Biography: arts and entertainment Books

Book SynopsisIn 1965, a young, up-and-coming illustrator by the name of Edward Sorel tore away layer after layer of linoleum from the floor of his $97-a-month Manhattan apartment until he discovered a hidden treasure: issues of The New York Daily News and the Mirror from 1936, each ablaze with a scandalous child custody trial taking place in Hollywood starring the actress Mary Astor—and the journal in which she detailed her numerous affairs. Thus began a half-century obsession that reached its peak in Mary Astor’s Purple Diary, “a thoroughly charming” (The New York Times Book Review/) account of the scandal in which Sorel narrates and illustrates the travails of the Oscar-winning actress alongside his own personal story of discovering an unlikely muse. Now in a stunning paperback, featuring more than sixty ribald and rapturous original illustrations, Mary Astor’s Purple Diary is the life’s masterpiece of one of America’s greatest illustrators.

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Book SynopsisArturo Toscanini (1867–1957) was famed for his dedication, photographic memory, explosive temper and impassioned performances. At times he dominated La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and the Bayreuth, Salzburg and Lucerne festivals. His reforms influenced generations of musicians, and his opposition to Nazism and Fascism made him a model for artists of conscience. With unprecedented access to the conductor’s archives, Harvey Sachs has written a new biography positioning Toscanini’s musical career and sometimes scandalous life against the currents of history. Set in Italy, across Europe, the Americas and in Palestine, with portraits of Verdi, Puccini, Caruso, Mussolini and others, Toscanini soars in its exploration of genius, music and moral courage.Trade Review"'Monumental’ is surely the mot juste to describe the book’s length... but equally the combination of thoroughness, clarity, psychological perspicacity and deep human feeling which distinguishes every page... for all its massiveness the book proves unputdownable." -- BBC Music Magazine"Harvey Sachs has written the definitive biography of this great, and colourful, character... [His] writing style is precise, fluent and gripping... As a study of the life and times of one of the greatest conductors of all time, this book will not soon be bettered." -- The Economist"It is without doubt the most engaging, the best-written and certainly the most comprehensive Toscanini biography yet to be published..." -- Gramophone"... magnificent biography... To read about him [Toscanini] at this length—and there will surely be no need for another biography—is to be simultaneously inspired and bewildered." -- The Spectator"This book of more than 900 pages, full of personal recollections and testimony... is vastly comprehensive, balanced and indispensable... Sachs’ own dedication to this force of nature has been fulfilled in a book which ranks among the best of 2017." -- Classical Music"Drawing on a wide range of new evidence, including unknown letters and the archives of many of the opera houses that Arturo Toscanini worked with, including La Scala, Harvey Sachs has written a weighty and highly enjoyable account of one of the greatest conductors, a man still renowned for his pursuit of perfection." -- Books of the Year 2017 - The Economist"Harvey Sachs has provided a compendious chronicle of Toscanini's astonishing achievement across almost a century, and it makes for compelling reading." -- Times Literary Supplement"I am currently reading two excellent books: the new Harvey Sachs biography of one of the finest conductors of all time – Arturo Toscanini..." -- Something for the Weekend - Finghin Collins' Cultural Picks - RTÉ"Extraordinary... Indeed, I cannot think of another biography of a classical musician to which it can be compared: in its breadth, scope, and encyclopedic command of factual detail it reminds me of nothing so much as Robert A. Caro’s The Power Broker... Never before has [this] history been told so well." -- Tim Page - The New York Review of Books"A very engaging and at times gripping chronicle of music and society, all of it devoted to the unending drive and conscientiousness that made Toscanini’s performances so riveting—and, to some, so repellent... What comes through in Sachs’s long chronicle is the extent of Toscanini’s role, witting and unwitting, in transforming the way that classical music was produced and consumed in the twentieth century." -- David Denby - The New Yorker"Sachs’s account is persuasive and compelling in the important ways... Today, Toscanini is receding from our consciousness, notwithstanding his many records... Creative geniuses can survive for centuries, even millenniums; interpreters inevitably go over the cultural cliff. But that doesn’t detract from the crucial—the central—role Toscanini played in our musical culture for well over 60 years. Nor from the almost universal regard he was held in as a man." -- Robert Gottlieb - The New York Times Book Review"...marvellously researched and continually fascinating...[a] superb book... " -- Stephen Walsh - The Oldie

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Book SynopsisIn this magisterial volume, Harvey Sachs, author of the highly acclaimed biography Toscanini, takes readers into the heart of ten great works of classical music—works that have endured because they were created by composers who had a genius for drawing music out of their deepest wellsprings. These masters—Mozart and Beethoven; Schubert, Schumann, Berlioz, Verdi and Brahms; Sibelius, Prokofiev and Stravinsky—communicated their life experiences through music and through music they universalised the intimate. By expanding our perceptions of these ten pieces—composed in the years between 1784 and 1966—Sachs, in lush, exquisite prose, invites us to consider why music stimulates, disturbs, exalts and consoles us. He has lived with these masterpieces for a lifetime and his descriptions of them and the dramatic lives of the composers who wrote them bring a heightened dimension to the musical perceptions of readers who may be casual listeners, students, professional musicians or anyone in between.

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Book SynopsisThere have been many books written about Johnny Cash, but The Man in Song is the first to examine Cash’s incredible life through the lens of the songs he wrote and recorded. Music journalist and historian John Alexander has drawn on decades of studying Cash’s music and life, from his difficult depression-era Arkansas childhood through his death in 2003, to tell a life story through songs familiar and obscure. In discovering why Cash wrote a given song or chose to record it, Alexander introduces readers anew to a man whose primary consideration of any song was the difference music makes in people’s lives, and not whether the song would become a hit.The hits came, of course. Johnny Cash sold more than fifty million albums in forty years, and he holds the distinction of being the only performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. The Man in Song connects treasured songs to an incredible life. It explores the intertwined experience and creativity of childhood trauma. It rifles through the discography of a life: Cash’s work with the Tennessee Two at Sam Phillips’s Sun Studios, the unique concept albums Cash recorded for Columbia Records, the spiritual songs, the albums recorded live at prisons, songs about the love of his life, June Carter Cash, songs about murder and death and addiction, songs about ramblers, and even silly songs.Appropriate for both serious country and folk music enthusiasts and those just learning about this musical legend, The Man in Song will appeal to a fan base spanning generations. Here is a biography for those who first heard “I Walk the Line” in 1956, a younger generation who discovered Cash through songs like his cover of Trent Reznor’s “Hurt,” and everyone in between.

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Book SynopsisBroadcasting the Ozarks explores the vibrant country music scene that emerged in Springfield, Missouri, in the 1930s and thrived for half a century. Central to this history is the Ozark Jubilee (1955–60), the first regularly broadcast live country music show on network television. Dubbed the “king of the televised barn dances,” the show introduced the Ozarks region to viewers across America and put Springfield in the running with Nashville for dominance of the country music industry—with the Jubilee’s producer, Si Siman, at the helm. Siman’s life story is almost as remarkable as the show he produced. He was booking Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, and Glenn Miller during the mid-1930s while still a high school student and produced nationally syndicated country music radio shows in the decades that followed. Siman was a promotional genius with an ear for talent, a persuasive gift for gab, and the energy and persistence to make things happen for many future Country Music Hall of Famers, including Chet Atkins, Porter Wagoner, the Browns, and Brenda Lee. Following the Jubilee’s five-year run, Siman had a hand in some of the greatest hits of the twentieth century as a music publisher, collaborating with such songwriters as rockabilly legend and fellow Springfieldian Ronnie Self, who wrote Brenda Lee’s signature hit, “I’m Sorry,” and Wayne Carson, who wrote Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind.” Although Siman had numerous opportunities to find success in bigger cities, he chose to do it all from his home in the Ozarks.

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Book SynopsisSongs of Sonderling is the story of Jacob Sonderling's unique contributions to Jewish liturgical music. Rabbi Sonderling was many things: a descendant of Chassidic rebbes, a rationalist, a Reform rabbi, a Zionist, an army chaplain, a celebrated orator, an artistic soul. From his early career at the Hamburg Temple and German Army service in World War I, to his wandering years in the Eastern United States and founding of the Society for Jewish Culture–Fairfax Temple in Los Angeles, Sonderling cultivated a unique aesthetic vision of Judaism, a "five-sense appeal."Jonathan L. Friedmann and John F. Guest document and analyze Sonderling's experience and expression of Judaism through music. Rabbi Sonderling's vision yielded liturgical commissions from exiled Viennese Jewish composers who arrived in Los Angeles in the 1930s and 1940s. Through these musical settings, activities at the Fairfax Temple, and involvement with the Los Angeles campus of the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, Sonderling made an indelible mark on the city's Jewish community and the wider musical world.Songs of Sonderling focuses on the commissions Sonderling made from 1938 to 1945: Ernst Toch's Cantata of the Bitter Herbs, Arnold Schoenberg's Kol Nidre, Erich Wolfgang Korngold's A Passover Psalm and Prayer, and Eric Zeisl's Requiem Ebraico. Through musical analyses and an examination of Sonderling's career in Los Angeles, Friedmann and Guest contribute to the study of Jewish liturgical music, to Jewish history in the American West, to Jewish identity in the twentieth century, and to Jewish diaspora writ large.

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Book SynopsisDespite the nearly universal fame of the Beatles, many people only know the fairytale version of the iconic group's rise to fame. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of Liverpool, Francis Kenny reveals the real John Lennon who preceded the legend, showing how his childhood shaped his personality, creative process, and path to success, and how it also destroyed his mental health, leading to the downfall of one of the most confident and brilliant musicians of the past century.The Making of John Lennon is a must-read for any Beatles fan. It explains how Lennon's turbulent family background affected his relationships, why the true inspiration for "Strawberry Fields" could not be revealed, how Pete Best's college connection led to his removal from the group, and why class backgrounds were the real reason for the breakup of the legendary band. Offering a complex portrait of Lennon's early life, The Making of John Lennon tells the true story behind the rise of the legendary icon.Trade ReviewThis isn't a roller-coaster ride, skipping through John Lennon's life, but a carefully prepared examination of his early years, slowly examining the general picture that surrounded John's life, rather than focusing on one specific aspect, wrapping the surroundings of the city, the family, the friends, the music and the events which forged the young man who became a 20th century icon, into a whole. -- Bill Harry, author of The John Lennon EncyclopediaThe author focuses on the question of what might have caused the downfall of one of the most brilliant musicians of the past century. Kenny emphasizes three main influences which helped shape Lennon's creative process and stayed with him throughout his life: his strong roots in his hometown of Liverpool; his troubled mental health; and a turbulent family background. * Huffington Post *Table of ContentsMilestones in The Making of John LennonIntroduction1. 1800s: City of Outsiders2. 1900s: Toxteth Park3. 1940-45: Salvation Army Hospital4. 1946-50: Wandsworth Jail5. 1950-55: Gladstone Hall6. 1955-57: Town and Country7. 1957-60: Hope Street8. 1960-61: The Wyvern Club9. 1961-62: Great Charlotte Street10. 1961-62: The Grapes11. 1963-64: Liverpool Town Hall12. 1964: Hansel and Gretel House13. 1965: Perugia Way14. 1965-66: Candlestick Park15. 1966-67: Cavendish Avenue16. 1967-68: Foothills of the Himalayas17. 1968: Abbey Road18. 1969: Savile Row19. 1969 (Part 2): Tittenhurst20. 1970-71: Dakota BuildingEpilogueEndnote ReferencesBibliographyInterviewsUseful Websites

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Book SynopsisThe first behind-the-scenes history of the organization behind the Academy Awards. For all the near-fanatic attention brought each year to the Academy Awards, the organization that dispenses those awards—the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—has yet to be understood. To date, no one has ever produced a thorough account of the Academy’s birth and its awkward adolescence, and the few reports on those periods from outside have always had a glancing, cursory quality. Yet the story of the Academy’s creation and development is a critical piece of Hollywood’s history. Now that story is finally being told. Bruce Davis, executive director of the Academy for over twenty years, was given unprecedented access to its archives, and the result is a revealing and compelling story of the men and women, famous and infamous, who shaped one of the best-known organizations in the world. Davis writes about the Academy with as intimate a view of its workings, its awards, and its world-famous membership. Thorough and long overdue, The Academy and the Award fills a crucial gap in Hollywood history.Trade Review"A fond look at the genesis and growing pains of the world’s foremost film organization." * Kirkus *"The story of the first 50 years (1927–77) of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts is fascinating, and the Academy’s former executive director Davis (who worked there for 30 years) is the ideal person to write it… A book of wide appeal, starting but not ending with film buffs." * Library Journal *“Davis, whose book is subtitled ‘The Coming of Age of Oscar and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,’ focuses on the organization’s formative years, ‘an early life that deserves a bildungsroman.’” * New York Times *“In this engrossing behind-the-scenes look at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the work it does during all five seasons—ahem, including awards—by a former Academy executive director, the real nights and bolts of how the Hollywood machine works is explained in insightful, and sometimes deliciously dishy detail.” * Town and Country *"That this Hollywood institution survived its first tumultuous decade is a tale which Davis recounts with wit and discernment. His erudition is icing on the cake: what could have been dry and academic is instead a highly readable book that can lay claim to being definitive." * Leonard Maltin's blog *"A tremendously in-depth history" * The Hollywood Reporter *"After serving as executive director of the Academy for over 20 years, Bruce Davis has penned the definitive history of the Academy Awards, from their awkward inception to the present. Davis was granted unprecedented access to the Academy archives for this compelling read about the way the Oscars work." * Yahoo News *"Film historians and others digging for a deeper vein of Oscar knowledge than mere trivia will turn up many nuggets in The Academy and the Award, which focuses on the initial three decades in the corporate life of the sword-wielding statuette. Oscar would be lucky to have as keen and even-handed a historian as Davis to explore its next era." * US News & World Report *“[Davis’s] academic background and years at the Academy made him the ideal writer for this invaluable book.” * Variety *“Authoritative doesn’t begin to describe the comprehensive Hollywood history Davis unfolds in The Academy and the Award. Not the usual breezy picture book, this is a meticulously researched and eye-opening account by a veteran member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which, of course, hands out the Oscars every year. As the Academy nears its first century, surprisingly this is only the first truly in-depth history.” * Boston Herald *“The Academy’s history is inextricable from Hollywood’s, and The Academy and the Award is a vital contribution and necessary step to documenting the organization and the impact of its Academy Awards.” * Media Industries Journal *"If you happen to care about the history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (at least in its first fifty years), you’ll have no shortage of reasons to read Bruce Davis’ forthcoming book, The Academy and the Award." * Deadline *“With a discerning eye and a wealth of experience, Bruce Davis transforms what could have been dry and academic into an erudite and witty saga. He buries a number of myths and rumors surrounding the Oscars, and reveals how the organization survived its chaotic early years. The Academy and the Award is a major contribution to Hollywood history—and a great read.” -- Leonard Maltin, film critic and historian“Wide ranging in his objective perspective, but always humanly intimate, Davis examines the in-house records of the Board of Governors, memos of its Presidents, and letters from the Academy’s more activist members, with much added flavoring and gossip. Davis’s seminal history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reads with all the honed stagecraft and drama of an Oscar nominated screenplay.” -- John Bailey, cinematographer; Academy President 2017-2019“In this entertaining, well-researched history, Bruce Davis traces how a marginal organization that teetered on the brink of bankruptcy for years became a major cultural institution that awards a coveted prize.” -- Charles Solomon, author of The Man Who Leapt Through Film“There are few people who know (and can explain) the inner machinations of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but if anyone can do it, Bruce Davis is that man. I am thrilled that there is finally a serious history of the organization and the people behind it, with names that you'll recognize and those you won't. This is the definitive history of the Academy: it deserves a place on one's shelf, or inside one's Kindle. Mr. Davis’s magnum opus is essential reading for any serious cinephile.” -- Robert Harris, Motion Picture Archivist“With the skill and wit of a great story teller, Bruce Davis transports us into the secret boardrooms filled with powerful moguls and charismatic stars, the screenwriters and directors, the cinematographers and visionary scientists who frame-by-frame crafted the movies into the art form we cherish today. Here is the fascinating tale of how the coveted golden statuette of Oscar almost wasn’t and came to be. How I wish I had known this history when I joined the Academy. Pure magic!” -- Kathy Bates, Oscar recipient, past Academy Governor“I recommend this book to everyone who loves the movies and the Oscars!” -- Walter Mirisch, Academy President 1973-1977“This wonderful book is often funny, sometimes shocking, and always incredibly informative as we get the inside story at the Academy, from its humble beginnings at the Biltmore, to its eventual phenomenal industry success.” -- Ed Begley, Jr., Actor, and three-term Academy Actors branch governor"The real issue for the Oscar telecast, according to the Academy’s 22-year executive director Bruce Davis, author of the just-published—and dead-on accurate—The Academy and the Award: The Coming of Age of Oscar and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is the disparity between the top box-office movies and the movies that are winning Oscars.” * IndieWire *“This account by a former executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is an interesting and detailed one. . . . How did the Oscar get its name? What exactly are the Jean Hersholt and Irving Thalberg awards? Almost as intriguing are the sections about the extremely short presidential term of Bette Davis (she had a cup of coffee in the role, leading only one board meeting) and an explanation of how the Oscar statuette was designed.” * Seattle Book Review *"An author with a deep affinity for and knowledge of movies and how they’re honored tells us all about Oscar. Davis keeps things both informative and entertaining with plenty of interesting factoids." * The Arts Fuse *“Bruce Davis' new book, The Academy and the Award, provides movie fans, film historians, and all those interested in American arts and culture with the first-ever comprehensive account of the history and evolution of the academy. . . . Davis is not only a supremely confident guide to the Oscars’ history but an engaging and entertaining narrator as well. His prose is consistently colorful and often novelistic in its vivid scene-setting and descriptive detail.” * Washington Examiner *“An erudite and witty look at the Academy’s history, The Academy and the Award is a vital chronicle of film history that will be sought after by American history aficionados and film fanatics alike. Davis has combined meticulous research with a dynamic narrative to reveal the compelling personalities of the actors, writers, directors, and filmmakers who comprised the Academy during its formative era.” * Public Libraries Online *“The text often put me in the moment . . . . Fleshing the early history is difficult from just organization records, but Davis presents an amazingly full picture of each era of the Academy.” * Marketing Movies *Table of ContentsIntroduction1. The Beginning: Unions, Censors and Scandals2. Academies. And Awards? 3. A Little Figure for Cedric Gibbons4. A System Evolves5. The Hays Incursion6. . . . And Sciences7. Academy Washed Up8. Better than Precious Ointment9. Frank Capra’s New Deal10. Honorary Awards11. Bette Davis and the War12. Post-War and Cold War13. Straining at the Leash14. Into the Modern Era15. Oscar Full-BlownEpilogueAcknowledgements

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Book SynopsisThe untold story of a major Australian artist. Regarded in his day as an important Australian impressionist painter, A.H. Fullwood (1863–1930) was also the most widely viewed British–Australian artist of the Heidelberg era. Fullwood’s illustrations for the popular Picturesque Atlas of Australasia and the Bulletin, as well as leading Australian and English newspapers, helped shape how settler—colonial Australia was seen both here and around the world. Meanwhile his paintings were as celebrated as those of his good friends Tom Roberts and Arthur Streeton. So why is Fullwood so little known today?In this pioneering, richly illustrated biography, Gary Werskey brings Fullwood and his extraordinary career as an illustrator, painter, and war artist back to life, while casting a new light on the most fabled era in the history of Australian art.

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Book SynopsisIt is always based on what I see, what is touching me.'For more than fifty years, Klaus Moje devoted his life to the art of glass. He called it the 'most seductive' medium, and in his hands it had the power to delight and amaze collectors around the world. His lifetime's work changed the practice and appreciation of contemporary glass. Moje's philosophy of 'working into the hopeful' and his passion for the colour and geometry he saw in the natural world shone through his kilnformed glass works, a technique he pioneered.Moje was both artist and educator. After an apprenticeship in his father's small glass-cutting and glass-grinding business and a masters degree at the Glasfachschule Hadamar, Moje established his Hamburg studio. In 1982, he moved to Australia to set up the Glass Workshop at the Canberra School of Art, one of the most successful glass education programs in the world. Following 10 years teaching, Moje returned to full-time studio work. His life and art inspired many who chose to work with this medium.In Glass: The Life and Art of Klaus Moje, art historian Nola Anderson celebrates the creativity and artistic spirit of this remarkable artist.

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Book SynopsisAustralia has a long cinema history — starting with the world's first feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang, made in Melbourne and released in 1906. Today, much of Australia's film talent goes to the United States, looking for bigger and more lucrative opportunities overseas. But what does this mean for both the history and future of Australian cinema?The larger-than-life personalities that form the heart of this book — Errol Flynn, Peter Finch, David Gulpilil AM and Nicole Kidman — have dominated cinema screens both locally and internationally and starred in some of the biggest films of their eras — including The Adventures of Robin Hood, Network, Crocodile Dundee and Eyes Wide Shut among others.From the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1930s to the streaming wars of today, the lives of these four actors, and their many cast mates, tell a story of how a nation's cinema was founded, then faltered, before finding itself again.

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Book SynopsisFrom the Foreword by musician, activist, museum curator, documentarian, and scholar, Dr Valmont Layne: "The emerging biography veers between the sublime and the sordid – from Adam warding off racism's many guises on the one hand, to having to deal with shady characters and violent gangsters, even paedophiles on the other - to the adoration Adam continues to elicit to this day from fans and creative peers."No more was this undying adoration of Zayn Adam evident than when he celebrated his "50 years in music" concert at Grandwest in 2012, performing to sold-out shows. Many of Zayn's lifelong friends were part of the act. Their names all evoke a bygone era in music: Richard Jon Smith, Sophia Foster, Terry Fortune, Loukmaan Adams, Vicky Sampson, Karin Kortje, Leslie Kleinsmith and Ronnie Joyce.In this biography, Jegels seeks to reanimate the voice of Zayn through engagement with an interview Zayn did with Jonathan Stevens, segueing to various artists and historical information about events that are all inextricably bound up with the legend that is Zayn Adam.

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Book SynopsisWith their complex textures, rich harmonies and elaborate use of leitmotifs, the operas of Richard Wagner (1813 - 83) remain some of the most influential - and contentious - in the history of the genre. But while Wagner won enormous renown for what he achieved on the stage, his life was marked by political exile, turbulent love affairs, and intermittent poverty. And because Wagner and his music are exceedingly intertwined with the great upheavals of his time, it is difficult to produce an impartial assessment of his work. Published at the bicentennial of his birth, Raymond Furness's Richard Wagner provides a clear and balanced view of both Wagner's great successes and the controversies generated by his life and art. Using Wagner's wide-ranging engagement with Germanic mythology and folk traditions as a starting point, this book explores the composer's music and prose writings, delving deeply into Wagner's essential operas, such as The Ring and Tristan and Isolde, and offering new insights. Because the great operatic pieces often overshadow the rest of Wagner's compositions, Furness also considers neglected fragments like Wieland the Smith, The Mines at Falun and The Visitors, producing a more rounded critical picture of the composer. With up-to-date dissections of recent Bayreuth productions and a refreshingly uncluttered approach to a much-misunderstood life, this book is a rewarding investigation of a true titan of European music.

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Book SynopsisFrida Kahlo stepped into the limelight in 1929 when she married the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. She was 22; he was 43. Hailed as Rivera's exotic young wife who 'dabbles in art', she went on to produce brilliant paintings, but remained in her husband's shadow throughout her life. Today, almost six decades after her untimely death, Kahlo's fame rivals that of Rivera and she has gained international acclaim as a path-breaking artist and a cultural icon. Cutting through 'Fridamania', this book explores Kahlo's life, art and legacies, while also scrutinizing the myths, contradictions and ambiguities that riddle her dramatic story. Gannit Ankori examines Kahlo's early childhood, medical problems, volatile marriage, political affiliations, religious beliefs and, most important, her unparalleled and innovative art. Based on detailed analyses of the artist's paintings, diary, letters, photographs, medical records and interviews, the book also assesses Kahlo's critical impact on contemporary art and culture. Kahlo was of her time, deeply immersed in the issues that dominated the first half of the twentieth century. Yet, as this book reveals, she was also ahead of her time.Her paintings challenged social norms and broke taboos, addressing themes such as the female body, gender, cross-dressing, hybridity, identity and trauma, in ways that continue to inspire contemporary artists across the globe. Frida Kahlo is a succinct and powerful account of the life, art and legacy of this iconic artist.

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Book SynopsisThe Biographic senes presents an entirely new way of looking at the lives of the world's greatest thinkers and creatives. It takes the 50 defining facts, dates, thoughts, habits and achievements of each subject, and uses infographics to convey all of them in vivid snapshots. Many people know that Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) was a French painter whose work and influence linked Post- Impressionism and Cubism. What, perhaps, they don't know is that he was best friends with French novelist Emile Zola until a disagreement ended their friendship of 34 years; that his work was rejected by the Salon and mainstream art schools before his unique style received critical acclaim; that he died from pneumonia after refusing to stop painting in a thunderstorm; and that, in 2011, his iconic artwork The Card Players was sold for more than $250million. Biographic: Cezanne presents an instant impression of his life, work and fame, with an array of irresistible facts and figures converted into infographics to reveal the artist behind the pictures. It is published to coincide with the major international exhibition of Cezanne's portraits 'Once in a Lifetime'.

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Book SynopsisChristopher Fifield's remarkable study explores the personality, life and work of a conductor who influenced and inspired the leading composers, singers and instrumentalists of his day. The Austro-Hungarian Hans Richter (1843-1916) was the first career-conductor to gain international fame. His first appointment was to Budapest, and he went on to dominate music-making in Vienna, Bayreuth, London, Manchester (withthe Hallé Orchestra) and other towns and cities in Britain and Europe between 1865 and 1912. Richter gave first performances of works by Wagner, Brahms, Elgar, Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Stanford and Parry and helped to further the careers of Dvorák, Sibelius, Bartók and Glazunov. Christopher Fifield's remarkable study explores the personality, life and work of a conductor who influenced and inspired the leading composers, singers and instrumentalists of his day. Originally published in 1993, this revised and expanded edition contains extensive new material in the form of Richter's conducting books. Translated and reproduced in full, they detail every one of the 4,351 public performances Richter gave in a professional life spanning 47 years. Drawing on Richter's own diaries, the book also presents his correspondence with many contemporary composers (Wagner in particular) and performers. Fifield's biography of this seminal figure provides a revealing insight into British and European music and concert life during the long nineteenth century. CHRISTOPHER FIFIELD is a conductor, music historian, lecturer and broadcaster.He is the editor and author of the Letters and Diaries of Kathleen Ferrier and Max Bruch: His Life and Works, both published in new editions by The Boydell Press. He has also written Ibbs & Tillett - The rise andfall of a Musical Empire and The German Symphony between Beethoven and Brahms.Trade Review[W]ritten in a very engaging style with little tidbits about seemingly everyone. . . .This is, obviously, an important book if you are interested in conducting and 19th Century performance, but it also gives a wonderful look at the whole musical culture in Germany and England at the time. * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *An outstanding achievement, not merely a model biographical study, but one which will have set truly high standards for any future scholars. * BRIO *A formidable achievement...The sheer weight of archival research and supporting documentary evidence in this study is extraordinary...Even those who possess the original publication of 1993 should invest in this new edition. * THE WAGNER JOURNAL *Table of Contents1843-1865 Childhood and Years of Study 1866-1867 Tribschen 1868-1869 Munich 1870-1871 Brussels : Tribschen 1871-1874 Budapest 1874-1875 Budapest and Bayreuth 1875 Vienna 1876 Bayreuth 1877 London 1878-1879 Vienna 1879-1880 Friends and Enemies 1880-1881 London and Vienna 1881-1882 Richter and d'Albert 1882 Richter and d'Albert 1882-1883 The Master's Death 1884 More Opera in London 1885-1886 Vienna, London and Birmingham 1887-1888 Return to Bayreuth 1889-1900 Vienna 1897-1900 Richter and Mahler 1889-1890 England 1891-1895 England 1895-1900 England 1890-1899 Bayreuth 1894-1899 Richter's diary 1899-1900 Hallé Orchestra 1900-1902 England 1903-1904 England 1904-1906 England 1906-1908 England 1908-1909 England 1909-1911 England 1911-1914 Retirement 1914-1916 The Last Years Finale Hans Richter's Conducting Books Appendix 1: Works conducted by Hans Richter Appendix 2: Cities and towns where Richter conducted Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe first full edition of the correspondence, between three artists Joanna Boyce, her brother George P. Boyce and Henry Wells, who she eventually married. It dates from the period 1845 to 1861, and covers artistic life in both Paris and London, including the Pre-Raphaelites. This correspondence, between three artists Joanna Boyce, her brother George P. Boyce and Henry Wells, whom she eventually married, dates from the period 1845 to 1861. They were all friends of Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelite circle, but in addition Henry and Joanna both studied in Paris, and Joanna wrote extensively about her time there, training with Thomas Couture. She wrote for The Saturday Review as well as painting a small number of very interesting and much admired pictures. Her brother George established himself as a successful watercolourist and member of the Old Watercolour Society, having been encouraged both by David Cox on his Welsh sketching expeditions,and by Ruskin, whose letters advising him what to paint in Venice are included here. Henry Wells was primarily a portrait painter. At first he specialised in miniatures, and was commissioned to paint Mary, princess of Cambridge byQueen Victoria. There are vivid accounts of visits to country houses to carry out commissions from their owners. The three wrote constantly about techniques of painting and about the new colours that became available at this period, and about their visits to exhibitions both in Paris and London. They all contributed to the Royal Academy and other exhibitions. In addition, there is the extraordinary story of Joanna's and Henry's courtship and marriage, at first encouraged and then viciously opposed by Joanna's recently widowed mother. The correspondence survives only in an unpublished transcript made in the 1940s, as the originals were all destroyed in a bombing raid on Bath during the second world war. Excerpts from George P. Boyce's diaries were published in the 1930s, but the present edition contains a considerable amount of new material.Trade ReviewIt is finally hearing the voice of Joanna Boyce Wells which is truly remarkable and makes this publication one of the most important of the last decade...The writing of the artists and editors alike is enjoyable and readable...[It] is a wonderful achievement that will greatly aid historians, and equally delight those with a keen interest in the period. * PRE-RAPHAELITE SOCIETY REVIEW *Table of ContentsGeneral Introduction Memoir by Alice Street, including diaries and letters to 1855 Letters and diaries 1855 Letters and diaries 1856 Letters and diaries 1857 Letters and diaries 1858 Letters and diaries 1859 Letters and diaries 1860 Letters and diaries 1861 Epilogue: 1862 onwards Essays by Alice Street Reviews G. P. Boyce's Diaries, 1848-1875 Appendix I: The Short Memoir Appendix 2: Table of entries not in the printed edition of The Diaries of George Price Boyce Abbreviations Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA detailed and long-overdue study of Frank Bridge's music and its socio-cultural and aesthetic contexts The English composer, violist, and conductor Frank Bridge (1879-1941), a student of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, was one of the first modernists in British music, developing the most radical and lastingly modern musical languageof his generation. Bridge was also one of the most accomplished British composers of chamber music in the twentieth century. After the lyrical romanticism of the early period, a notable expansion of style can be observed as earlyas 1913, leading eventually to the radical language of the Piano Sonata and Third String Quartet, drawing on influences such as Debussy, Stravinsky and the Second Viennese School composers.However, Bridge became frustrated that his later, more complex music was often ignored in favour of his earlier 'Edwardian' works; this neglect of his mature music contributed to the growing obscurity into which his music and reputation fell in his last years and afterhis death. Symptomatically, Bridge is still often remembered primarily for privately tutoring Benjamin Britten, who later championed his teacher's music and paid homage to him in the 'Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge' (1937).This book, the first detailed, and long-overdue, study of Bridge's music and its relevant socio-cultural and aesthetic contexts, encourages a more thorough understanding of Bridge's style and development and will appeal to readers with interests in British music, early twentieth-century modernism and post-romanticism as well as genre and style. FABIAN HUSS is Visiting Fellow at the University of Bristol and has published widely on British music (particularly EJ Moeran), with an emphasis on cultural history, and aesthetic and analytical issues.Trade ReviewA major landmark. * THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL MUSICAL ASSOCIATION *This book is a tour de force ...an intense study of Frank Bridge's music. * SPIRITED *This volume is a crucial addition to scholarship. Being the first 'detailed and long-overdue study of Bridge' it will be of huge interest to serious researchers into his music. Added value here is the thoughtful analysis of many works that have been previously ignored or just touched upon by critics. The book will be of great help to all reviewers and popularisers who choose to explore Frank Bridge's music. * MUSIC WEB INTERNATIONAL *Table of ContentsIntroduction Background, Royal College of Music and Early Works First Maturity Transitional Period Bridge's Post-Tonal Idiom; Piano Sonata and Third String Quartet Interlude: Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Progressive Works, 1927-1932 Interlude: Benjamin Britten Last Years List of Works Bibliography

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Book SynopsisHow have Handel's 'lives' in biographies and histories moulded our understanding of the musician, the man and the icon? To evaluate the familiar, even over-familiar, story of Handel's life could be seen as a quixotic endeavour. How can there be anything new to say? This book seeks to distinguish fact from fiction, not only to produce a new biography but also to explore the concepts of biography and dissemination by using Handel's life and lives as a case study. By examining the images of Handel to be found in biographies and music histories - the genius, the religious profound, the master of musical styles, the distiller into music of English sentiment, the glorifier of the Hanoverians, the hymner of the middle class, the independent, the prodigious, the generous, the sexless, the successful, the wealthy, the bankrupt, the pious, the crude, the heroic, the devious, the battler of ill-fortune, the moral exemplar - and by adding new factual information, David Hunter shows how events are manipulated into stories and tropes. Onesuch trope has been employed to portray numerous persons as Handel's enemies regardless of whether Handel considered them as such. Picking apart the writing of Handel's biographers and other reporters, Hunter exposes the narrative underpinnings - the lies, confusions, presumptions, and conclusions, whether direct and inferred or assumed - to show how Handel's 'lives' in biographies and histories have moulded our understanding of the musician, the man andthe icon. DAVID HUNTER is Music Librarian at the University of Texas at Austin.Trade ReviewAt the heart of his project is an attempt to explore the gap between image and individual-in this case, between 'Handel' and Handel. Handel as image, argues Hunter, is a phenomenon that has superseded Handel the person.the care and intelligence with which Hunter interrogates the facts of Handel's life, and their use by biographers, should attract the attention of all readers interested in the perils and pleasures of biography. * EARLY MUSIC *[A] unique contribution to Handel scholarship. * MUSIC & LETTERS *Handel was an early entrepreneurial composer: he owned his own opera company, he borrowed from himself and others to increase his musical output, and he was impressively resourceful for his time. This study focuses on the multiple representations of Handel that were at least partly a result of his legendary resourcefulness as well as on questions that remain about his sexuality, health (disability), nationalism, friends and acquaintances, and so on. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction The Audience: Three Broad Categories, Three Gross Errors The Audience: Partner and Problem Musicians and Other Occupational Hazards Patrons and Pensions Musical Genres and Compositional Practices Self and Health Self and Friends Nations and Stories Biographers' Stories Conclusion Bibliography

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Book SynopsisA complete new edition of Beethoven's conversation books, now translated into English in their entirety for the first time. Covering a period associated with the revolutionary style of what we call "late Beethoven", these often lively and compelling conversations are now finally accessible in English for the scholar and Beethoven-lover. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is recognized the world over as a composer of musical masterpieces exhibiting heroic strength, particularly in the face of his increasing deafness from ca. 1798. By 1818, the Viennese composer hadbegun carrying blank booklets with him, for his acquaintances to jot their sides of conversations, while he answered aloud. Often, he himself used the pocket-sized booklets to make shopping lists and other reminders, including occasional early sketches for his compositions. Today, 139 of these booklets survive, covering the years 1818 up to the composer's death in 1827 and including such topics as music, history, politics, art, literature, theatre, religion, and education as perceived on a day-to-day basis in post-Napoleonic Europe. An East German edition, begun in the 1960s and essentially complete by 2001, represents a diplomatic transcription of these documents. It is a masterpiece of pure scholarship but is difficult to use for anyone who is not a specialist. Moreover, Beethoven scholarship has moved on significantly since the long-ranging genesis of the German edition. These important booklets are here translated into English in their entirety for the first time. The volumes in this series include an updated editorial apparatus, with revised and expanded notes and many new footnotes exclusive to this edition, and brand new introductions, which together place many of the quickly changing conversational topics into context. Due to the editor's many years of research in Vienna, his acquaintance with its history and topography, as well as his familiarity with obscure documentary resources, this edition represents an entirely new venture in source studies - vitally informative for scholars not only in music but also in a wide variety of disciplines. At the same time, these often lively and compelling conversations are now finally accessible for the English-speaking music lover or history buff who might want to dip into them and hear what Beethoven and his friends were discussing at the next table.Trade ReviewThis is going to send everybody scurrying to revise biographical concepts about Beethoven...the conversation books are going to be a game-changer...these 'compelling conversations' will finally allow English-speaking music lovers to hear what Beethoven and his friends were discussing. * THE OBSERVER *This is absolutely fascinating. John Suchet, * CLASSIC FM *Featured in the10 must-read books for Beethoven 250, * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *Just how deaf was Beethoven? As the 250th-anniversary year of the German composer's birth gathers pace, a leading music scholar has given this often debated matter an added twist. * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *A brilliantly accessible piece of scholarship. . . . As they flash from scene to scene, with a huge cast of characters taking turns in the spotlight, these extraordinary little books read like a film script, with a laconic but massive presence at its heart. It's a goldmine for music historians, and a riveting saga for the rest of us. -- Michael Church * BBC Music Magazine *The publication of the third volume of this much-hoped-for series of the surviving conversation books in English is very much to be welcomed, coming as it does hot on the heels of volumes 1 and 2. . . . Overall the volumes are a very salutary corrective of the oft-encountered "heroic" narratives of Beethoven's life, especially in the way they illustrate the more mundane and human preoccupations and activities of the great composer. The Boydell Press are again much to be thanked for their involvement in the publication of these fascinating documents. Vol. 4 is eagerly anticipated. -- Thomas Cooper * The Consort *Table of ContentsHeft 17 (ca. May 27, 1822 - ca. June 12/13, 1822) Heft 18 (ca. October 31/November 1, 1822 - November 4, 1822) Heft 19 (January 19, 1823 - January 26, 1823) Heft 20 (January 21, 1823 - January 26, 1823) Heft 21 (January 27, 1823 - January 30, 1823) Heft 22 (January 30, 1823 - February 6, 1823) Heft 23 (ca. February 6/7, 1823 - February 12, 1823) Heft 24 (February 12, 1823 - February 21/22, 1823) Heft 25 (February 22, 1823 - March 2, 1823) Heft 26 (March 4, 1823) Heft 27 (ca. March 20, 1823 - March 26, 1823) Heft 28 (March 31, 1823 - April 8, 1823) Heft 29 (April 11, 1823 - April 17, 1823) Heft 30 (ca. April 20, 1823 - April 26, 1823) Heft 31 (April 27, 1823 - May 4, 1823) Appendix A: Descriptions of the Conversation Books in Volume 3 Bibliography

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Book SynopsisOffers an intimate view of a contemporary composer's creative world and how others may interpret it. Howard Skempton has contributed to British musical life for more than half a century, as composer, performer and commentator. His music is characterised by simplicity yet sophistication and is appreciated by lay and specialist listeners in equal measure. Skempton studied in London with Cornelius Cardew in the late 1960s, co-founding the Scratch Orchestra, and has written over 600 pieces since then, informed by and informing compositional trends. His outputincludes pieces for solo piano, accordion, cello, and guitar, chamber ensemble, orchestra, and voice. His music is performed by leading artists and recorded by, amongst others, Sony and NMC. This book offers an intimateview of a composer's creative world and how others may interpret it. It is not a conventional "life and works" though it contains a timeline, authorised work list and discography for orientation. It is written for anyone interested in contemporary music and (auto)biography, whether performer, listener, specialist, or student. The first four chapters comprise transcripts of conversations between Skempton and Esther Cavett followed by reflections from different commentators (respectively Matthew Head, Heather Wiebe, Arnold Whittall and Pwyll Ap Siôn). Skempton and Cavett discuss his musical origins, the wide array of musical and extra-musical influences on his music, his early adult life in London, his compositional development and processes, and how he teaches composition. The reflections are rich and wide-ranging, providing biographical, cultural and aesthetic insights and including close readings of keyscores. The penultimate chapter draws upon voices of Skempton's performers (Peter Hill, Thalia Myers, John Tilbury and James Weeks). To close, Cavett reflects on how Skempton told his story and the process of describing a creative life in music. The book includes manuscripts of six previously unpublished compositions and images of Skempton and his collaborators. ESTHER CAVETT is Senior Research Fellow at King's College, London. MATTHEWHEAD is Professor of Music at King's College, London. CONTRIBUTORS: Esther Cavett, Rosie Clements, Luke Deane, Matthew Head, Peter Hill, Thalia Myers, Howard Skempton, Pwyll Ap Siôn, John Tilbury, James Weeks, HeatherWiebe, Arnold Whittall.Trade ReviewIntriguing. * BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY *Table of ContentsIntroduction Conversation One, 20 July 2016. Childhood and teenage years Reflection One. Music and/as home - Matthew Head Conversation Two, 4 August 2016. The music from A Humming Song (1967) to Lento (1990) Reflection Two. Skempton and experimentalism - Heather Wiebe Conversation Three, 18 August 2016. Becoming established, and the music after Lento (1990) Reflection Three. "Strangely simple": Howard Skempton's composing - Conversation Four, 23 August 2016. On teaching composition Lessons were "magical": Skempton's composition students (with Luke Deane) Testimony from Rosie Clements about her studies with Howard Reflection Four. "Not a lot spoken, but a lot said": Skempton as teacher and composer - Pwyll Ap Siôn Performing (with Peter Hill, Thalia Myers, John Tilbury, James Weeks and Howard Skempton) The story of the story - Esther Cavett After-image: A reflection on a reflection - Howard Skempton Appendix One. Authorised worklist Appendix Two. Discography Select bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis is the first full-length biography of Dorothy Morland (1906–99), to date the only female director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. Based on unpublished letters and other archival sources, as well as interviews and personal recollections, this book traces her busy private and public life from the 1930s up until the 1990s. It tells the story of one of the unacknowledged contributors to the success of the ICA and to the understanding of the international avant garde in post-war Britain. As a female arts administrator, Dorothy Morland’s work has been largely overlooked, and this book aims to highlight her significant contribution to the public understanding of modernism. She was part of a network which included the Surrealist Roland Penrose, art critic Herbert Read, architect Jane Drew and wealthy philanthropists, Peter Gregory and Peter Watson. She was also the protector and advocate for the Independent Group. Dorothy Morland always mixed business with pleasure (dancing with Picasso in Antibes while there on ICA business), and tirelessly oversaw the chaotic organisation that was the ICA in Dover Street from 1950 until 1968. After leaving the ICA she worked hard on assembly the organisation’s archives and securing their safekeeping at Tate.Trade Review'With her characteristic sensitivity to socioeconomic context and questions of gender and class, Massey seeks to intercept the male-dominated narratives that have come to frame the formation of the ICA. In her new book, she again takes the patrilineage of art history to task by drawing attention to an overlooked – but highly influential – female administrator and director. [...] In fact, it is this layering of the author’s academic career with the professional life of her protagonist that truly animates the text ' Rosie Ram, Art History'The book is remarkable for the way in which it interweaves a detailed account of Morland’s life with the early history of the ICA and a broad network of artists and art professionals... [Dorothy Morland Making ICA History] provides a welcome and captivating history of one of the most intriguing chapters in modern British art.'Elena Crippa, The Burlington Magazine ‘This reflective period can be the right time to take stock of postwar history, of incomplete and inaccurate histories and narratives, and to recognize previously downplayed contributions. Morland’s status as a female curator needs to be emphasized, as does her place in British art history… This book is the culmination of decades of research and is enriched by different forms of visual representation that combine elements of the personal memoir with scholarship of the highest order.’ Rina Arya, Journal of Curatorial Studies

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Book SynopsisThis is the first full-length biography of Dorothy Morland (1906–99), to date the only female director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. Based on unpublished letters and other archival sources, as well as interviews and personal recollections, this book traces her busy private and public life from the 1930s up until the 1990s. It tells the story of one of the unacknowledged contributors to the success of the ICA and to the understanding of the international avant garde in post-war Britain. As a female arts administrator, Dorothy Morland’s work has been largely overlooked, and this book aims to highlight her significant contribution to the public understanding of modernism. She was part of a network which included the Surrealist Roland Penrose, art critic Herbert Read, architect Jane Drew and wealthy philanthropists, Peter Gregory and Peter Watson. She was also the protector and advocate for the Independent Group. Dorothy Morland always mixed business with pleasure (dancing with Picasso in Antibes while there on ICA business), and tirelessly oversaw the chaotic organisation that was the ICA in Dover Street from 1950 until 1968. After leaving the ICA she worked hard on assembly the organisation’s archives and securing their safekeeping at Tate.Trade Review'With her characteristic sensitivity to socioeconomic context and questions of gender and class, Massey seeks to intercept the male-dominated narratives that have come to frame the formation of the ICA. In her new book, she again takes the patrilineage of art history to task by drawing attention to an overlooked – but highly influential – female administrator and director. [...] In fact, it is this layering of the author’s academic career with the professional life of her protagonist that truly animates the text ' Rosie Ram, Art History'The book is remarkable for the way in which it interweaves a detailed account of Morland’s life with the early history of the ICA and a broad network of artists and art professionals... [Dorothy Morland Making ICA History] provides a welcome and captivating history of one of the most intriguing chapters in modern British art.'Elena Crippa, The Burlington Magazine ‘This reflective period can be the right time to take stock of postwar history, of incomplete and inaccurate histories and narratives, and to recognize previously downplayed contributions. Morland’s status as a female curator needs to be emphasized, as does her place in British art history… This book is the culmination of decades of research and is enriched by different forms of visual representation that combine elements of the personal memoir with scholarship of the highest order.’ Rina Arya, Journal of Curatorial Studies

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Book SynopsisAs early as the ancient Greeks, goddesses served as Muses for artistic creation. In essence, a creatively charged energy inspired the artist, leaving a unique and recognizable mark on the artwork. Picassos relationships with the women in his life was deeply formative, and he often represented them as Muses. He was particularly unabashed in the declaration of his feelings to one of them, Marie-Therese Walter, his youthful mistress of 1927. But at that point Picasso was still married to Olga Khokhlova, thus forced to practice the utmost discretion. His marriage to Olga made him increasingly frustrated with her imposed bourgeois expectations. As a release from this marital burden, Marie-Therese was ever present in his work, often portrayed as Aphrodite with a wreath in her hair, a basket of flowers and fruits by her side. Marie-Therese was the Dream the Muse. This fertile period coincided with the strong influence of surrealism which helped liberate Picassos psyche from the straitjacket that Olgas lifestyle imposed on him. By 1935, however, the model and mistress became a mother to Maya, radically changing the role she previously had. The following year Picasso was introduced to a new woman, Dora Maar, an encounter that signalled the beginning of the end of Marie-Thereses exclusive claim on Picassos affections and the closing of an artistic period clearly marked by fertility. The Aphrodite Period (19241936) provides new insights and analysis of Picassos life as recently uncovered through the research of the Online Picasso Project. This time-span is one of the most illustrative periods of Picassos career in that it clearly demonstrates the close interdependence between sexuality and artistic creativity that characterize Picasso's entire output.

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Book SynopsisA vivid picture of the public and private life of a professional musician in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century London. This well-documented life of Samuel Wesley gives a vivid picture of the life of a professional musician in late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century London. Wesley was born in 1766, the son of the Methodist hymn-writer CharlesWesley and nephew of the preacher John Wesley. He was the finest composer and organist of his generation, but his unconventional behaviour makes him of more than ordinary interest. He lived through a crucial stage of English musicfrom the immediately post-Handel generation to the early Romantic period, and his large output includes piano and organ music, orchestral music, church music, glees, and songs. He also taught and lectured on music, and was involved in journalism, publishing, and promoting the music of J. S. Bach. This book draws on letters, family papers, and other contemporary documents to offer a full study of Wesley, his music, and his life and times. PHILIP OLLESON is Professor of Historical Musicology at the University of Nottingham. He has edited The Letters of Samuel Wesley: Professional and Social Correspondence, 1797-1837, is the joint author (with Michael Kassler) of Samuel Wesley (1766-1837): A Source Book, and has written extensively about other aspects of music in England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.Trade ReviewMasterful. [...] Both musicologists and historians of the period will find in Olleson's book an exceptionally well-considered discussion of Wesley's life and times, and an extremely valuable addition to research of the period. * RECUSANT HISTORY *This is a major study which may be enjoyed on several levels; as a biography, or social commentary, or background to the musical life of Georgian/Regency England, or as informed discussion of the composer's output, and more besides. As a biography, it is a gripping read.... [A] splendid book. * THE ORGANIST'S REVIEW *This totally absorbing account, fluently narrated and minutely documented with the help of the prolific letter-writing Wesleys, guarantees a sympathetic hearing for the troubled Samuel. It deserves to be widely read, and not just by musicians, for its intelligent perspective on the consequences for individuals of living through a period of artistic, social and philosophical change. * THE MUSICAL TIMES *Not only a scholarly work, but a stonking good read. * CLASSICAL TIMES *Philip Olleson's astonishing biography.is a fascinating read. * THE DELIAN *Strongly recommended to anyone with a serious interest in Wesley or in the period encompassing his life. * AD PARNASSUM *Leads the reader carefully through the evolution of Samuel's career, portraying his volatile life and personality candidly and with good taste. [.] Establishes the significance of Wesley's career intelligently. * ANGLICAN AND EPISCOPAL HISTORY *

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Book SynopsisA revised and enlarged paperback edition to mark the centenary of the much-loved singer's birth. In 1953, at the age of 41, Kathleen Ferrier, England's greatest lyric contralto, lost her courageous battle with breast cancer. Her huge appeal to a wide audience - in concerts, on records, on the radio and in the opera house - has ensured her name endures to this day, despite a career which lasted barely ten years. In just half that time, this former telephone exchange operator was singing on stage at Covent Garden, before royalty at private parties, andat New York's Carnegie Hall. This collection of letters and twelve years of her personal diaries was first published by Boydell Press in 2003. Here, an enlarged paperback edition contains a new chapter revealing her growingimportance to the BBC, an additional 90 letters, together with much revised material and a selection of moving tributes. Published to mark the centenary of her birth in 1912, the book, of more than 400 letters, provides a vivid picture of a life which illuminated the war and post-war years of austerity and hardship. Kathleen Ferrier was surely fun to know. Her personality was a mix of extreme modesty and self-determined ambition, topped with a mischievously blunt sense of earthy Lancastrian humour. She is known for her glorious voice, but through the pages of these fascinating letters and diaries we get to meet the real person. DR CHRISTOPHER FIFIELD is a conductor, music historian, lecturer and broadcaster. He is the biographer of Max Bruch [Boydell Press 2005] and conductor Hans Richter, and the author of a history of the music agents Ibbs & Tillett.Trade ReviewIt is this treasury of information that makes this book such a valuable piece of scholarship. [...] a remarkable portrait of the life and times, the moods and concerns, the fun and the pain of Kathleen Ferrier. [...] Christopher Fifield [...] has written what may be regarded as an ideal model of this kind of book. [...] I strongly recommend this book. -- John France * MUSIC.WEB.INTERNATIONAL *[The] letters and diaries [...] are wonderfully colourful; they are funny and down-to-earth, informative and detailed. Her courage, to the very end, never faltered. * THE LANCASHIRE MAGAZINE *Christopher Fifield edits the domestic and professional material with informed sensitivity, discretely offering clarifications or context when necessary. There will be few better - or truer - tributes to this still much-missed singer. * CLASSICAL MUSIC [Editor's Choice] *Fifty years on, a voice that still touches the heart. * GRAMOPHONE *A vivid self-portrait of a brave, secure woman in love with life and music, whose joie de vivre was palpable and supported both by a notable lack of inflated egoism and a singular sense of humour which rarely faltered, even toward the end. Anyone interested in Kathleen Ferrier's life and art, and the milieu of the Second World War years and their aftermath by which they were embraced, will find this welcome book required reading. It is above all, and despite the final descent, a celebration of living. * JOHN TALBOT, BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY NEWSLETTER *On closing [this book] with a terrible sadness, I'm a fan too... The secret is her voice - the plain-speaking tone of a Lancashire lass who was also an aesthete, a joker and an exemplary friend. These letters...chronicle everything, from whom she knocked around with - Britten, Pears, Barbirolli, Danny Kaye, Rex Harrison - to what she sang and what she greedily ate. -- Michael Church * FINANCIAL TIMES *Delightful letters and diaries. -- Rupert Christiansen * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Editing and presentation are as fine as anyone could wish and Fifield's introductions to each chapter could not be better written. -- Best Buy5 Stars * CLASSIC FM *Table of ContentsIntroduction Letters 1940-1947 Letters 1948 Letters 1949 Letters 1950 Letters 1951 Letters 1952 Letters 1953 Kathleen Ferrier and the BBC: Letters 1941-1953 The Diaries: Introduction Diary for 1942 Diary for 1943 Diary for 1944 Diary for 1945 Diary for 1946 Diary for 1947 Diary for 1948 Diary for 1949 Diary for 1950 Diary for 1951 Diary for 1952

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Book SynopsisAn expert and informative appraisal of all of Elgar's works - from his juvenilia to the unfinished 3rd symphony - by the author of the acclaimed Gerald Finzi. The new Diana McVeagh book on Elgar is first-rate, wrote Gerald Finzi of her earlier study of the composer, published in 1955. In the completely new Elgar the Music Maker she harvests five decades of thoughts about his music, scrutinizing the biographical details that have since been discovered and using them to assess the ways in which they affect the compositions. Diana McVeagh explores Elgar's complex personality and his compositional methods, his style and his relationship to his contemporaries, yet it is the music - still played, recorded, loved and discussed as much as ever- that remains her prime focus. Each of Elgar's works is discussed, balancing information and appraisal, from his juvenilia to his unfinished Third Symphony. Diana McVeagh provides a compelling and accessible companion to the music of one of England's greatest composers. Musicians, scholars and CD collectors alikewill find much to enjoy in Elgar the Music Maker. Diana McVeagh is the author of the highly acclaimed Gerald Finzi: His Life and Music [2005]; of the entries on Elgar and Finzi for The New Grove Dictionaryof Music and Musicians [1980, 2001]; and of the Finzi entry in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography [2004].Trade ReviewDeserves to be read widely, and we should be grateful to Diana McVeagh for producing an immensely readable and always wise handbook to Elgar's oeuvre. * MUSIC & LETTERS *The analysis...is observation, discovery of what this music is. You're led to it by feeling, and back to feeling it returns. That is the essential way of good music criticism, and this book is full of it. -- John Steane * GRAMOPHONE *In associating events of the times with almost all of Elgar's works, McVeagh wears her encyclopedic knowledge lightly: her prose is clean, charming, and clever, and her forays into theory/musicology are brief and to the point...A congenial companion for those who know little about Elgar; a worthy quick read for the knowledgeable. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *McVeagh's critical method intertwines description and comment, and it serves her, and the reader, well. -- Julian Rushton * ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL *McVeagh's book, the concentrated essence of a lifetime's care for his music, has much to tell us about even the most familiar scores. -- John Warrack * INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW *McVeagh is also able to make it clear how much she loves and admires the music without making any extravagant claims on its behalf. It's hard to imagine a more sane approach...the insights...keep coming. -- Stephen Johnson * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *Effortlessly readable, fresh prose. Almost every page has some gem of illumination...An essential listener's companion. -- Julian Haylock * CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE *Diana McVeagh has produced another gem of a book...a hawk's eye view of Elgar, the subject matter richly distilled...its arrival cheered me immensely in the midst of what has been a rather bleak 150th anniversary year. -- Richard Osborne * THE OLDIE *McVeagh is indeed an intelligent guide here: her writing is both informed and immaculate. * BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY NEWS *One thoroughly good result of this Elgar year...This is neither a biography nor a technical analysis, but McVeagh has hit on the perfect way of combining the best features of both...There is no superimposition of alien theories or of special interests, and there are no perverse reinterpretations. The last few pages deal with Elgar's posterity and end with a beautifully balanced study of Elgar's personality. * TLS [Hugh Wood] *This little book is solid gold. * NABMSA Newsletter *Table of ContentsThe Making of an Enigma 1857-1899 To the Greater Glory of God 1899-1909 The Symphonist The Music of Wartime 1914-1920 The Last Years 1920-1934 Coda

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Book SynopsisThe combination of new insights into Ligeti by people who knew him with new analytical approaches will make this a core publication not only for Ligeti scholars, but also for readers interested in post-war music history and in Hungarian culture. Shortlisted for the RPS Music Award 2012 for Creative Communication. György Ligeti: Of Foreign Lands and Strange Sounds offers a new assessment of a composer whose constant exploration of new sound worlds- based on the musics of different cultures and ages - contributed in crucial ways to making him one of the most important musical voices of the last 50 years. The book combines texts by former students, colleagues and friends, who reflect on different and so far unknown aspects of Ligeti's persona, with new musicological interpretations of his style and several of his main works. Among the contributors are some of the most eminent Ligeti scholars, including Richard Steinitz and Paul Griffiths. Louise Duchesneau, Ligeti's assistant of over 20 years, acts not only as contributor but also as co-editor of the volume. Many of the musicological chapters are based on studies of Ligeti's sketches, which are now housed by the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basle and were made available for research only recently. Two close collaborators representing disciplines which deeply interested Ligeti - Heinz-Otto Peitgen (a mathematician who introduced Ligeti to fractal geometry, which influenced many if his works since 1985) and Simha Arom (an ethnomusicologist who acquainted Ligeti with the complex rhythmic patters of the music of Sub-saharan Africa) - also reflect on the composer for the very first time in writing. The combination of new insights into Ligeti by people who knew him with new analytical approaches will make this a core publication not only for Ligeti scholars, but also for readers interested in music of the second half of the twentieth century and in Hungarian culture. WOLFGANG MARX is Lecturer in Music, University College Dublin. LOUISE DUCHESNEAU was Ligeti's assistant for 20 years Contributors: SIMHA AROM, JONATHAN W. BERNARD, CIARÁN CRILLY, LOUISE DUCHESNEAU, BENJAMIN DWYER, TIBORC FAZEKAS, PAUL GRIFFITHS, ILDIKÓ MÁNDI-FAZEKAS, WOLFGANG MARX, HEINZ-OTTO PEITGEN, FRIEDEMANN SALLIS, WOLFGANG-ANDREAS SCHULTZ, MANFRED STAHNKE, RICHARD STEINITZTrade ReviewSpiced with thoughtful, at times even poetic, observations ... An important bonus of the book is the numerous photographs by Ines Gellrich, some of which capture Ligeti's face in his most private moments. One must also praise the care of the editors, since the orthography of the numerous Hungarian terms is as good as flawless. * FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE, December 2013 *A fine-grained, nuanced portrait of Ligeti and his music that will continue to enrich scholarly and popular interest. * JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGICAL RESEARCH *[U]nverzichtbar[e] Lektüre für denjenigen, der sich intensiver mit György Ligeti und seiner Musik befassen möchte. * DIE TONKUNST *[W]ill surely set a new standard for scholarly work on Ligeti for years to come. The wealth of information and the breadth of historical and theoretical approaches makes this an indispensable volume for anyone interested in this great composer and his music. * MLA NOTES *Given the closeness between the authors and Ligeti, reading the musical descriptions gives much knowledge about Ligeti the human, and about how he was as a teacher, student, or friend. [...] This book is a must to those who want to get to know more closely one of the most important composers of our time more closely. * KLASSISK MUSIKKMAGASIN *This book piles up its contrasting and multi-toned commentaries, with continuity and connectedness at a premium. [...] a handsomely produced volume. * MUSICAL TIMES *[E]ditorial standards are of the highest [...] the present book can be cordially recommended, fulfilling as it does the remit of a broad-based symposium while making for an absorbing read [...] what emerges from these pages is the extent to which Ligeti has remained on the forefront of European musical thinking. * GRAMOPHONE *György Ligeti is already seen as one of the major post-war composers. Of Foreign Lands and Strange Sounds is [...] lavishly produced and illustrated [...] will appeal to the general reader. * INTERNATIONAL PIANO *Of Foreign Lands and Strange Sounds is fantastically wide-ranging and yet relevant for even the lay reader. The essays in this collection - and the rich accompanying photographs, illustrations, sketches and scores - provide an excellent introduction to a formidable [...] composer. * THE PRAGUE POST *Table of ContentsIntroduction "We play with the music and the music plays with us." Sándor Veress and his student György Ligeti - Friedemann Sallis Transformational Ostinati in György Ligeti's Sonatas for Solo Cello and Solo Viola - Benjamin Dwyer Magicians of Sound - Seeking Ligeti's Inspiration in the Poetry of Sándor Weöres - Ildikó Mándi-Fazekas and Tiborc Fazekas "Make Room for the Grand Macabre!" The Concept of Death in György Ligeti's Oeuvre - Continuum, Chaos and Metronomes - A Fractal Friendship - Heinz-Otto Peitgen A Kinship Foreseen: Ligeti and African Music. Simha Arom in Conversation - Simha Arom "Play it like Bill Evans": György Ligeti and Recorded Music - Louise Duchesneau Rules and Regulation: Lessons from Ligeti's Compositional Sketches - Jonathan W. Bernard À qui un hommage? The Genesis of the Piano Concerto and Horn Trio - Richard Steinitz Craft and Aesthetics - The Teacher György Ligeti - Wolfgang-Andreas Schultz The Hamburg Composition Class - Manfred Stahnke The Bigger Picture: Ligeti's Music and the Films of Stanley Kubrick - Ciarán Crilly Invented Homelands: Ligeti's Orchestras - Paul Griffiths

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Book SynopsisPublished to coincide with the 50th anniversary of his death, this book presents new articles by leading authorities on John Ireland and his music, together with transcriptions of his broadcast talks and of interviews with the composer. John Ireland [1879-1962] was one of the most distinctive and distinguished of a generation of exceptional British composers that included Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Frank Bridge and Arnold Bax. They emerged in the decade before the First World War and, in the inter-war years, produced a remarkable body of music. In Ireland's case his was not only the most popular British Piano Concerto of its time, but he also composed a splendid repertoire of songs,piano music, chamber music and orchestral and choral scores. This richly illustrated Companion will be essential for all admirers of the composer. Not only for the performer - pianist, singer, conductor - but for thewider musical public, record collectors and music historians, academics and anyone interested in British music of the earlier twentieth century. Lewis Foreman has drawn on his extensive research into Ireland's life and letters over many years, and, in association with the John Ireland Charitable Trust, has not only commissioned a wide range of chapters from leading performers and writers of today, but has brought together in one convenient format Ireland's own writings on music, the memories of his friends and students (including Britten, Moeran and Arnell) and a selection of important earlier articles. The Companion also includes a complete list of works and themost comprehensive discography of Ireland ever compiled. The accompanying CD contains historical recordings featuring the voice of John Ireland, with two of his broadcast talks, as well as otherwise unobtainable performances of Ireland's music from the composer himself and from other well-known performers of the past. LEWIS FOREMAN is author of Bax: A Composer and His Time [Boydell, 2007] and London: a Musical Gazetteer [Yale 2005]. Contributors: FELIX APRAHAMIAN, RICHARD ARNELL, BENJAMIN BRITTEN, JOCELYN BROOKE, ALAN BUSH, GEOFFREY BUSH, GEORGE DANNATT, JULIE DELLER, JEREMY DIBBLE, EDWIN EVANS, LEWIS FOREMAN, NORAH KIRBY, FREDERICK LAMOND, PHILIP LANCASTER, STEPHEN LE PROVOST, STEPHEN LLOYD, CHARLES MARKES, ROBERT MATTHEW-WALKER, E.J. MOERAN, ANGUS MORRISON, ERIC PARKIN, BRUCE PHILLIPS, C. B. REES, FIONA RICHARDS, ALAN ROWLANDS, R. MURRAY SCHAFER, MARION SCOTT, COLIN SCOTT-SUTHERLAND, HUMPHREY SEARLE, FREDA SWAIN, KENNETH THOMPSON, RODERICK WILLIAMS, KENNETH A. WRIGHTTrade Review[T]he Ireland enthusiast [...] will enjoy dipping into the contents again and again. * FANFARE *[A]n eminently readable [...] volume. * MUSICAL TIMES *This impressively large book [...] contains almost everything the reader could wish to know about the composer John Ireland. * DELIUS SOCIETY JOURNAL *[An] impressive publication, eagerly awaited and finely produced. * BMS NEWS *[A] well constructed and more than comprehensive volume. [...] beautifully produced and copiously illustrated [...] highly recommended. * ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL *What a cornucopia this is for admirers of Ireland's music, as the 50th anniversary of his death is marked for this year. [...] Many musical examples and some wonderful photographs enhance this splendid, thoroughly recommendable book. * CLASSICAL MUSIC *[T]his Companion (and a forthcoming collection of letters) will have to stand as the nearest thing to a true portrait of the man. * FINZI JOURNAL *Comprehensive and magisterial. * CHURCH TIMES *Any reader interested in the music of John Ireland will find this book a marvellous source of information [...] handsomely illustrated and beautifully produced. * RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS SOCIETY JOURNAL *In this substantial hardback, Ireland himself is brought to life through sympathetic explanations and pertinent recollections as well as exhaustive listings of repertoire and recordings [...] Much is revealed - a timely opportunity to stimulate or re-excite interest in a considerable composer. * GRAMOPHONE *[T]he latest monument to Lewis Foreman's heroic toil for British music. [...] A very impressive achievement. * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE [5 stars] *Lewis Foreman deserves a medal for his Stakhanovite endeavours. A bouquet is in order, too, for the superb standards of production and proof-reading. ... [A] mighty achievement. John Ireland has come home. * INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW *The present volume takes a vitally important place in the relatively sparse bibliographical catalogue of John Ireland's life and music. [...] This book is essential reading for all enthusiasts of John Ireland's music in particular and British music in general. * MUSIC WEB INTERNATIONAL *Table of ContentsForeword by Julian Lloyd Webber John Ireland - a life in music - Colin Scott-Sutherland John Ireland: a personal discovery - Bruce Phillips Meeting John Ireland - Alan Rowlands John Ireland's personal world - Fiona Richards Interview with John Ireland - Murray Schafer Aprahamian, Bush, Markes, Morrison, Thompson remember John Ireland John Ireland and the BBC - Lewis Foreman Sea Fever: John Ireland and Deal - Julie Deller Remembering John Ireland and His World - Freda Swain Arthur Machen and John Ireland - Colin Scott-Sutherland Helen Perkin: pianist, composer and muse of John Ireland - Fiona Richards John Ireland and Charles Markes: a creative relationship - George Dannatt The John Ireland Charitable Trust - Bruce Phillips John Ireland: some musical fingerprints - Alan Rowlands John Ireland and the piano - Eric Parkin John Ireland in the Concert Hall: Orchestral and Choral-Orchestral Music - Lewis Foreman The Happy Highways: John Ireland's Chamber music - Bruce Phillips The Church Music of John Ireland - Jeremy Dibble The Organ Music - Stephen Le Provost The Songs of John Ireland - Charles Markes Songs of Innocence: the part-songs of John Ireland - Philip Lancaster John Ireland and Poetry: a singer's experience - Roderick Williams John Ireland on Record - Robert Matthew-Walker John Ireland: a personal impression - Geoffrey Bush Arnell, Britten, Bush, Moeran and Searle: Ireland's Pupils on their Teacher John Ireland: two reminiscences - Jocelyn Brooke Appreciation and biographical sketch - Norah Kirby Piano Sonata - Frederick Lamond Discovering John Ireland - Kenneth A. Wright John Ireland - E.J. Moeran John Ireland the Man - C.B. Rees Modern British Composers: John Ireland - Edwin Evans John Ireland's Writings on Music Appendices: John Ireland's Addresses and a Note on John Ireland's Handwriting Catalogue of works Discography

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Book SynopsisMäkelä's study brings together German, Nordic and Anglo-American work on Sibelius, and synthesizes these various strands of Sibelius reception into a single coherent critical narrative. This acclaimed study, available in English for the first time, looks at the music of Jean Sibelius in its biographical context. Myths have surrounded Sibelius [1865-1957] and his work, for more than 100 years, often diverting attention away from his creative output. Drawing on many unpublished sources, Mäkelä's study leads us back to Sibelius as a musician and a 'poet' of universal validity. Chapters examine the composer's creativity, inspiration, influence, aspects of genre, as well as the relationship of the artist with nature and homeland. Those who knew Sibelius at an early age tell of a youthful bohemian in the midst of European decadence. This 'age of Carmen'[Eduard Munch] marked Sibelius's formative years. The composer's most important works, dating from a time between his third symphony and Tapiola, reflect the modernistic mainstream. Sibelius's last three decades, known asthe 'Silence of Ainola', have inspired the masculine clichés that this book deconstructs. Sibelius was one of the least political artists of his time who nevertheless became heavily politicized. The first supreme musical talent in the region, he gave his nation a genuine sound. Europeans of the late nineteenth century showed increasing affinity with Nordic culture. Aino, Sibelius's wife, was instrumental in creating the image of her husband as a Nordic icon. The book closely scrutinizes this popular image. In an Anglo-American artistic context his mix of regionalism and modernity remained attractive even when these elements went out of fashion in the art movement of continental Europe. Ideas of Finland and the North vastly influenced the interpretation of meaning in Sibelius's music, a music that until this day remains enigmatic.Trade ReviewThe attempt to draw a complete picture is carried out impressively, with a critical basis that is seldom present in such portraits. * KLASSISK MUSIKKMAGASIN *[C]arefully details Sibelius's life and provides a richly painted portrait of the world around the composer. [...] will be a source for Sibelius scholars for many years to come. [...] Recommended. * CHOICE *[W]ith its exhaustive archival underpinning and determination not to short-circuit complex issues, the book is unlikely to be challenged [...] for quite some time. * MUSICAL TIMES *Tomi Mäkelä has assembled a vast amount of referential material [...] free from stridency and polemic, keen to raise questions [...] and genuinely interested in an enthralling subject. I found myself responding with increasing pleasure and respect. -- Malcolm Hayes * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *Mäkelä provides thought-provoking historical and cultural insights. His exceptionally thorough research draws on a wide range of source materials that is wider than usual, including some rarely tapped sources close to Sibelius himself. * UK SIBELIUS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER *Mäkelä is creating a notably elaborate artistic and intellectual context in which to assess Sibelius's unique - 'visionary, ecstatic, imagination based' - creative urge. * CLASSICAL MUSIC *Table of Contents1 Insights 2 The Creator in His World 3 Influence and Resistance from 1880 to 1929 4 The Large-Scale Genres 5 Artist, Nature, Homeland: From Insight to Intention 6 Epilogue 409

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Book SynopsisAlthough Elgar achieved fame, status and recognition in his lifetime, his earnings did not match the standard of living to which he aspired. The late nineteenth century was a propitious time for British composers. But while the demand from music publishers for their works grew substantially, the copyright and royalty terms were such that even successful composers couldnot achieve the levels of earnings enjoyed by other creative artists such as authors, painters and dramatists. However, in the early twentieth century, new sources of earnings emerged, notably performing fees, broadcasting fees and royalties from record sales. Unlike other leading contemporary British composers, who also held prestigious, salaried positions, Elgar was, by his own volition, a freelance composer who relied entirely on the precarious earnings from his works, supplemented by conducting fees and a brief tenure at Birmingham University. As a result, although Elgar achieved fame, status and recognition in his lifetime, both nationally and internationally, his earnings did not match the standard of living to which he aspired. This lack of money, exacerbated by too much expenditure, was a constant source of worry, complaint and frustration to Elgar, even though he had become a beneficiary fromthe new sources of income in the twentieth century. Elgar's Earnings investigates whether Elgar's complaints about a lack of money can be justified by the facts. Drawing on hitherto neglected primary sources, especially the Novello Business Archive, John Drysdale examines the relatively poor terms offered by music publishers to composers of serious music in general and Elgar in particular and explores the reasons why successful painters and authors, such as G. B. Shaw, could obtain much better terms. This comparative analysis enriches our understanding of the economic and social forces at work in nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain and shows how Elgar, despite his insecure financial position, helped to establish the profession of the English composer, to the lasting benefit of future generations. JOHN DRYSDALE is a musicologist and former investment banker.Trade ReviewA fascinating book ... I commend this book to anyone interested in how composers of the time earned an income. * SPIRITED MAGAZINE, ENGLISH MUSIC FESTIVAL *This study widens our understanding of the place of Elgar's music in terms of social, cultural and economic context ... Drysdale's excellent analysis of Elgar's earnings shows the benefits that economically-focused studies of composers bring to the more contextual understanding of the life decisions and artistic choices they made. * MUSICAL TIMES, December 2013 *Drysdale [...] should be congratulated on adding a new chapter in Elgar studies. * MUSICAL OPINION *This is a rare, maybe even unique, book. [...] An unexpected, revealing, and truly fascinating book and one which I recommend wholeheartedly. * ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL *Table of ContentsIntroduction Opportunities for British Composers Authors, Painters and Composers Novello and the Music Publishing Business Novello, Royalties and Copyrights to 1914 and the 1904 Royalty Agreement Novello, Royalties and Copyrights 1914 to 1934 and other Music Publishers Royalties and Copyrights on Elgar's Major Works Elgar's Performing Fees and George Bernard Shaw Elgar's Earnings from Broadcasting, Recording and Conducting A Matter of Wills Epilogue Appendix

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Book SynopsisA novel approach to biography, drawing on interview material and other sources, all extensively annotated. This book is a major source of information about one of the most influential British composers of the mid-twentieth century and the musicians he knew. It also provides details of the musical relationship between Paris and London before, during and after World War II. Berkeley had a ring-side seat when he lived in Paris, studied with Nadia Boulanger and wrote reviews about musical life there from 1929 to 1934. His little known letters to her reveal the mesmeric power of this extraordinary woman. Berkeley was an elegant writer, and it is fascinating to read his first-hand memories of composers such as Ravel, Poulenc, Stravinsky and Britten. The book also contains interviewswith Berkeley's colleagues, friends and family. These include performers such as Julian Bream and Norman Del Mar; composers Nicholas Maw and Malcolm Williamson; the composer's eldest son Michael, the composer and broadcaster; andLady Berkeley. Lennox Berkeley knew Britten well, and there are many references to him in this eminently readable collection. Peter Dickinson, British composer and pianist, has written and edited numerous books about twentieth-century music, including Cage Talk: Dialogues with and about John Cage as well as Samuel Barber Remembered (both with University of Rochester Press) and three books published by Boydell Press: The Music of Lennox Berkeley; Copland Connotations; and Lord Berners: Composer, Writer, Painter. Peter Dickinson's music is widely performed and recorded. Dickinson knew Berkeley from 1956 until the composer's death in 1989; performed many of the songs with his sister, the mezzo Meriel Dickinson; and has written and broadcast regularly about his music.Trade ReviewThis collection [...] is a major source of information concerning one of the most influential composers of the mid-twentieth century and the musicians he knew. * DELIUS JOURNAL *This is a fascinating and always interesting read - splendid for bedtime dipping and, thanks to the index, for research. Strongly recommended. * ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL *One doesn't need to be an admirer of Lennox Berkeley's music to appreciate the wisdom and insights which this most welcome collection of various writings has to offer. [...] Peter Dickinson is to be commended for bringing together this illuminating material. * MUSICAL TIMES *Every page in this excellently edited, finely produced volume speaks of a composer who listened to his inner voice, turning a deaf ear to the blandishments of fame or fortune. ... [Berkeley] has been too often overlooked; Peter Dickinson's book will surely do much to remedy that. * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *[Berkeley's writings reveal the same kindly, urbane and by no means undiscerning personality that is heard in his music. * INTERNATIONAL PIANO *This valuable book reminds us that by keenly analysing limitations in other composers and himself without undue cruelty, Berkeley was more than the gentle and kindly soul whom all of the interviewees recall; he was also a most perceptive thinker about opera. * OPERA *[T]his is a handsome and welcome tribute to a composer who did not necessarily make a huge statement [...] As a publication and as a chronicle of a creative life, it could not be better achieved. * GRAMOPHONE *[P]rolific composer and well-loved man, Lennox Berkeley [...] remains an enigma to most of us even if we know little of his enormous output of songs, symphonies, ballets and spiritually inclined choral music. [...] [This] new collection of writings, letters and interviews, edited by his one-time pupil Peter Dickinson, offers an easily digested introduction to the composer and his milieu. * SPECTATOR *After reading [this] new volume I feel I almost knew the man. [...] highly recommended. * CLASSICAL.NET *This book is essential reading for all enthusiasts of 20th century music, and will be of tremendous value to all scholars of British music in particular and Western music in general. -- John France * MUSIC.WEB.INTERNATIONAL *Table of ContentsIntroduction Reports from Paris, 1929-34 Letters to Nadia Boulanger, 1929-79 Selections from Berkeley's Later Writings and Talks, 1943-82 Interviews with Berkeley, 1973-8 Extracts from Berkeley's Diaries, 1966-82 Interviews with Performers, Composers, Family and Friends, 1990-91 Memorial Address by Sir John Manduell Catalogue of Works Bibliographies

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Book SynopsisAn in-depth study of the life of Sir Hamilton Harty (1879-1941), pianist, composer and conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, who arguably made Manchester the most important focus for music in Britain in his day. Sir Hamilton Harty (1879-1941) is best known as the conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, who arguably made Manchester the most important focus for music in Britain in his day. This book chronicles and analyses Harty's illustrious career, from his establishment as London's premiere accompanist in 1901 to his years as a conductor between 1910 and 1933, first with the LSO and then with the Hallé, to his American tours of the 1930s. Tragically, Harty died from cancer in 1941 at the age of only 61. This book also looks at Harty's life as a composer of orchestral and chamber works and songs, notably before the First World War. Although Harty's music cleaved strongly to a late nineteenth-century musical language, he was profoundly influenced during his days in Ulster and Dublin by the Irish literary revival. A great exponent of Mozart and especially Berlioz, Harty was also a keen exponent of British music and an active supporter of American composers such as Gershwin. Harty's role in the exposition of standard and new repertoire and his relationship with contemporary composers and performers are also examined, against the perspective of other important major British conductors such as Sir Thomas Beecham, Malcolm Sargent and Sir Henry Wood. Additionally, the book analyses the debates Harty provoked on the subjects of women orchestral players, jazz, modernism, and the music of Berlioz. JEREMY DIBBLE is Professor of Music at Durham University and author of John Stainer: A Life in Music(The Boydell Press, 2007) and monographs on C. Hubert H. Parry, Charles Villiers Stanford and Michele Esposito.Trade ReviewSheds a good deal of light on the life, varied career, and works of an important but neglected figure. Dibble's writing is clear, and he brings a great deal of knowledge and passion to bear on his subject. His treatment of the multifaceted Harty has something to offer those interested in the history of recording, of British orchestras, of 20th century British composers, and, of course, in Harty himself. * ARSC JOURNAL *For experienced scholars, it is a fascinating refresher. . . . Dibble's writing . . . whet[s] the appetite for further discovery. A biography that makes the reader want to discover more is surely a successful one. * NABSMA Reviews *Including an excellent bibliography, discography, and index, this is a major study of Harty. Summing Up: Recommended. * CHOICE *This is a valuable work of scholarship, meticulously researched from a wide range of sources, and an engaging read. * GRAMOPHONE *This landmark biography reveals there is a great deal more to him. . . . Engaging and fluent style . . . fascinating. I hope this book will stimulate both performances and recordings . . . Dibble provides an indispensable primer for all future research. . . . An essential volume for anyone interested in the history of British music. * CLASSICAL MUSIC *This impressive biographical study of Hamilton Harty and his achievement is a timely re-discovery of one of the most important and charismatic figures in British music. [T]he first major biography of this composer/conductor to be published. . . . [I]ndispensable reading for anyone who is interested in his compositions, the influence that Harty had on orchestral playing and administration. . . . Dibble presents strong and coherent arguments to assure Harty his place in the Valhalla of British conductors such as Thomas Beecham, Henry Wood and Malcolm Sargent. * MUSIC WEB INTERNATIONAL, *[Jeremy Dibble's Hamilton Harty reveals] great detail and in a manner that always maintains the reader's interest, making it imperative to turn the page to find out what happens next. The sheer number of primary sources that he has uncovered and explored is impressive . . . considerable achievement . . . recommending it wholeheartedly . . . beautifully produced book and amply illustrated with photographs and music examples. * ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL *Here, at last, is a full appreciation of [this] remarkable musician. Most engaging. . . . Deeply moving. [Five Stars] * BBC MUSIC, February 2014 *Table of ContentsPreface Hillsborough, Belfast and Dublin - A Musical Apprenticeship - 1879-1901 London (1) 1901-1909: A Pre-eminent 'Collaborator' and Aspiring Composer London (2) 1909-1914: Composer and Conductor The War Years and After - 1914-1920 The Hallé Years - 1920-1927 Apogee: From Hallé to the LSO - 1927-33 America and Australia: An Unforeseen Romance - 1933-1936 The Last Years: The Children of Lir - A Creative Codicil - 1933-41 Bibliography Appendix One: List of Works Appendix Two: List of Recordings

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Book SynopsisThe first-ever biography of Richard Wagner's artistically gifted granddaughter who fought against Hitler's Germany but achieved no personal success for her troubles. She was not the 'black sheep' of her family, as often claimed, but a heroic rebel. Friedelind Wagner (1918-1991), Richard Wagner's independent-minded granddaughter, daughter of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner, despised her mother'sclose liaison with Adolf Hitler and was the only member of the Wagner clan who fled Germany in protest. Although Winifred warned her that the Nazis would 'exterminate' her, should she continue her open opposition, she travelled toLondon and published articles pillorying the Nazi élite. All the same, her former proximity to Hitler & Co. made her suspicious in the eyes of the authorities, who promptly interned her. Even the British Parliament debated her fate. Only with the help of the world-famous conductor Arturo Toscanini was she able to gain an exit visa. Once she arrived in New York she broadcast, lectured and published against the Nazis, wrote an autobiography, and became friends with many other emigrants including singers who had themselves abandoned Bayreuth. After the war the Mayor of Bayreuth asked her to run the Festival, but she declined in favour of her brothers. They showed little gratitude, however, for after Friedelind returned to Germany in 1953 she found herself manoeuvred out of any role in the Festival management. She still made a remarkable effort to find a niche in post-war German society and culture, and did her best to cope with a family notorious for its intrigues past and present. Friedelind Wagner remained a staunch friend of artists such as Wilhelm Furtwängler, Frida Leider, Otto Klemperer, Erich Kleiber, Leonard Bernstein, WalterFelsenstein, Michael Tilson Thomas and many others. Drawing on archival research in many countries, Eva Rieger has here written the first-ever biography of Richard Wagner's talented, artistic granddaughter who fought againstHitler's Germany, but achieved no personal success for her troubles. Her book gives many new insights into wartime and postwar musical life in Germany, Europe and the United States. EVA RIEGER is a feminist musicologist and author of many books on music.Trade ReviewEva Rieger, in her impeccably researched and highly readable biography of Friedelind Wagner . . . is both admirably forthright and even-handed. . . . The biography, published originally in Germany, has been translated sympathetically and accurately by Chris Walton. * THE WAGNER JOURNAL *A scrupulously researched book. . . . Photographs are handsomely presented, as indeed is the book as a whole. * MUSIC & LETTERS *Packed with scrupulously researched detail and judicious evaluations. Rieger is eminently balanced in her assessment of Friedelind's virtues and weaknesses. The life she describes is a life of missed opportunities and thwarted ambition, in which a compassionate, free-willed, principled woman pays a heavy price for her independence of spirit. * WAGNER JOURNAL *A fascinating biography. . . . Chris Walton's translation of Eva Rieger's compelling narrative reads well. . . . Her story made an equalling uplifting read. * MUSIC WEB INTERNATIONAL *A loving, illuminating tribute to this unusual, bighearted woman who was all too often written off as a silly eccentric and traitor after the war. * BLOOMBERG NEWS, January 2014 *This disturbing book will arouse a decent measure of sympathy for the dispossessed Friedelind, an unsung victim of the Wagner fantasy. * WALL STREET JOURNAL, January 2014 *Table of ContentsIntroduction A 'giant Easter egg'. Mausi's home and family The noisy child. 1924 to 1931 'She should learn to cope with drudgery'. At boarding school. 1931 to 1935 'Impudent, endearing and witty'. Friedelind and her aunts. 1936 to 1937 'Is it German, what Hitler has done for you?' 1938 to 1939 'It's precisely because I'm German that I'm not living in Germany'. The farewell. 1940 In England, behind barbed wire. 1940 to 1941 'My heart is overflowing'. From Buenos Aires to New York. 1941 to 1943 'Only you could still save our inheritance!' 1943 to 1945 After the War is over. 1946 to 1950 Friedelind returns. 1950 to 1955 The master classes begin. 1956 to 1960 Heyday of the master classes and their end. 1960 to 1966 Sibling conflict. 1967 to 1970 Schemes and setbacks. The 1970s 'A foster mother, a guiding light'. The 1980s Endnotes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe first large-scale study of the music of Herbert Howells, prodigiously gifted musician and favourite student of the notoriously hard-to-please Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. Herbert Howells (1892-1983) was a prodigiously gifted musician and the favourite student of the notoriously hard-to-please Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. Throughout his long life, he was one of the country's most prominent composers, writing extensively in all genres except the symphony and opera. Yet today he is known mostly for his church music, and there is as yet relatively little serious study of his work. This book is the first large-scale study of Howells's music, affording both detailed consideration of individual works and a broad survey of general characteristics and issues. Its coverage is wide-ranging, addressing all aspects of the composer's prolific output and probing many of the issues that it raises. The essays are gathered in five sections: Howells the Stylist examines one of the most striking aspect of the composer's music, its strongly characterised personal voice; Howells the VocalComposer addresses both his well-known contribution to church music and his less familiar, but also important, contribution to the genre of solo song; Howells the Instrumental Composer shows that he was no less accomplished for his work in genres without words, for which, in fact, he first made his name; Howells the Modern considers the composer's rather overlooked contribution to the development of a modern voice for British music; and Howells in Mourning explores the important impact of his son's death on his life and work. The composer that emerges from these studies is a complex figure: technically fluent but prone to revision and self-doubt; innovative but also conservative; a composer with an improvisational sense of flow who had a firm grasp of musical form; an exponent of British musical style who owed as much to continental influence as to his national heritage. This volume, comprising a collection of outstanding essays by established writers and emergent scholars, opens up the range of Howells's achievement to a wider audience, both professional and amateur. PHILLIP COOKE is Lecturer in Composition at theUniversity of Aberdeen. DAVID MAW is Tutor and Research Fellow in Music at Oriel College, Oxford, holding Lectureships also at Christ Church, The Queen's and Trinity Colleges. CONTRIBUTORS: Byron Adams, Paul Andrews, Graham Barber, Jonathan Clinch, Phillip A. Cooke, Jeremy Dibble, Lewis Foreman, Fabian Huss, David Maw, Diane Nolan Cooke, Lionel Pike, Paul Spicer, Jonathan White. Foreword by John Rutter.Trade ReviewA major advance towards a fuller and more balanced understanding of the composer. * THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL MUSICAL ASSOCIATION *Superb and highly welcome addition to the literature on Howells ... goes a very considerable way towards demonstrating that this neglect is indeed highly unjust ... Unprecedented insight into both known and unfairly neglected corners of his oeuvre and should be keenly sought by anyone with an interest in his work and English music in the twentieth century. * CHOMBEC News *Now we can all appreciate these works afresh, with the useful and pertinent insights afforded by this welcome volume. * INTERNATIONAL PIANO *Eye opening dimensions ... fascinating ... Above all, this collection of essays emphasises purely and simply what a sophisticated and accomplished composer he was - headed up by a cameo of a foreword in which Howells enthusiast John Rutter expertly and engagingly sets the scene. * CLASSICAL MUSIC, December 2013 *The first large-scale and in-depth survey of his music ... Phillip A. Cooke and David Maw have curated and contributed to an excellent resource for anyone who wants to understand fully Howells's contribution to his musical landscape. * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT, February 2014 *Table of ContentsForeword - John Rutter Introduction: Paradox of an establishment composer - David Maw 'In matters of art friendship should not count': Stanford and Howells - Jonathan White Howells and Counterpoint - Lionel Pike Window on a Complex Style: Six Pieces for Organ - Diane Nolan Cooke 'Hidden Artifice': Howells as Song-Writer - Jeremy Dibble A 'Wholly New Chapter' in Service Music: Collegium Regale and the Gloucester Service - Phillip A. Cooke Howells's Use of the Melisma: Word Setting in his Songs and Choral Music - Paul Spicer 'From Merry Eye to Paradise': the Early Orchestral Music of Herbert Howells - Lewis Foreman Lost, Remembered, Mislaid, Re-written: A documentary study of In Gloucestershire - Paul Andrews Style and Structure in the Oboe Sonata and Clarinet Sonata - Fabian Huss 'Tunes all the way'? Romantic Modernism and the Piano Concertos of Herbert Howells - Jonathan Clinch 'a "modern"...but a Britisher too': Howells and the Phantasy - David Maw Austerity, Difficulty and Retrospection: The Late Style of Herbert Howells - Phillip A. Cooke 'In Modo Elegiaco': Howells and the Sarabande - Graham Barber On Hermeneutics in Howells: Some Thoughts on Interpreting his Cello Concerto - Jonathan Clinch Musical Cenotaph: Howells's Hymnus Paradisi and Sites of Mourning - Byron Adams Appendix: Catalogue of the Works of Herbert Howells - Paul Andrews Bibliography of Works Cited

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Book SynopsisThis book is the most authoritative and up-to-date source of quick reference on the Baroque composer and theorist Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) This book is the most authoritative and up-to-date source of quick reference on the Baroque composer and theorist Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), covering every significant area of his life and creative activity. In particular,the dictionary and work-list provide the reader with easy access to a wealth of cross-referenced material. The dictionary highlights recent discoveries and developments, and corrects a number of errors and misunderstandings. It includes entries on institutions, places, individuals, genres, instruments, technical terms, iconography, editions, specific works and publications, and caters for the fact that some users will be at least as interested in Rameau'stheoretical writings as in his life and music. Performers too are well served by the range of entries, many of which illuminate aspects of Rameau's notation and performance practice that can prove puzzling to the non-specialist. The biographical chapter not only provides relevant factual information but also draws attention to significant patterns in Rameau's life and work. This book counters the widespread perception of the composer as a dry, irascible, unsociable individual, revealing him in a far more sympathetic light by giving due weight to hitherto little-known information. GRAHAM SADLER is Professor Emeritus at the University of Hull, Research Professor at Birmingham Conservatoire and Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. He is known internationally as an authority on French music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.Trade ReviewA work for the specialist library, performer and musicologist. * REFERENCE REVIEWS *The greatest strength of this compilation is its author's stunning expertise, evident on every page. * EARLY MUSIC REVIEW *[T]his volume can be highly recommended to anyone interested in French baroque music in general and Rameau in particular. * THE CONSORT *Second in the promising 'Boydell Composer Compendium Series,' . . . Sadler's work is passionately and exhaustively researched, elegantly organized, and gracefully documented. Sadler (emer., Univ. of Hull, UK) has published on Rameau for 40 years, and for this volume's central dictionary and its surrounding biography, works list, and bibliography he has selected and woven together details to produce a work that is brilliant and beautiful. . . . [E]xcellent as both resource and model. * CHOICE *Indispensable for anyone wanting to quickly discover useful facts and scholarly information about every conceivable Ramellian subject . . . The compendium is a monumental dissemination of scholarship transformed into an engaging and user-friendly handbook, and hopefully it can reignite interest in a broader revival of Rameau's music. * GRAMOPHONE *Table of ContentsIntroduction Biography Dictionary Works Bibliography

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Book SynopsisLeo Black, a pupil of Rubbra in the 1950s, presents a full-scale study of his symphonies (the first for twenty years). A biographical sketch throws light on legends about the BBC and Rubbra; there are full programme notes on eachsymphony, with accounts of important non-symphonic works. The music of Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986) has been unjustly neglected - arguably because its wide-ranging nature makes it difficult to categorise. He is perhaps best known as a symphonist; his eleven symphonies covered a period of musical and political upheaval [1934 - 1980], the first four reflecting the uneasy later 1930s, with a second global conflict no longer avoidable. The immediately-post-war ones document new emotional depths and his conversion, whilethe final symphonies show a man still in search of peace and reconciliation, overlooked by the world but certain he was on the right path. Leo Black, a pupil of Rubbra at Oxford in the 1950s, here presents a sympatheticfull-scale study of these works (the first for some twenty years). A succinct biographical sketch throws light on legends about the BBC and Rubbra; there are full programme notes on each symphony, with shorter accounts of important non-symphonic works, in particular a 'triptych' of concertos from the 1950s and major liturgical pieces composed around the time of the Second Vatican Council, after Rubbra's conversion to Catholicism. He also deals with the vexed question of Rubbra's mysticism. LEO BLACK is a former BBC chief producer for music and author of the highly-acclaimed Franz Schubert: Music and Belief [2003].Trade ReviewThis handsomely produced volume can be read with profit by amateurs, connoisseurs, and scholars alike ...Thoughtful, erudite and compelling. A labor of love, it is also the brief of a skilled advocate; Rubbra's music, now lost in the twilight of musical limbo, fully merits such a committed redeemer. * NOTES *The reader is treated to a wide-ranging discussion that is stylishly written and invitingly presented. * MUSICAL TIMES *[An] excellent new biography. * TLS *Such are [Black's] skill and insights that there are few works about which he does not have something penetrating to say. His discussion of individual works engages the interest of the lay reader in a way that eludes...most other writers on matters musical. He brings the music and the issues it raises alive...This is an important book that should be in the library of every self-respecting music lover. -- Robert Layton * INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW *

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Book SynopsisThe first full-length study devoted to Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870), pianist, conductor and composer. This book, the first full-length study devoted to Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870), explores how the son of middle-class Jewish parents in Prague became one of the most important musicians of his era, achieving recognition and world-wide admiration as a virtuoso pianist, conductor and composer, a sought-after piano teacher, and a pioneer in the historical performance of early music. Placing Moscheles' career within the context of the social, political and economic milieu in which he lived, the book offers new insights into the business of music and music making; the lives and works of his contemporaries, such as Schumann, Meyerbeer, Chopin, Hummel, Rossini, Liszt, Berlioz and others; the transformation of piano playing from the classical to romantic periods; and the challenges faced by Jewish artists during a dynamic period in European history. A section devoted to Moscheles' engagement as both a performer and editor with the music of J. S. Bach and Handel enhances our understanding of nineteenth-century approaches to early music, and the separate chapters that detail Moscheles' interactions with Beethoven and his extraordinarily close relationship with Mendelssohn adds considerably to the existing literature on these two masters. MARK KROLL has earned worldwide recognition as a harpsichordist, scholar and educator during a career spanning more than forty years. Professor emeritus at Boston University, Kroll has published scholarly editions of the music of Hummel, Geminiani, Charles Avison and Francesco Scarlatti, and is the author of Johann Nepomuk Hummel: A Musician's Lifeand World; Playing the Harpsichord Expressively; and The Beethoven Violin Sonatas.Trade ReviewIgnaz Moscheles [has] never been the object of a serious biography . . . the originality of this biography is that it reveals the multiple activities of this indefatigable musician, pianist, orchestra conductor, advocate of the music of Beethoven and proponent of Mendelssohn's, one who introduced early music and, before Liszt, the piano recital. . . . Written with a fluidity and clarity welcome to French reader . . . Kroll has recreated with remarkable care and thoroughness the career of [Moscheles] . . . the link with Beethoven, his friendship with Mendelssohn, his organization of historical concerts and the invention of the recital and, finally, his Jewishness. . . . [P]rovides a new light on European musical life in the nineteenth century through the prism of the activities of one of its key players [for] all those interested in the cultural life of the nineteenth century. * REVUE DE MUSICOLOGIE *[T]he first full-length examination of the composer to be published. . . . Will be of hugely significant interest to a wide range of musical historians and listeners. Primarily as, this is the first major study of the composer to be published in the 20th/21st centuries . . . Historians majoring on Beethoven, Bach and Handel will discover detailed information about their subjects. The examination of Moscheles' friendship with Mendelssohn is inspiring and is the underpinning of much further investigation. * MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL *Fascinating reading, and highly recommended. * EMAG *The last few years have witnessed increasing awareness of the compositions of Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870). . . . Mark Kroll has now completed these achievements with a full-length study of Moscheles's multifarious activities as composer, performer, teacher, conductor, close associate of Felix Mendelssohn, avid promoter of the music of Beethoven and indefatigable disseminator of pre-19th century music. * EARLY MUSIC *It is safe to assume that Ignaz Moscheles and the Changing World of Musical Europe is currently the most complete and accurate account of Moscheles, while paving the way for other research projects on the composer. . . . What Kroll has successfully established here is that, to adopt his own words, 'Moscheles was and remains a man worth knowing. * AD PARNASSUM *Fascinating reading, and highly recommended. * EARLY MUSIC AMERICA *Table of ContentsPreface From Prague and Vienna to England, 1794-1825 A Home in England, 1825-1846 Leipzig, 1846-1870 The Pianist, The Pedagogue and his Pianos Encounters with Beethoven and his Music A Friendship Like No Other: Mendelssohn and Moscheles Le Concert C'est Moscheles: Historical Soirées and the Invention of the Solo Piano Recital The Jewish Musician Reminiscences of Moscheles' Family by his Great-Great-Grandson Henry Roche - Henry Roche

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Book SynopsisJohn Cage's contribution to twentieth-century music, literature and art not only established his place as a leading figure in the post-war avant-garde, but also guaranteed his enduring controversy. His emphasis on chance, as opposed to intention, rejected traditional artistic methods and caused uproar amongst his peers. The shock provoked by pieces such as 4'33" still reverberates today, as Cage's radical approach to art and aesthetics continues to challenge and inspire artists worldwide. In his new biography Rob Haskins considers John Cage's life, art, ideas and work, evaluating the twin pillars of Cage's creative output and the ideas that lie behind it. Demystifying the artist's use of chance, and his relationship to Zen Buddhism, the book explores Cage's belief that everyday life and art are one and the same. John Cage will appeal to musicians and artists, as well as general readers interested in the art, music and ideas of the twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisCecil Collins (1908–1989) is arguably one of the greatest English visionary artists since Blake and Palmer. With emblematic figures such as the Fool, the Angel, the Pilgrim and the Sibyl in extraordinary landscapes, Collins portrayed an original and inspiring philosophy of life. He has been recognized as belonging to the Neo-Romantic movement of poetical art which flourished in the post-war period, but his dedication to depicting his mystic understanding made his work highly distinctive. His lyrical art is in some ways closer in spirit to the French Symbolists, especially Odilon Redon, and he has some affinities with Paul Klee and Georges Rouault.In Celebration of Cecil Collins creates a centenary portrait of the artist, a mosaic in word form, through the reflections and memories of his friends, admirers and students. Occasional pieces are drawn from his essays and formulations about the creative process. Also included are the previously unpublished transcript of a talk he gave at the Tate Gallery, a fairy story written for his god-daughter and his commentary to the film about him The Eye of the Heart as well as his notes for a talk to his students on the classic film Elektra. The vitality of his charismatic presence is recreated through the many people whose lives he affected so profoundly. The influences which shaped Collins’ art and philosophy, are considered, as well as the wider historical and political context.

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Book SynopsisArt & Life: The Story of Samuel Bak traces the development of a child prodigy deeply shaped by the catastrophic events of the Shoah, from his early artistic influences to his years in the Vilna Ghetto and Landsberg DP Camp, his formal training in Israel and Paris, and his fruitful art career in Rome, New York, Switzerland, and Boston. Augmenting the rich existing literature on Bak, Art & Life explores—in thoughtful prose and through reproductions of both iconic and rarely seen work created between 1942 and 2022—how he navigated the prevailing art trends of the mid-twentieth century in search of his own pictorial language. It considers the personal, historical, and artistic currents that led Bak, now aged 90, to create an astonishing body of work that bears witness to cataclysmic events, embodies our common humanity of suffering and hope, and poses questions about the repair of the world.Trade ReviewLike the inexorable visions of Dante and Milton, Samuel Bak’s uncontainable cascades of unparalleled images plumb the deeps of the moral imagination. A deluge of genius, they are more than merely rending; they are silencing. They catch at the throat and strangle, they burn with history’s meaning, they strike hard against metaphysical ease. To gaze at Bak’s art is to learn to see and to feel and to know." - Cynthia Ozick, critic and author of Critics, Monsters, Fanatics, and Other Literary Essays

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Book SynopsisFor more than forty years Linley Sambourne was a draftsman for the comic magazine Punch, rising to the position of First Cartoonist' in his final decade and thereby a significant contributor to late Victorian and Edwardian political satire. A hundred years on, the distinguished scholar Leonee Ormond has written an illuminating biography, using Sambourne's own copious records preserved in his house at 18 Stafford Terrace, Kensington, Londonnow a museum.

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Book SynopsisWHAT MAKES AN OPERA SINGER? And where in the making of a performance is the identity of the singer themselves? Linda Kitchen goes behind the scenes with prominent voices who have valuable insight about the world of opera, discussing what it means to be a performer, how they got into the profession and how who they are affects how they perform. Illustrated with photos of the artists in places that lend meaning to their lives by renowned photographer Nobby Clark.Trade ReviewAn intriguing and richly-detailed insight into the minds, routines, concerns and joys of being an opera singer. A must-read for all performers." - Martin Duncan, Opera and Theatre Director "Linda Kitchen has done a great job curating a fascinating insight into the professional lives of some of our best-loved singers and sure to be of interest to a next generation of young artists." - Lynne Dawson, Head of the School of Vocal Studies and Opera, Royal Northern College of Music.

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Book SynopsisWhat makes an opera singer?And where in the making of a performance is the identity of the singer themselves?Linda Kitchen goes behind the scenes with prominent voices who have valuable insight about the world of opera, discussing what it means to be a performer, how they got into the profession and how who they are affects how they perform.Illustrated with photos of the artists in places that lend meaning to their lives by renowned photographer Nobby Clark.Trade ReviewAn intriguing and richly-detailed insight into the minds, routines, concerns and joys of being an opera singer. A must-read for all performers." —Martin Duncan, Opera and Theatre Director"Linda Kitchen has done a great job curating a fascinating insight into the professional lives of some of our best-loved singers and sure to be of interest to a next generation of young artists." —Lynne Dawson, Head of the School of Vocal Studies and Opera, Royal Northern College of Music.Table of Contents Biographies - La favorite, Donizetti Prologue - Noises, Sounds & Sweet Airs, Nyman Act One ‘Shoving us from the jetty’ Scene One - Family background Scene Two - School days Scene Three - Defining moment Scene Four - Singing study Scene Five - Preparing Act Two ‘Carry on – it’s going very well’ Scene One - The unfolding Scene Two - Learning the score Scene Three - Warming up Scene Four - The feeling of singing Act Three ‘No good playing Mime as if you’re Brad Pitt’ Scene One - Character, text, drama Scene Two - Body work Scene Three - The essence Scene Four - Problems Scene Five - Humour Intermission - by Thomas Allen Act Four ‘Goodies and Baddies’ Scene One - People around you Scene Two - Composers Scene Three - Conductors Scene Four - Directors Scene Five - Designers Scene Six - Agents Scene Seven - Reviewing reviewers Act Five ‘Bowls of sushi on a conveyor belt’ Scene One - Changing paths Scene Two - Legacy Scene Three - Family Scene Four - Life beyond the job Scene Five - The future Scene Six - Advice Epilogue - Hänsel und Gretel, Humperdinck

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