At Large

A captivating and lively memoir of a life shaped by music, At Large—Behind the Camera with Brian Large begins in the ruins of war-torn London and from there takes the reader on a riveting odyssey around the globe. Through his camera lens, Brian Large immortalized historical performances of the most renowned singers, dancers, and musicians of the past half-century, bringing the magic of live presentations into the homes of millions. In this engaging bildungsroman, Large recounts his career with wisdom, warmth, and wit, presenting intimate and revelatory glimpses of an astounding cast of characters featuring Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Plácido Domingo, Leonard Bernstein, Marilyn Horne, Igor Stravinsky, Leontyne Price, Carlos Kleiber, Birgit Nilsson, Georg Solti, Cecilia Bartoli, Benjamin Britten, Queen Elizabeth II, and Frank Zappa. Originally a concert pianist, Large switched careers, joined BBCTV2 at its founding, and continued to push the boundaries of what television could achieve by capturing the immediacy and emotion of the moment for viewers everywhere. His groundbreaking work includes award-winning productions such as the Centennial Ring at Bayreuth, the original Three Tenors from the Baths of Caracalla, the live broadcast of Tosca from Rome’s historic sites, and two decades of directing the Vienna Philharmonic’s beloved New Year’s Concerts. Written in collaboration with Jane Scovell, whose previous works include biographies with Elizabeth Taylor and Ginger Rogers, and a definitive biography of Oona O’Neill Chaplin, this memoir, with a foreword by Renée Fleming, is a must-read for music lovers and those interested in the history of video technology.