The Cello and the Nightingales : The Life of Beatrice Harrison

In May 1924, the BBC broadcast a miracle to the world: a wild nightingale singing a duet with a remarkable young cellist called Beatrice Harrison.Over a million people tuned in to hear this live performance, which Beatrice repeated with a nightingale for the BBC every spring until 1942.These broadcasts transformed the public interest in nightingales - a species already in decline.If Beatrice's duets with the nightingales touched a chord with the world, her own life proved to be as musical, free-spirited and inspiring.From her early years as a musical prodigy to recording with the most important composers of the day and playing for the wounded in the Second World War, this timely reissue of Patricia Cleveland-Peck's classic book recounts Beatrice's rich life vividly and features a new introduction by Maria Popova.