Sex Lives of the Great Composers Author:Nigel Cawthorne The great musical geniuses have always commanded our interest as figures of extreme behavior and ideas. Their music embodies mankind's most romantic yearnings. Now, Nigel Cawthorne explores the private lives of the most celebrated composers to reveal how their sexuality inspired and fired their prodigious musical creativity. Vivaldi, a priest, l... more »ived in a menage a trois; Beethoven yearned for unattainable beauties but consorted with prostitutes; Schumann and Schubert both died of syphilis; Chopin and Liszt, who were the "pop stars" of their day, were never short of "groupies." Struggling but unable to contain his homosexual urges (punishment was Siberian exile), Tchaikovsky died embroiled in scandal. Berlioz, Puccini, the sado-masochistic Percy Grainger, plus many more are revealed here in a different light.« less