The definitive biography and critical study of Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) ...(+)
The definitive biography and critical study of Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) this volume deals at length not only with with the composer's musical achievements but also with aspects of his life and workthat made him one of the most important cultural figures in eighteenth-century France. Fascinating incidents include his central position in a musical controversy that excited the enmity of Rousseau Diderot and theEncyclopedists; his friendship and collaboration with Voltaire; and his position as the author of a treatise on harmony that endured for two centuries. This critical evaluation focuses chiefly on Rameau's musical works devoting entire chapters to his operas and ballets as well as his chamber music cantatas and motets and minor works. Additional topics include his links to Lully his influence on Gluck and the nature and importance of hisacoustic and harmonic theories. Supplements include more than 300 musical examples numerous useful approaches indexes an extensive bibliography and a new introduction by the distinguished musicologist and historian PhilipGossett.
Carlos Santana is one of Guitar Player's most frequently covered artists. Revere...(+)
Carlos Santana is one of Guitar Player's most frequently covered artists. Revered by guitarists for his tone and brilliant sense of melody Santana has been extremely giving in his Guitar Player interviews sharinghis gear secrets technical approaches musical influences and the building blocks of his sound. Here collected in one volume are all of Santana's interviews from his first post-Woodstock discussion to detailing the popularjuggernaut that was 1999's Supernatural to the masterful seminar he gave on creativity in 2008. Also included are style lessons and licks from Guitar Player's respected staff of music writers and transcribers thatreveal all the voodoo that explodes from Santana's fingers.
Selected Lyrics 1972-2017-Bruce Springsteen Like a Killer in the Sun original...(+)
Selected Lyrics 1972-2017-Bruce Springsteen Like a Killer in the Sun originally published in Italian is the definitive book on the work of Bruce Springsteen showing his unique narrative talent and offering an accurate critical examination of his poetics. It presents 117 among his best lyrics expounded and annotated with the philological care used for the classics of literature. In his introduction Leonardo Colombati draws the attention to the fact that Springsteen is an author grafted on the line that goes from Whitman to Steinbeck from Flannery O'Connor to Raymond Carver. The book also contains Springsteen's biography and discography plus an exclusive interview with Bruce Springsteen. Withforewords by Academy Award-winner Ennio Morricone and music critic Dave Marsh a committee member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Springsteen's biographer. Like a Killer in the Sun is a book for anyone who wants to listen to a powerful and inspired voice coming from the heart of America.
Updated Edition-If you ever needed proof that a magazine can have a love affair ...(+)
Updated Edition-If you ever needed proof that a magazine can have a love affair with a musician you're holding it in your hands. For DownBeat the preeminent publication of the jazz world Miles Dewey Davis was one of its most cherished subjects. Since it began covering the jazz scene in 1939 no other artist has been more diligently chronicled in its pages than Davis.The beauty of this collection is seeing the development of an artist over time. The reviews of his music go from quietly introducing a new talent to revering perhaps the greatest jazz artist of his generation. The feature articles begin with a very young very polite Davis lamenting I've worked so little. Icould probably tell you where I was playing any night in the last three years. As he develops the interviews show Davis gaining confidence and stature showing swagger and becoming the over-the-top say-it-like-it-is showman that made every interview an event.The Miles Davis Reader compiles more than 200 news stories feature articles and reviews by some of the greatest writers in jazz into one volume. It delivers a patchwork of his words and music - in the moment as they happened. With several lengthy features added along with a dozen new photographs this new edition is a beautiful series of snapshots a year-by-year ride through the many phases of Davis as an artist and as a man.
No composer has ever achieved the amazing artistic progression that Haydn has. H...(+)
No composer has ever achieved the amazing artistic progression that Haydn has. He invented the string quartet as we know it became known as 'the Father of the Symphony' and mentored the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His creative life was one of ceaseless experimentation and invention. Author David Hurwitz shows readers how to more fully enjoy Haydn's music acquainting them with the master's innovative melodic creativity revolutionary use of musical form and important characteristics of his personal style such as his genius for writing in minor keys and creating comedy in his music. Hurwitz explores Haydn's vocal music and instrumental masterpieces that fall outsidethe mainstream as well as his principle instrumental works. A special chapter of letters and quotations by the composer himself introduces the reader to Haydn the man. Four appendices list all of his symphonies string quartets Piano sonatas and Piano trios and specify their distinguishing characteristics. Two accompanying Naxos CDs provide more than two and a half hours of beautiful music keyed to pieces described in the book.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of one of Britainâ??s greatest ...(+)
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of one of Britainâ??s greatest composers Sir Edward Elgar renowned Elgar scholar J.P.E. Harper-Scott casts new and frequently surprising light on Elgar chronicling his rise to the forefront of early twentieth-century modernism in this concise and absorbing volume. Hailed by the June 2007 BBC Music Magazine as 'possibly the best first stop for learning about Elgar's life ' this fascinating and accessible history is suitable for both students and Elgar enthusiasts alike. J.P.E. Harper-Scott takes a combative swipe at many of the critical myths and prejudices that have attached themselves to the figure of Elgar revealingboth a surprisingly elusive personality and a deeper often darker message within his works. Questions answered include How did the son of a provincial piano tuner rise to international fame' Was the English countryside the principle inspiration for Elgar's music' Was this moustachioed red-blooded imperialist all that he seemed' And more!
All That's Left to Know About the Iconic Rock Survivors-Offering a fresh perspec...(+)
All That's Left to Know About the Iconic Rock Survivors-Offering a fresh perspective on one of the most prolific and well-loved catalogs of songs in the rock 'n' roll canon Fleetwood Mac FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Iconic Rock Survivors digs deeper than your average music compendium and sidesteps the tediousness of most generalized band histories. Professional yet playful the book's most unique feature is its structure: a hybrid of historical breakdowns QandAs music criticism and best of lists chronicling the band's influence and legacy.No Fleetwood Mac book would be complete without addressing the sensationalism of Rumours or the mythic psychological breakdown of Peter Green. But Fleetwood Mac FAQcasts a wide net - avoiding monotony for longtime fans by presenting new criticism and reporting and engaging with newcomers by addressing the most essential chapters in the band's story. Included are interviews with former Fleetwood Mac members (guitarists Rick Vito and Billy Burnette) producers (Ken Caillat Richard Dashut John Shanks and Mike Vernon) studio crew members (Rich Feldman Ray Lindsey and Ken Perry) rock critics who've covered the group (Anthony DeCurtis) and others who've been privileged to join the band's inner circle. Sure the book touches on the band's notorious drug use romantic affairs and brutal in-fighting - more importantly it also sheds fascinating new light on the band's innovative ever-evolving music.
All That's Left to Know About The King's Recorded Works-Why is Elvis Presley's b...(+)
All That's Left to Know About The King's Recorded Works-Why is Elvis Presley's body of recorded work still so relevant nearly 60 years after he began recording? Elvis Music FAQ is for anyone who has been inspired by an Elvis Presley record. Following in the tradition of the FAQseries in Elvis Music FAQ a lot of rare information is woven together in one concise entertaining package.There are chapters about every year of Elvis's career including a look at his pioneering original recordlabel Sun; insight on his management; the continued importance of television in his career; a summation of each Presley concert tour; the inside scoop about the role Elvis's band members and songwriters played in his sound;stories about the amusing musical oddities created by those trying to ride on the Elvis success train; details about the contentious role drugs played in his career; and finally a full review of every record the King everissued.One might say that the only truths about Elvis Presley can be found in the grooves of his records where his natural talent and passion for music comes through always. Elvis Music FAQ aims to be the oneessential companion that explains the reason why the voice heard over the speakers still carries such resonance. Dozens of rare images accompany this engaging text.
Few composers since the mid-twentieth century have escaped Mahler's influence. T...(+)
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.
Maria Callas was almost as famous for her personal life - her jet-setting her s...(+)
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.
In this the fifth biography in the ABRSM Extraordinary Lives series Beethoven ...(+)
In this the fifth biography in the ABRSM Extraordinary Lives series Beethoven expert Professor Barry Cooper provides a fascinating and compact summary of the key moments in Beethovenâ??s life. In exploring crucial documents Cooper provides fresh insights into Beethovenâ??s personality and motivations whilst challenging much of the prevalent â??mythologyâ?? that surrounds him.
This superbly-illustrated biography brings the courtly elegant world of the eig...(+)
This superbly-illustrated biography brings the courtly elegant world of the eighteenth-century vividly to life and includes extracts from some of Haydn's best-loved works in simple keyboard arrangements.Composer's World is a series of books illustrating the life and times of the world's greatest composers. With pictures words and music it places each composer's life and work within the circumstances that shaped their career.
He is remembered in the United States primarily for the rather banal repetitions...(+)
He is remembered in the United States primarily for the rather banal repetitions of Bolero, but Maurice Ravel wrote a great deal of music more worthy of celebration: ballets like Ma Mere l'Oye (Mother Goose) and Daphnis et Chloe; orchestral and piano works like Pavane pour une Infante Defunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess) and the Rapsodie Espagnole; operas like L'Enfant et les Sortileges (The Child and the Enchantments); and settings of Greek and Jewish songs. British author and critic Gerald Larner offers a well-researched, well-written, accessible biography of Ravel's life and compositions that explores his music and his motivations, a part of the Phaidon Press Limited 20th Century Composers series.
The Beatles' Solo Years 1970-1980-In the years following the 1960s Beatle fans ...(+)
The Beatles' Solo Years 1970-1980-In the years following the 1960s Beatle fans around the world were twice-stunned: in 1970 when their beloved group disbanded and ten years later when the murder of John Lennon ended a decade of hope that somehow the Fab Fourwould reunite. Fab Four FAQ 2.0 picks up the story where the acclaimed Fab Four FAQ left off. Loaded with images of rare period ephemera including periodicals single sleeves and movie stills this is the firstcomprehensive biography of all four ex-Beatles. This book covers everything from their recording careers in the decade after the band's dissolution to the musicians they played with the bands they influenced the manifestationsof latter-day Beatlemania and the constant clamor for reunion expressed by fans and – sometimes – by the four themselves.
How did an 18th century child prodigy become a 20th century icon' Was the adult ...(+)
How did an 18th century child prodigy become a 20th century icon' Was the adult Mozart really a womanizing drink-fuelled gambler with Tourette?s Syndrome' Was he murdered?.' Julian Rushton jumps right into the debate with this fascinating readable history dispensing with the myth conjecture and popular iconography that frequently distorts our notions of what Mozart and his times were really like. What emerges is a more human and believable portrait challenging our preconceptions while deepening our understanding of this extraordinary man and his music.
In this vivid portrait Bruce Wood illuminates the sometimes shadowy figure of H...(+)
In this vivid portrait Bruce Wood illuminates the sometimes shadowy figure of Henry Purcell richly evoking the atmosphere of 17th-century England - full of intrigues and plots. By interweaving the events during an unparalleled period of social and political change with the life and music of Purcell Wood creates an account of this elusive English genius that is hard to put down.'The quality of the writing the concision colour and grittiness of the narrative sets this book apart from all others on the subject.' Professor Sir Curtis Price
The 457 letters collected here are the most important letters in the spirit that...(+)
The 457 letters collected here are the most important letters in the spirit that was to shape and move a century. With explanatory notes by Dr. A. C. Kalisher.
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