Maria Callas was almost as famous for her personal life - her jet-setting her staggering weight loss her tigress-like temperament - as she was for her singing.Of Greek parentage the New York-born internationally famous Callas was the most influential soprano of the 20th century reviving a school of singing - bel canto - that had been forgotten for 75 years. Unlike most of her generation of sopranos she was a superb actress both vocally and physically: her voice encompassed many colours and she embodied each character she portrayed. After seeing or hearing her in a role it was said it was difficult to imagine another singer attempting it so fierce was herindividual stamp. Her status went beyond cult; her triumphs and failures appeared on the front page of newspapers all over the world.This profusely illustrated musical biography covers Callas's life and career. A final third of the book analyzes the tracks on the two CDs describing what made Callas unique what made Callas Callas. Listen for yourselves to La Divina ('the divine one') as the Italians dubbed her and be amazed.

More than four decades since their first album and 35 years after the release of the iconic Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd continue to inspire and mystify rock fans around the world.Pink Floyd FAQ by pop culture author Stuart Shea lays out the band's strange winding history through a new series of prisms. What were the band's most memorable gigs? What are their greatest moments on record as a group and individually? What contemporary records influenced them and which performers follow in their wake? What was it like to be at a Pink Floyd show in 1967 in 1973 in 1980?Pink Floyd FAQ tells the band's story dissects their most popularwork and provides little-known facts all adding up to a provocative must-read for fans. With 400 pages of stories history observation opinion photos and reminiscences from those who were there Pink Floyd FAQ will discuss frankly what made the band great - as well as note their not-so-great moments - and their place in modern pop culture giving credit where credit is due - and maybe puncturing some inflatable pigs along the way.

Ever since his father gave him a disc recorder at the tender age of 10 Bruce Swedien has known what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.The names of the people he has worked with are too many to list but when one mentions musicians like Count Basie Duke Ellington Oscar Peterson Sarah Vaughan Eddie Harris Quincy Jones Jennifer Lopez and even Michael Jackson a great deal is immediately understood.In this book Swedien generously gives away detailed information from his lifetime in the studio - from a musical technical and very personal perspective.This book has something for everyone who is interested in music especially those curiousabout the stories behind the scenes of some of the best music to ever come out of the recording studio.

Few composers since the mid-twentieth century have escaped Mahler's influence. This book is the first discussion of Mahler's ten completed symphonies to offer music lovers a comprehensive overview of the music as it strikes today's listeners. The book caters to the novice as well as the expert as David Hurwitz describes what the listener will hear section by section. He explains how each work is arranged how the various parts relate to one another and how one work leads to the next. The emphasis throughout is on the experience of listening and how each symphony embodies Mahler's dictum that the symphony 'must embrace the world. It must contain everything'. Hurwitz describes the emotional extravagance that lies at the root of Mahler's popularity the consistency of his symphonic thinking and his dazzling and revolutionary use of orchestral instruments to create an expressive musical language that is varied in content and immediate in impact.