The new musical director of Vienna State Opera is one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation. He is engaged at the best opera houses, the most important festivals and at famous concert halls all over the world – his career progression reads like one long success story. But the Swiss conductor also speaks of the difficulties of starting out, the obstacles that had to be overcome and the important encounters, disappointments and moments of joy along the way. Based on her numerous conversations with Philippe Jordan, journalist Haide Tenner documents the conductor’s personal relationship to music and his work, and his gripping life story to date.

Alma Mahler-Werfel was the epitome of a creative muse and a tantalizing femme fatale. She was married to composer Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, writer Franz Werfel and the lover of painter Oskar Kokoschka, while her seductiveness also gained her influence far into the spheres of church and politics. Her correspondence with Arnold Schönberg, however, shows a new side of her strong personality. It is now available for the first time. Haide Tenner compiled a selection of letters from the more than 40 years of this special relationship. They show Alma Mahler the sponsor, patron and fighter for the ones she believed in, and they tell the story of a sometimes problematic friendship, of wounded pride on both parts, of loneliness and mutual appreciation in their shared exile. An insightful testimony, the impressive legacy of a friendship spanning half a century.