**In this poignant memoir, the internationally celebrated bandleader
reflects on family, illness, grief, and a bygone era of glamour,
contemplating not just his career but the history of midcentury music
and nightlife--and the enormously important role that the bandstand
played in his life.
**
The internationally-famous bandleader Peter Duchin's six decades of
performing have taken him to the most exclusive dance floors and concert
halls in the world. He has played for presidents, kings, and queens, as
well as for civil rights and cultural organizations. But in 2013, Duchin
suffered a stroke that left him with limited use of his left hand,
severely impacting his career.
Days of recuperating from his stroke--and later from a critical case of
Covid-19--inspired Duchin to reconsider his complicated past. His
father, the legendary bandleader Eddy Duchin, died when Peter was
twelve; his mother, Marjorie Oelrichs Duchin, died when he was just six
days old. In the succeeding decades, Duchin would follow his father to
become the epitome of mid-20th Century glamour. But it was only half a
century later, in the aftermath of his sudden illnesses, that he began
to see his mother and father not just as the parents he never had, but
as the people he never got to know; and at the same time, to reconsider
the milieu in which he has been both a symbol and a participant.
More than a memoir, Face the Music offers a window into the era of
debutantes and white-tie balls, when such events made national
headlines. Duchin explores what "glamour" and "society" once meant, and
what they mean now. With sincerity and humor, Face the Music offers a
moving portrait of an extraordinary life, its disruptions, and
revitalization.
