Prestigious book award for St Andrews Director of Music

A book written by the Director of Music at the University of St Andrews, Dr Michael Downes, has been chosen by Presto Music as one of their five best music books of the year.

The publication, entitled Story of the Century: Wagner and the Creation of the Ring, was announced as one of the winners of the Music Book Publications of the Year at the Presto Music awards ceremony in Leamington Spa earlier this month.  

The awards are one of the most prestigious accolades for music books, and Dr Downes’ win comes just a month after the book’s publication by Faber & Faber.

Dr Downes said: “Disentangling the complex story of the Ring’s genesis and telling it in a way that made sense to readers without specialised musical knowledge was a highly stimulating but rather daunting task, so I am delighted that Presto Music have recognised the book’s success in this way.”

Dr Downes’ book combines cultural history and biography to offer an accessible and insightful introduction to The Ring and its mythology.

 Simon Callow, actor, director and author of Being Wagner: The Triumph of the Will, said of Dr Downes’ book: “Story of the Century is a breathtaking account of the creation of one of the most astonishing works of art ever attempted, the work of one of the most extraordinary artists who ever lived. The revelation of Wagner’s mind and temperament at work is as illuminating as it is astonishing.” Sue Prideaux, reviewing the book in the Spectator, wrote that “Downes … writes superbly about the complicated musical development of the piece. The book’s prose is anchored so deep in the rhythm of the Ring that if you know the music you’ll hear it in your head as you read.”

Dr Downes is an author, lecturer and conductor, and Director of Music at the University of St Andrews. Before writing Story of the Century, he collaborated with Nike Wagner, great-granddaughter of Richard, on the English version of her book about her family’s history.

He has also written books both with and about British composer Jonathan Harvey. His next project is a biography of Edward Elgar focusing on his religious preoccupations, to be published in Oxford University Press’s ‘Spiritual Lives’ series.