Composer, pianist, organist, opera star, salonnière, musical advisor, polyglot – Viardot’s remarkable career is captured here in vivid detail by Natasha Loges. And, as she reminds us, Loges’s extensive research represents only the very tip of the iceberg in uncovering the life and works of this exceptional musician. - Katy Hamilton, writer, broadcaster and co-editor of Brahms in the Home and the Concert HallA new and much-needed biography of the multi-faceted Pauline Viardot. By drawing attention to the circle around this important artist – composers, performers, managers, friends and family – Natasha Loges offers a rich and provocative history of musical life in the nineteenth century. - Laura Tunbridge, Heather Professor of Music at the University of Oxford and author of Beethoven: A Life in Nine Pieces