Nancy Shear

ABOUT THE BOOK

A rare behind-the-scenes view of the inner workings of a top symphony orchestra and a vivid personal account of a Golden Age in classical music.

Nancy Shear was only fifteen when she began sneaking into Philadelphia Orchestra concerts through the stage door because she couldn’t afford to buy tickets. At seventeen, she was hired as a member of the orchestra’s library staff to help prepare the music; one year later, she became Leopold Stokowski’s musical assistant. Despite her young age, she was a pioneer in areas previously closed to women, but the orchestra educated and protected her, and their music inspired her.

Her memoir, I Knew a Man Who Knew Brahms, is a love letter to the art of music, taking readers into the homes, studios, and minds of legendary artists with whom Shear shared close personal relationships, including Mstislav Rostropovich, Eugene Ormandy, and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Many of these brilliant and talented artists were also outrageous, egocentric, and tyrannical. Throughout her stories and detailed recollections, Shear topples more than a few revered musicians from their podiums and pedestals and peels back the curtain on an otherwise hidden world.

I Knew a Man Who Knew Brahms is also the inspiring story of a young woman of limited resources, from a troubled family, who forged her way into a world that nourished her, an example of the powerful human response to the arts, and how that can motivate and sustain us. 

A literary welcome mat to the beautiful world of classical music, accessible even to those without previous knowledge, Nancy’s memoir goes behind the scenes into rehearsals and concert halls, revealing the choices musicians must consider, and what conductors, players, and composers really do. A heartwarming story about passion, determination, and survival, I Knew a Man Who Knew Brahms explores music at its core, through the people who bring it to life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nancy Shear‘s remarkable background includes 20 years as an orchestra librarian for the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Curtis Institute, as well as private work for Leopold Stokowski, Lorin Maazel, and others. Her articles have appeared in major outlets, and she has written two books, The Three Tenors and I Knew a Man Who Knew Brahms. Ms. Shear has lectured for the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Caramoor Festival; has hosted broadcasts of the New York Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, Frick Collection, and Naumburg Foundation; had her own interview programs on WNYC; and served as commentator for the American Public Media. She has taught at New York University’s School of Continuing Education and the Lillian Vernon Center for International Affairs at New York University, and has lectured at The Juilliard School, the Manhattan School, and the Mannes School of Music at The New School. She is the founder and president of Nancy Shear Arts Services, a public relations and event production agency for the performing arts.

TALKING POINTS

• How music became Nancy’s refuge as a teenager and ultimately her passport into the inner circle of world-renowned musicians and orchestras
• What it was like to be the lone young woman in rehearsal rooms and backstage corridors filled with legendary (and often difficult) men
• Why classical music still matters—and why orchestra behind-the-scenes stories resonate in a culture driven by pop
• A candid look at the egos and intensity of classical music’s greats
• An insider’s guide to the lesser-known roles that make orchestras function, from librarians who prepare scores to the soloists and conductors 
• The choices all musicians must consider—populist vs. intellectual approaches, varying concepts of sound, and the freedom and limitations of interpretation—and what conductors, players, and composers really do
• Gaining insight into classical music as a singularly unique art form, particularly with popularity waning among younger generations