Beethoven's Skull: Dark, Strange, and Fascinating Tales from the World of Classical Music and Beyond

By Tim Rayborn

“If you think classical music is boring and stuffy, [Beethoven’s Skull] will make you change your tune” (USA Today).
 
This unusual history of Western classical music focuses on strange happenings and shocking tabloid-style stories of revenge, murder, curious accidents, and strange fates, proving that pop stars don’t have a monopoly on wild behavior. Highlights include tales of:
 

• A cursed song that kills those who hear it
• A composer who lovingly cradles the head of Beethoven’s corpse when his remains are exhumed half a century after his death
• A fifteenth-century German poet who sings of the real-life Dracula
• A dream of the devil that inspires a virtuoso violin piece

 
Unlike many music books that begin their histories with the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries, Beethoven’s Skull looks back to the world of ancient Greece and Rome, progressing through the Middle Ages and all the way into modern times. It also looks at myths and legends, superstitions, and musical mysteries, detailing the ways that musicians and their peers have been rather horrible to one another over the centuries.
 
“[A] rollicking, if grisly, stroll through the history of music . . . Impeccably researched . . . Sure to keep readers engrossed.” —Library Journal

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781510712720

Tim Rayborn

Tim Rayborn has written a large number of books and magazine articles, especially in subjects such as music, the arts, general knowledge, and history. He lived in England for many years and studied at the University of Leeds, which means he likes to pretend that he knows what he’s talking about. He’s an almost-famous musician who plays dozens of unusual instruments from all over the world that most people have never heard of and usually can’t pronounce. He has appeared on more than forty recordings, and his musical wanderings and tours have taken him across the US, all over Europe, to Canada and Australia, and to such romantic locations as Umbria, Marrakech, Renaissance chateaux, medieval churches, and high school gymnasiums. He currently lives in Northern California with many books, recordings, and instruments, and a sometimes-demanding cat. He’s pretty enthusiastic about good wines and cooking excellent food. www.timrayborn.com