Masters of German Music

J. A. Fuller Maitland (1856-1936), whose Schumann in the Novello 'Great Musicians' series is also reissued in this series, had a wide-ranging interest in music. He was music critic of The Times for 22 years, was the editor of the second edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, prepared an edition of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, and also worked on Purcell and on folk song. This book, published in 1894, surveys the then current state of German music, with essays on Brahms, Bruch, Goldmark and Rheinberger. Bruckner is mentioned as a 'Little Master', and Richard Strauss appears in the final chapter, entitled 'New Paths (?)' but the surprise for present-day readers is that the composer fulsomely claimed by Fuller Maitland as the natural successor to Wagner, Cyrill Kistler, is now almost completely unknown.