Misia: The Life of Misia Sert
by
Duo pianists Arthur Gold and Robert Fizdale have written a charming and magnificent biography of a truly extraordinary woman, Misia Sert. Born into a Polish family of gifted artists, Misia was a pianist of talent who, as a child, delighted Liszt and, later, her teacher, Fauré. Her greatest talent, however, was the gift of inspiring and bringing together others. She was painted and adored by Renoir, Vuillard, Bonnard, and Toulouse-Lautrec. She was a friend of Mallarmé and Valéry, and later, Cocteau, Colette and Claudel. It was she who brought Diaghilev and Stravinsky together, inspired two characters in Proust's masterpiece Remembrance of Things Past, and 'discovered' Coco Chanel.