futile, of these works to fulfill their own missions ... Historical details that Eichler chose to weave together in his book make for a moving read. Time’s Echo offers the same kind of immersive experience that he encourages us to explore in music. His beautiful meditation on the dark shadows that compelled, propelled and ultimately haunted classical music in Europe during and after World War II inspires our ears.
Long and complex ... The author’s writing style at times slowed down my reading. He is fond of long, complex sentences and wording that often made me stop, go back, and read again ... My struggle with Eichler’s language notwithstanding, I suspect that Time’s Echo will become required reading for students of music and of the 20th century. It is the first and only book I have come across that cites music’s agelessness even as it captures the spirit and flavor of the time of its invention.
