Composers and songwriters Books

Book SynopsisIn the eighteenth century the universal harmony of God's creation and the perfection of the unity (1:1) were philosophically, morally and devotionally significant. Ruth Tatlow employs theoretical evidence and practical demonstrations to explain how and why Bach used numbers in his published compositions.Trade Review'[This book] takes in all Bach's major collections and more, including the two Passions, three Oratorios and the B minor Mass. In sheer extent and richness of background, and number of works examined, Tatlow's book is a most original and impressive achievement that will need to be taken into account in future discussions of these fascinating compositions.' David Ledbetter, Early Music'For anyone who wishes to explore the logical pathways of Bach's genius, Tatlow's analysis gets to the heart of the aesthetic, theological and Pythagorean presuppositions underlying the Bachian concepts of 'Vollkommenheit', perfection through calculation; and 'Harmonie' … the harmony of proportion, here a mirror of divine order.' Gian Mario Benzing, translated from Corriere della Sera (La Lettura)'… Tatlow's approach to the subject matter is unique, and the vigorousness with which her methodology is applied has uncovered numerous new and unexpected facts. Bach scholarship cannot ignore her voice.' Yo Tomita, Music and Letters… Bach's Numbers clears the way for some promising new directions in Bach scholarship. Tatlow's work should be valued not only for what it suggests for future study, however, but for what it provides in its own right: a bold historical rendering of Bach's compositional process that forces us to view some of the composer's greatest works in a new light, and with deepened appreciation.' Robert L. Wells, Music AnalysisTable of ContentsPart I. Foundations: 1. Bach's numbers; 2. Symmetry, proportion and parallels; 3. Unity, proportions and universal harmony in Bach's world; 4. Bars, compositional planning and proportional parallelism; Part II. Demonstrations: 5. Three collections for strings; 6. Four in two collections for keyboard; 7. Two further collections for keyboard; 8. Two small late collections; 9. Two large late collections; 10. Collections of concertos; 11. Collections of organ works; 12. Great passions and cantatas; 13. Festive cut-and-paste projects: masses and oratorios; 14. Lost blueprints; Appendix 1. Chronological index of musical doctrine.

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Book SynopsisIn 1829 Goethe famously described the string quartet as 'a conversation among four intelligent people'. Inspired by this metaphor, Edward Klorman's study draws on a wide variety of documentary and iconographic sources to explore Mozart's chamber works as 'the music of friends'. Illuminating the meanings and historical foundations of comparisons between chamber music and social interplay, Klorman infuses the analysis of sonata form and phrase rhythm with a performer's sensibility. He develops a new analytical method called multiple agency that interprets the various players within an ensemble as participants in stylized social intercourse - characters capable of surprising, seducing, outwitting, and even deceiving one another musically. This book is accompanied by online resources that include original recordings performed by the author and other musicians, as well as video analyses that invite the reader to experience the interplay in time, as if from within the ensemble.Trade Review'Klorman's love of his subject is truly infectious. Drawing on many contemporary quotes he paints a very vivid and human historical backdrop. We eavesdrop on composers, players, listeners and commentators puzzling over the composition and performance of classical chamber music from its birth. This is a work of impressive scholarship with a broad and deep awareness of musical theory and commentary through the centuries, but, above all, it makes a persuasive case for a mode of musical analysis that puts at its center the composer's essential conception of the different parts in chamber music as multiple agents, affecting, surprising and even tussling with each other rhythmically, harmonically, contrapuntally and emotionally. In this way, reading his analyses can remind one of a good quartet rehearsal - a medium Klorman also knows very well from the quartet viola player's seat.' Roger Tapping, Juilliard String Quartet'To hear Mozart's chamber works on recordings, through mp3 players, or even in a concert hall is to experience them much differently than did listeners of the eighteenth century. As Klorman cogently explains, the primary intended audiences of these pieces were the performers themselves, for whom the notion of chamber music as a conversation was not merely a metaphor but an essential part of the artistic experience. Through penetrating historical and music analyses, Mozart's Music of Friends helps vivify this wonderful music in a manner that is refreshingly new - or, I should say, in a manner that is over 200 years old, but has too long been set aside and forgotten.' L. Poundie Burstein, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York'Klorman fundamentally rethinks the social and behavioral bases for our understanding of a core repertoire. He works carefully through the logical implications of his key term, 'multiple agency', using it to illuminate our understanding not just of texture, but also of elements such as metre, phrase syntax, and even musical form itself. Highly readable, entertaining, and thought-provoking.' W. Dean Sutcliffe, University of Auckland'Effectively organized, beautifully written, and informed throughout by extraordinary musical intelligence and sensitivity, Mozart's Music of Friends is a major contribution to our understanding of Mozart's chamber music and of eighteenth-century music in general.' John Rice, Society for Eighteenth Century Music'Edward Klorman's superb monograph … is a remarkably original addition to the burgeoning music-theoretical literature on performance and analysis … Klorman's authorial style … expresses incisive analytical insights with a freewheeling and charming whimsy … The book overall is best regarded as an artistic statement, and a highly compelling one at that.' Roger Graybill, Music Theory Online'Edward Klorman has crafted a work that is a pleasure to experience; meticulously researched, eloquently written, and featuring elegant performances … This is a book one will want not only to read, but to own.' Robert S. Hatten, Music Theory Spectrum'The main text is exceptionally well written. It's a real pleasure to read … [and is] well laid out with attractive illustrations … It is a nice introduction to music theory and analysis for students, referring to a wide range of analytical concepts. That said, the author writes for a 'diverse readership' in addition to students of theory, including historical musicologist, performers and general enthusiasts. I am somewhat beguiled by its easy approachability.' Esther Cavett and Matthew Head, Eighteenth-Century Music'Engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking, this volume is informed by scholarly zeal as well as by a keen musical sensibility as Klorman traces the sociable intricacies of Mozart's chamber-music textures from the dual standpoint of late eighteenth-century custom and present-day theoretical insight. The book thus makes a significant contribution to the Mozart literature, its usefulness enhanced by a wealth of quotations from pertinent sources as well as by an attractive, well-stocked website (mozartsmusicoffriends.com), where analytical videos help bring the author's multiple-agency scenarios to life.' Floyd Grave, Newsletter of the Mozart Society of America'The insights he brings to bear on Mozart's chamber repertory could only have been offered by someone with substantial background as a performer … The analytical chapters of this book are a tour de force … He is concerned to promote multiple readings and hearings of this music, which help us to celebrate this music's subversiveness, subtlety, and - let's face it - sheer fun.' Nancy November, Music and Letters'His scholarship and insightful historical and musical analyses are impressive throughout … Klorman undoubtedly succeeds in infusing analytical and music-historical scholarship with a performer's sensibility, integrating more closely these diverse forms of musical engagement.' Robin Stowell, The Strad'I am delighted to announce one of the most vivid and engaging books about Mozart's music in recent years.' Petra Petra, Ad Parnassum'By establishing a conversation between these disciplines [musicology, music theory, and performance], Klorman is aiming to rekindle the vivid sense of repartee that animated chamber musicians in the time of Mozart … Klorman's impressive accomplishment - to pull these different strains together and present them in clear, enjoyable prose - should interest musicians and scholars alike.' John Moran, Notes'Klorman is surely predestined to shed new light on this … area, not merely because he is an erudite and communicative scholar and at the same time an exquisite violist, but also because he has been pursuing this particular area of research for several years, so that this book represents the result of an encompassing and multi-faceted engagement with the interface of performance and analysis.' Christian Utz, Music Theory and Analysis'Ultimately, this book opens up the field of music analysis to an entirely new perspective, a perspective that is both historically grounded and experienced from a performer's point of view. This perspective is likely to leave a significant imprint on the field of music analysis in the years to come.' Giorgio Sanguinetti, Music Analysis'The sociability of music-making is one of its most highly desirable (and oft-forgotten) attributes, one that musicology has steadily begun to address (and long may that continue). Klorman's Mozart's Music of Friends is a prominent and very welcome landmark in this progress.' John Irving, Journal of the Royal Musical AssociationTable of ContentsForeword Patrick McCreless; Preface; Part I. Historical Perspectives: 1. The music of friends; 2. Chamber music and the metaphor of conversation; 3. Private, public, and playing in the present tense; Part II. Analytical Perspectives: 4. Analyzing from within the music: toward a theory of multiple agency; 5. Multiple agency and sonata form; 6. Multiple agency and meter; 7. An afternoon at skittles: analysis of the 'Kegelstatt' Trio, K. 498; Epilogue.

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Book SynopsisThis collection of essays represents current research on the music of Sir Harrison Birtwistle, reflecting the diversity of his music in terms of periods, genres, forms, techniques and related issues through a wide range of critical, theoretical and analytical interpretations and perspectives.Table of ContentsPreface David Beard, Kenneth Gloag and Nicholas Jones; 1. 'Let it drift': Birtwistle's late-modernist music dramas Arnold Whittall; 2. Mechanical song: Birtwistle's rhythmic imagination Philip Rupprecht; 3. Before the mask: Birtwistle's electronic music collaborations with Peter Zinovieff Tom Hall; 4. Birtwistle's 'eloquently gestural music' Kenneth Gloag; 5. 'The life of my music': what the sketches tell us David Beard; 6. The sound of Raasay: Birtwistle's Hebridean experience Nicholas Jones; 7. Birtwistle and the labyrinthine processional Edward Venn; 8. On taking a walk Aleksandra Vojčić; 9. Gigue machine and other gigs: Birtwistle in Europe and beyond Mark Delaere; 10. Of shadows and mirrors: reflections on Birtwistle in the new millennium Jonathan Cross; Appendix: a selected inventory of Birtwistle manuscripts acquired by the British Library in 2013 David Beard.

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Book SynopsisIn 1732, Lodovico Giustini (1685â1743) published the first known pieces of music written specifically for the piano. This book, originally published in 1933, contains an edited facsimile of that first edition, with an introduction on Giustini's life and legacy. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in music or the history of the piano.Table of ContentsTwelve piano-forte sonatas of L. Giustini di Pistoja.

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Book SynopsisMartin Iddon's book is the first volume to collect John Cage's complete correspondence with his closest collaborator, the pianist David Tudor. Iddon tackles the question of how much creative flexibility Tudor was granted when performing Cage's notorious indeterminate and chance-guided works, from Music of Changes to Variations II.Trade Review'… one is impressed by both Tudor's commitment and Iddon's persistence … Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above; general readers.' J. Behrens, ChoiceTable of Contents1. The music of chance; 2. Correspondence, 1951–3; 3. Determining the determinate; 4. Determining the indeterminate; 5. Correspondence, 1958–62; 6. (In)determining the indeterminate; 7. Correspondence, 1965–89; 8. 'Late' realizations; 9. Praxis and poiesis in indeterminate music.

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Book SynopsisChopin's oeuvre holds a secure place in the nineteenth-century repertoire, beloved by audiences, performers and aesthetes. In Harmony in Chopin, David Damschroder integrates Schenkerian structural analyses with his innovative perspective on harmony to analyse the composer's works and provide a new way to examine and understand their compositional style.Table of ContentsPreface; Part I. Methodological Orientation: The Mazurkas: 1. The architecture of a tonic pillar: twenty-seven regular tonic pillars from the mazurkas; 2. Between the tonic pillars: tonal trajectories in twenty-seven mazurkas; 3. Irregular pillars in the mazurkas: alternatives to the perfect authentic cadence; Part II. Masterpieces: 4. Étude in C Minor, op. 10, no. 12, in response to Graham H. Phipps; 5. Nocturne in C# Minor (op. 27, no. 1), in response to Felix Salzer; 6. Preludes in E Major and E Minor (op. 28, nos. 9 and 4), in response to Fred Lerdahl; 7. Prelude in G Minor (op. 28, no. 22), in response to Alison Hood; 8. Prelude in C# Minor (op. 45), in response to Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger and to Charles J. Smith; 9. Ballade in F Minor (op. 52), in response to Edward Laufer; 10. Barcarolle in F# Major (op. 60), in response to John Rink.

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Book SynopsisPresenting a fresh interpretation of Mozart's Requiem, Simon P. Keefe redresses a longstanding scholarly imbalance whereby narrow consideration of the text of this famously incomplete work has taken precedence over consideration of context in the widest sense. Keefe details the reception of the Requiem legend in general writings, fiction, theatre and film, as well as discussing criticism, scholarship and performance. Evaluation of Mozart's work on the Requiem turns attention to the autograph score, the document in which myths and musical realities collide. Franz Xaver SÃssmayr's completion (1791â2) is also re-appraised and the ideological underpinnings of modern completions assessed. Overall, the book affirms that Mozart's Requiem, fascinating for interacting musical, biographical, circumstantial and psychological reasons, cannot be fully appreciated by studying only Mozart's activities. Broad-ranging hermeneutic approaches to the work, moreover, supersede traditionally limited discursTrade Review'It is astounding that Keefe opens up new ground in large areas … A far-reaching book … All in all, a first-class monograph, outstandingly produced and printed, which will be read cover to cover as well as used for reference.' Manfred Hermann Schmid, Mozart-Jahrbuch 2013Table of ContentsIntroduction: Mozart's Requiem in context; 1. The Requiem legend in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; 2. Criticism and scholarship from 1800 to the present day; 3. The Requiem in performance; 4. Mozart's work on the Requiem: sounds and strategies; 5. After Mozart: the Requiem completion, 1791–2; 6. Modern completions of the Requiem; Epilogue: a Requiem for the future.

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Book SynopsisIn this comprehensive study, Emily Kilpatrick unites musical, literary, documentary and cultural perspectives to shed new light on Ravel's two operas, his working life and his compositional practice. The first study devoted to Ravel's operas, this book will be an invaluable resource for anyone who is interested in French music.Trade Review'… altogether this is a very fine piece of work, which anyone involved in performing either of Ravel's operas should read and re-read.' Roger Nichols, BBC Music Magazine'Scholars, singers, conductors, stage directors, and general readers hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the milieu in which these exquisite small operas were created will find illuminating insights and much to ponder.' Keith E. Clifton, Notes: The Quarterly Journal of the Music Library AssociationTable of ContentsPreface; Part I. Making Operas: 1. Introduction: 'a single act at the Opéra-Comique'; 2. Ravel's hour; 3. The Child and the impresarios; Part II. Words and Music: 4. The collaborative process; 5. Songs into operas; 6. 'This archaic attempt at a modern fantasy'; 7. A portrait of an opera-ballet; Part III. The Compositional Web: 8. The 'calling cards' of L'Heure espagnole; 9. From Carmen to Concepcion; 10. The 'big, small world' of L'Enfant et les sortilèges; 11. A child of his time; Afterword.

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Book SynopsisThis seminal study of Giuseppe Verdi's German-language reception provides important new perspectives on German musical culture and nationalism from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. Kreuzer argues that the concept of Germany's musical supremacy, so dear to its nationalist cause, was continually challenged by the popularity of Italian opera, a genre increasingly epitomised by Verdi. The book traces the many facets of this Italian-German opposition in the context of intense historical developments from German unification in 1871 to the end of World War II and beyond. Drawing on an exceptionally broad range of sources, Kreuzer explores the construction of visual and biographical images of Verdi; the marketing, interpretation and adaptation of individual works; regional, social and religious undercurrents in German musical life; and overt political appropriations. Suppressed, manipulated and, not least, guiltily enjoyed, Verdi emerges as a powerful influence on German intellectuals' ideaTrade Review'Verdi and the Germans boldly explores new directions in the study of nationalism and music. Instead of focusing on the 'German-ness' of German composers, as has been done thus far, it looks at how Germans reacted to the most prominent non-German composer of the nineteenth century, Giuseppe Verdi. This long and fascinating story, told by Gundula Kreuzer with immense erudition and sharp insight, is well worth reading not only for musicologists, but also for cultural and social historians, as well as anybody interested in the tentacular hold of nationalism over minds, hearts and ears.' Emanuele Senici, University of Rome'Gundula Kreuzer has addressed a theme of capital importance in this book: the role of foreign cultures in creating a nation's self image. She could hardly have chosen a more appropriate reception study to interrogate this theme. In the course of her absorbing, and engagingly written, book she sheds light on Verdi and on German culture alike, and with an historical sweep which takes us to the Third Reich and beyond. Based on a careful trawl of journals and newspapers (the weight of research collapsed into her footnotes is truly impressive), Verdi and the Germans is scholarship of the very highest quality.' Jim Samson, Royal Holloway, University of London'Draws upon a wide and impressive range of documentary sources.' Opera'Kreuzer shows a courageous willingness to confront some uncomfortable truths. Her engrossing book is a vivid illustration of how music can be used in the service of politics and a warning that we ignore the significance of the arts at our peril.' Music and LettersTable of ContentsPreface; 1. Introduction: Italian opera and German historiography; 2. Verdi's Requiem and the anxious young Kaiserreich; 3. Maestro to Meister: Verdi purified; 4. The 'Verdi renaissance'; 5. Verdi in the Third Reich; 6. Epilogue: post-war Verdi; Appendix 1. Verdi's Requiem in German-language countries, 1875–1901; Appendix 2. Successful Verdi revivals in German-language theatres, 1901–51; Select bibliography.

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Book SynopsisPierre Boulez is acknowledged as one of the most important composers in contemporary musical life. This collection explores his works, influence, reception and legacy, featuring analysis of previously unpublished material, the historical context for Boulez's music and a final section examining the reception of his music in the United Kingdom.Trade Review'By bringing together a substantial amount of recent scholarship in a highly accessible format, this collection of essays should open up numerous avenues for exploration and have a significant impact on future research in this area. … The availability of groundbreaking scholarship that had previously only been published in other languages to the general English-speaking public will hopefully have an impact, broadening and refining understanding of his music. The diverse readership that this book targets through the accessibility of its content is clearly beneficial to its wider aim of disseminating scholarship on this relatively understudied repertoire.' Catherine Losada, Music Theory SpectrumTable of ContentsPreface; Part I. The Context of the Late 1940s and 1950s: 1. Pierre Boulez: composer, traveller, correspondent Edward Campbell; 2. Traces of an apprenticeship: Pierre Boulez's Sonatine (1946/1949) Susanne Gärtner; 3. Schoenberg vive Jessica Payette; Part II. The Evolution of a Style: 4. 'A score neither begins nor ends; at most it pretends to': fragmentary reflections on the Boulezian non finito Robert Piencikowski; 5. Serial organisation and beyond: cross-relations of determinants in Le Marteau sans maître and the dynamic pitch-algorithm of Constellation Pascal Decroupet; 6. 'Du Fond d'un Naufrage': the quarter-tone compositions of Pierre Boulez Werner Strinz; 7. Alea and the concept of the 'work in progress' Peter O'Hagan; 8. Casting new light on Boulezian Serialism: unpredictability and free choice in the composition of Pli selon pli – portrait de Mallarmé Erling E. Guldbrandsen; 9. Serial processes, agency and improvisation Joseph Salem; 10. Listening to doubles in stereo Jonathan Goldman; 11. Composing an improvisation at the beginning of the 1970s Paolo Dal Molin; Part III. Reception Studies: 12. Pierre Boulez in London: the William Glock years Peter O'Hagan; 13. Tartan from Baden-Baden: Boulez at the 1965 Edinburgh International Festival Edward Campbell; 14. Pierre Boulez and the suspension of narrative Arnold Whittall.

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Book SynopsisGeorge Frideric Handel was born and educated in Germany, flourished in Italy, and chose to become British. One of the most cosmopolitan of the great composers, much of Handel's music has remained in the popular repertory since his lifetime, and a broad variety of his music theatre works from Italian operas to English oratorios have experienced a dramatic renaissance since the late twentieth century. A large number of publications devoted to Handel's life and music have appeared from his own time to the present day, but The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia gathers the full range of present knowledge and leading scholarship into a single volume for convenient and illuminating reference. Packed with well over 700 informative and accessible entries, both long and short, this book is ideal for performers, scholars, students and music lovers who wish to explore the Handelian world.Trade Review'Scrupulous in its scholarship, with a breadth and richness of scope befitting its subject, The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia is indeed 'the perfect Baedeker', as Christopher Hogwood avers in his engaging Foreword.' Richard Wigmore, Gramophone'[This book] achieves a small miracle in delivering an overview that drills deep into biography, social context and the music with wide-ranging ease and a commanding but approachable authority … What emerges is an impressive achievement, a multifaceted portrait of the composer and a kaleidoscopic perspective of the music's place in its own time and across the changing fashions and fads of the past two and a half centuries.' Classical Music'This is an outstanding book, in scope, in scholarship and in presentation. Its 88 contributors read like a roll-call of the great and good in the field of Handel studies. Not simply an essential resource for Handelians, but alluringly readable for the most innocent newcomer to the composer's world.' George Pratt, BBC Music Magazine'An incredible achievement! Articles are extensive, both well documented for scholars and eminently readable. No stone appears to have been left unturned and the result is an amazingly comprehensive A-Z of anyone and anything connected to the great master of the baroque and the legacy with which he has enriched our lives.' Harry Christophers, conductor of The Sixteen and artistic director of the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston'The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia is remarkable: a well-researched, elegantly written, often times witty, cornecopia of Haendelian lore and miscellany.' William Christie, conductor'The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest composers. It is extremely comprehensive, dealing not only with the background to Handel's musical masterpieces, but also with his contemporaries, colleagues, friends and singers who performed in his operas and oratorios. 86 experts from a range of scholarly disciplines examine Handel's life and work from a wide variety of aspects, and the encyclopedia will serve to emphasise the composer's genius in such a wide range of musical styles. The editors are to be congratulated on producing such an indispensable adjunct to every musical library.' Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor'The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia will be warmly welcomed by all Handelian scholars and performers. The descriptions of musical works are concise and to the point; the numerous biographical entries are especially interesting, and recreate the vivid and colourful musical worlds of Germany, Italy and London that formed the background to Handel's great works.' Paul McCreesh, conductor'What a glorious resource this book is! It is an absolute must for all lovers of Handel's music. It is a terrific mine of information about his music and the fascinating cast of characters who performed it.' Nicholas McGegan, conductor'The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia will never gather dust on my bookshelf. The wealth of information that it contains is so enticing that frequent reference is inevitable, and it is impossible to restrict myself to a single topic of enquiry at any one time. Music lovers, performers and scholars should not be without this book.' Trevor Pinnock, harpsichordist, conductor and founder of the English Concert'This amazing enterprise runs to over eight hundred pages and contains some seven hundred articles, both long and short, covering Handel's life, music, people and places associated with him, performance style, performers and scholars … For both professionals and amateurs this book will form an admirable reference and it is a truly magnificent piece of scholarship.' Robert Hugill, Music and Vision'No stone seems to have been left unturned, including the little-known aspects of the composer's life and personality. The result is an amazingly comprehensive A-Z dictionary giving insight into every single aspect of Handel's life and work and covering virtually all areas of Handelian scholarship. Entries range from places, venues and people to, no doubt more importantly, the musical works themselves - concisely, but always pertinently analysed - not to forget most of the current aesthetic issues directly or indirectly related to them.' Antoine Capet, Cercles'The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia … marks the reassessment of the last four decades and is hugely informative about how Handel played the London market, borrowed on the musical exchange, gave munificently and composed.' David Martin, Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsPreface; Foreword Christopher Hogwood; A-Z general entries; Appendix 1. Worklist; Appendix 2. Chronology; Appendix 3. Handel's family tree; Appendix 4. Handel iconography; Appendix 5. Genealogical table of the ruling houses of Britain and Hanover; Appendix 6. Handel's music on CD and DVD; Appendix 7. An overview of fifty Handel performers, 1959–2009; Appendix 8. Handel organizations and websites; Select bibliography.

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Book SynopsisMost often associated with modern artists such as Bob Dylan, Elton John, Don McLean, Neil Diamond, and Carole King, the singer-songwriter tradition in fact has a long and complex history dating back to the medieval troubadour and earlier. This Companion explains the historical contexts, musical analyses, and theoretical frameworks of the singer-songwriter tradition. Divided into five parts, the book explores the tradition in the context of issues including authenticity, gender, queer studies, musical analysis, and performance. The contributors reveal how the tradition has been expressed around the world and throughout its history to the present day. Essential reading for enthusiasts, practitioners, students, and scholars, this book features case studies of a wide range of both well and lesser-known singer-songwriters, from Thomas d'Urfey through to Carole King and Kanye West.Trade Review'… lead[s] the reader to analyse big themes in music: genre, race, gender, societal trends and industry machinations.' Jeanette Leach, Shindig!'There is emphasis on singer-songwriters from the LGBTQ community. Including detailed notes, this fascinating survey will have something for anyone interested in the topic.' R. D. Cohen, Choice'The editors are clear in their introduction that this companion is aimed both at readers who like and perform and engage with popular music and also at students and teachers and researchers involved with formal (and informal) study of popular music. By this token, implied themes such as gender and sexuality, race and politics emerge regularly throughout the work, and these are used to explain and illuminate the singing-songwriting creative act itself.' Stuart Hannabuss, Reference ReviewsTable of ContentsIntroduction Katherine Williams and Justin A. Williams; Part I. Establishing a Tradition: 1. The emergence of the singer-songwriter David R. Shumway; 2. Singer-songwriters of the German Lied Natasha Loges and Katy Hamilton; 3. Bill Monroe, bluegrass music, and the politics of authorship Mark Finch; 4. Singer-songwriters and the English folk tradition Allan F. Moore; 5. The Brill Building and the creative labour of the professional songwriter Simon Barber; 6. Forging the singer-songwriter at the Los Angeles Troubadour Christa Bentley; 7. The 'professional' singer-songwriter in the 1970s Michael Borshuk; Part II. Individuals: 8. Thomas D'Urfey Tōru Mitsui; 9. Leadbelly Josep Pedro; 10. Region and identity in Dolly Parton's songwriting Jada Watson; 11. Authorship and performance in the music of Elton John Phil Allcock; 12. Depicting the working class in the music of Billy Joel Joshua S. Duchan; 13. Musical gesture in the songs of Nick Drake Timothy Koozin; 14. Sampling and storytelling: Kanye West's vocal and sonic narratives Lori Burns, Alyssa Woods and Marc Lafrance; 15. James Blake, digital lion Madison Moore; 16. Outside voices and the construction of Adele's singer-songwriter persona Sarah Suhdolnik; 17. Joanna Newsom's 'Only Skin': authenticity, influence, and the relationship between 'new' and 'old weird America' Jo Collinson-Scott; Part III. Men and Women: 18. Gender, race, and the ma(s)king of 'Joni Mitchell' Kevin Fellezs; 19. Gender, genre, and diversity at Lilith Fair Jennifer Taylor; 20. Changing openness and tolerance towards LGBTQ singer-songwriters Katherine Williams; 21. Tori Amos as shaman Chris McDonald; 22. Gender identity, the queer gaze and female singer-songwriters Megan Berry; 23. The female singer-songwriter in the 1990s Sarah Boak; Part IV. Frameworks and Methods: 24. Reconciling theory and practice in the teaching of songwriting Mark Marrington; 25. Singer-songwriters and open mics Marcus Aldredge; 26. Singer-songwriter authenticity, the unconscious and emotions (feat. Adele's 'Someone Like You') Rupert Till; Part V. Global Perspectives: 27. Don McGlashan and local authenticity Nick Braae; 28. Italian Canzone d'autore and Greek Entecho tragoudi: a comparative overview Franco Fabbri and Ioannis Tsioulakis; 29. Singer-songwriters in the digital age Lucy Bennett.

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Book SynopsisWhile acknowledging that Pierre Boulez is not a philosopher, and that he is wary of the potential misuse of philosophy with regard to music, this study investigates a series of philosophically charged terms and concepts which he uses in discussion of his music. Campbell examines significant encounters which link Boulez to the work of a number of important philosophers and thinkers, including Adorno, LÃvi-Strauss, Eco and Deleuze. Relating Boulez's music and ideas to broader currents of thought, the book illuminates a number of affinities linking music and philosophy, and also literature and visual art. These connections facilitate enhanced understanding of post-war modernist music and Boulez's distinctive approach to composition. Drawing on a wide range of previously unpublished documentary sources and providing musical analysis of a number of key scores, the book traces the changing musical, philosophical and intellectual currents which inform Boulez's work.Table of Contents1. Preparing the ground; 2. Early influences and movements; 3. Dialectic, negation and binary oppositions; 4. Boulez, Adorno and serial critique; 5. Deduction and the scientific model; 6. Serialism and structuralism; 7. Post-structuralist encounters; 8. Boulez, difference and repetition; 9. Expanding the virtual; 10. Continuity and discontinuity of space and time; Conclusion; Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisThis Companion provides orientation for those embarking on the study of Beethoven''s much-discussed Eroica Symphony, as well as providing fresh insights that will appeal to scholars, performers and listeners more generally. The book addresses the symphony in three thematic sections, on genesis, analysis and reception history, and covers key topics including political context, dedication, sources of the Symphony''s inspiration, ''heroism'' and the idea of a ''watershed'' work. Critical studies of writings and analyses from Beethoven''s day to ours are included, as well as a range of other relevant responses to the work, including compositions, recordings, images and film. The Companion draws on previous literature but also illuminates the work from new angles, based on new evidence and a range of approaches by twelve leading scholars in Beethoven research.Table of ContentsIntroduction Nancy November; Part I. Context and Genesis: 1. Beethoven and heroism in the age of revolutions Scott Burnham; 2. Beethoven's 'watershed'? Eroica's contexts and periodization Mark Ferraguto; 3. The symphony in Vienna and abroad around 1800 Erica Burrman; 4. Genesis and publication of the Eroica Federica Rovelli; Part II. Analytical Approaches: 5. Twentieth-century analytical approaches to the first movement William Drabkin; 6. Beethoven in the garden: the hero who practices resignation; or, the Eroica as 'late' work Vasili Byros; 7. Registering the Eroica Nicholas Marston; 8. After invention: traces and materials in the Eroica finale Elaine Sisman; Part III. Reception: 9. Who is the hero? The early reception of the Eroica Beate Angelika Kraus; 10. The Eroica in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Leon Botstein; 11. Performing, arranging and rearranging the Eroica: then and now Nancy November; 12. The Eroica endures: Beethoven's Third Symphony in the twenty-first century Melanie Lowe.

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Book SynopsisTracing the history of musical modernism in Italy from the fin de siècle to the Cold War, this book follows the work of Luigi Dallapiccola, the leading Italian composer of the mid-twentieth century, as he moved from support for the fascist regime to a committed resistance to totalitarianism.Table of ContentsPreface; 1. Modernism before fascism; 2. The true spirit of Italian music; 3. Fascist modernism; 4. Protest music?; 5. The politics of commitment.

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Book SynopsisDuke Ellington (18991974) is widely considered the jazz tradition''s most celebrated composer. This engaging yet scholarly volume explores his long career and his rich cultural legacy from a broad range of in-depth perspectives, from the musical and historical to the political and international. World-renowned scholars and musicians examine Ellington''s influence on jazz music, its criticism, and its historiography. The chronological structure of the volume allows a clear understanding of the development of key themes, with chapters surveying his work and his reception in America and abroad. By both expanding and reconsidering the contexts in which Ellington, his orchestra, and his music are discussed, Duke Ellington Studies reflects a wealth of new directions that have emerged in jazz studies, including focuses on music in media, class hierarchy discourse, globalization, cross-cultural reception, and the role of marketing, as well as manuscript score studies and performance studies.Trade Review'Few publications among the literature on Duke Ellington to have appeared in recent years … can claim to have shed as much light on their subject as the impressive collection of essays assembled by John Howland for his new symposium, Duke Ellington Studies.' Mervyn Cooke, Music and LettersTable of Contents1. Ellington the entertainer: pageantry and prophecy in Duke Ellington's films Phil Ford; 2. Marketing to the middlebrow: reconsidering Ellingtonia, the legacy of early Ellington criticism, and the idea of a 'serious' jazz composer John Howland; 3. 'Art or debauchery?': the reception of Ellington in the UK Catherine Tackley; 4. 'Nobody was looking': the unparalleled jazz piano legacy of Duke Ellington Bill Dobbins; 5. 'People wrap their lunches in them': Duke Ellington and his written music manuscripts Walter van de Leur; 6. The moor's revenge: the politics of Such Sweet Thunder David Schiff; 7. Duke Ellington in the LP era Gabriel Solis; 8. Authentic synthetic hybrid: Ellington's concepts of Africa and its music Carl Woideck; 9. 'The mother of all albums': revisiting Ellington's A Drum is a Woman John Wriggle.

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Book SynopsisFelix Mendelssohn has long been viewed as one of the most historically minded composers in western music. This book explores the conceptions of time, memory and history found in his instrumental compositions, presenting an intriguing new perspective on his ever-popular music. Focusing on Mendelssohn''s innovative development of cyclic form, Taylor investigates how the composer was influenced by the aesthetic and philosophical movements of the period. This is of key importance not only for reconsideration of Mendelssohn''s work and its position in nineteenth-century culture, but also more generally concerning the relationship between music, time and subjectivity. One of very few detailed accounts of Mendelssohn''s music, the study presents a new and provocative reading of the meaning of the composer''s work by connecting it to wider cultural and philosophical ideas.Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1. The idea of cyclic form; 2. Musical history and self-consciousness: the Octet, Op. 20; 3. Returning home: the E major Piano Sonata, Op. 6; 4. In search of lost time: the A minor Quartet, Op. 13; 5. Overcoming the past: the E flat Quartet, Op. 12; 6. Cyclicism in Mendelssohn's mature music.

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Book SynopsisGraham Griffiths places Stravinsky's reinvention in the early 1920s, as both neoclassical composer and concert-pianist, at the centre of a fundamental reconsideration of the composer's entire output - viewed from the unprecedented perspective of his relationship with the piano.Trade Review'… an eloquently written monograph that traces the influence of Stravinsky's pianism on his compositional process … Stravinsky's Piano is a resounding success that will be celebrated by the Stravinsky community for years to come.' Music and Letters'This is a well-written, engaging book that delves into technical discussion of compositional processes while remaining eminently readable … Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and professionals.' K. Boyd, Choice'With this extremely readable book, Griffiths has made a significant contribution to Stravinsky research. His focus on the concept of 'pal'tserazvitiye' is particularly fascinating. His next research project is eagerly awaited.' Mai Ikehara, Ongakugaku: Journal of the Musicological Society of JapanTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Becoming a Russian musician; 2. Becoming a neoclassicist; 3. Stravinsky's piano workshop; 4. Departures and homecomings; Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisIan Woodfield discusses the central role played by the Prague Italian opera company in performing Mozart's works in late eighteenth-century Bohemia and Saxony. The book focuses on the organisation of the company, its annual schedules, recruitment networks, casting policies and repertoire selections.Trade Review'No less noticeable than (Woodfield's) scholarly rigour are many signs of his capacity for intriguing speculation and lateral thinking.' Early MusicTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Pasquale Bondini; 2. Die Entführung aus dem Serail; 3. The Italian troupe in Prague; 4. The Prague Figaro; 5. The genesis of Don Giovanni; 6. The première of Don Giovanni; 7. The casting of Don Giovanni; 8. The Leipzig Don Giovanni; 9. The 1788 Prague Don Giovanni; 10. Mozart's music in Leipzig; 11. Josepha Duschek's Academy (22 April 1788); 12. Mozart's Academy (12 May 1789); 13. Guardasoni in Warsaw; 14. The première of La clemenza di Tito; 15. The Leipzig reception of the Da Ponte operas (1792–4); 16. Guardasoni diversifies; Conclusion; Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisIn 1991 Clinton Heylin published what was considered the most definitive biography of Bob Dylan available. In 2001 he completely revised and reworked this hugely acclaimed book, adding new sections, substantially reworking text, and bringing the story up-to-date with Dylan''s explosive career in 2000. Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited follows the story of Dylan from his humble beginnings in Minnesota to his arrival in New York in 1961, his subsequent rise in the folk pantheon of Greenwich Village in the early ''60s, and his cataclysmic folk-rock metamorphosis at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. In the succeeding eighteen months, Dylan released Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde, and embarked on the legendary 1966 World Tour that culminated with an unforgettable concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Heylin details it all, along with the true story of Dylan''s motorcycle accident, his remarkable reemergence in the mid-''70s, the only exacting account of his controversial conversion to born-again Christianity, the Neverending Tour, and yet another incredible Dylan resurgence with his 1997 Grammy Album of the Year Award-winning Time Out of Mind.Deemed by The New Yorker as the most readable and reliable of all Dylan biographies, this book will give fans what they have always wanted -- a chance to get to know the man behind the shades.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"An unprecedented portrait of Jones' inner life." -- Salon "Monk captures [ODB's] charisma and charm, but also the joy and pain that fame brought [him], as well as the drugs, the women and the demise. It's a great work in honor of an individual who tried to walk the best line he could." -- Ebony "Cuts through the urban legends to present more complex sides to the infamous icon." -- i.-D. Magazine "An eye-witness account about the life and times of the larger-than-life character." -- Philadelphia City Paper "Monk is a genial narrator and provides an authentic look at the N.Y.C. hip-hop scene [and] a unique perspective on the troubled life of an intriguing artist." -- Publishers Weekly "Everywhere Ol' Dirty Bastard went, Buddha Monk was there. Buddha was Dirty's hype man on stage, and he helped protect him on tour when Dirty didn't have any security. Buddha was everything to Dirty." -- Icelene Jones, Dirty's widow "Dirty and Buddha were the twin towers. There ain't no Brooklyn Zu without them. It was rare to see Dirty do a show without Buddha Monk." -- Hell Razah of Sunz of Man "Provides a unique perspective [and an] entertaining, insightful portrait ... For even a casual hip-hop fan, The Dirty Version is an easy and enlightening read. And for true hip-hop heads, this is some essential stuff. Word is bond." -- Winnipeg Free Press Hlarious, profound, entertaining, and inspiring ... One of the most interesting and unpredictable biographies I've ever read. The Dirty Version travels light-years beyond ODB's shocking headlines to illustrate the relentless humanity of a free loving American icon. -- MK Asante, author of BUCK: A MEMOIR "Buddha Monk and Dirty were like Batman and Robin. Buddha wore many hats - he was an engineer, hype man, bouncer, and bodyguard. As long as I've been working with my cousins in Wu-Tang, Buddha Monk was there. I can't remember a time when he wasn't." -- John "Mook" Gibbons, founder and CEO of Wu-Tang Management and cousin to RZA, GZA, and Ol' Dirty Bastard

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"An intellectual autobiography that beautifully captures what it feels like when a cultural experience trapdoors you into a new life." -- Grantland "To read Going Into the City is to spend hours in the company of a completely sui generis critical mind, one that's not only encyclopedically knowledgeable about mid-to-late 20th-century pop culture but capable of lapidary prose, astute insight, and savage wit." -- Slate "A New York love story like no other-the greatest of rock & roll writers spends a lifetime devoted to a city ... as caustic and confrontational as a Clash single, yet as sustaining as an Al Green LP-a story as instantly memorable as Robert Christgau's voice." -- Rob Sheffield, author of Turn Around Bright Eyes and Love is a Mix Tape "I've waited years for this book. An intellectual bildungsroman in which one of our keenest cultural critics unpacks his own New York story alongside ... the evolution of pop music criticism-an artform that owes him more than anyone." -- Will Hermes, author of Love Goes To Buildings On Fire: Five Years In New York That Changed Music Forever "Going Into the City is at once a vivid reminder of one of New York's golden ages and a blessed glimpse into the forming mind of one of our great critics. Both hilarious and full of juicy detail ... in that utterly inimitable voice." -- Ann Powers, Author of Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America and, with the artist, Tori Amos: Piece By Piece "Soul satisfying ...Vintage Christgau here-wise, sharp, funny, rigorous, and genuinely searching, a mighty work of reflection by a major critic who has never turned his back on the pop lives of everyday people." -- Eric Lott, author of Love and Theft "Brimming with insight." -- Robert Hilburn, author of Johnny Cash: A Life "Christgau is the last true-blue record critic on earth. [He's] pretty much who I make my records for. He's ... the last of that whole Lester Bangs generation of record reviewers, and I still heed his words." -- ?uestlove "Often maddening, always thought-provoking ... With Pauline Kael, Christgau is arguably one of the two most important American mass-culture critics of the second half of the 20th century." -- -Jody Rosen "An excellent memoir ... full of rock-critic lore, with vivid cameo appearances by titans like Greil Marcus, Lester Bangs, and Ellen Willis ... Christgau writes with contagious insight about the records, novels, movies and paintings that have shaped his thinking." -- Rolling Stone "Christgau is among America's first and best rock critics." -- New York Times "With the possible exception of his friend Greil Marcus, no American music writer has exerted more influence over the tastes of rock music "consumers" (as he'd insist on calling them) and on the craft of other rock critics." -- Los Angeles Times "A personal bildungsroman . . [he] brought to a relatively disrespected popular genre in the 1960s and '70s a new degree of critical intensity and erudition, delivered with an American vernacular energy and wit and let-it-fly opinionatedness." -- Los Angeles Review of Books "From growing up ... to formulating his critical process in the Lower East Side of the 1960s, Christgau takes as rigorous an analytical approach as he does with his reviewing. It's as much a memoir of the development of his editorial sensibility as it is of his life." -- Brooklyn Magazine "Remarkable in its unflagging conviction that the disciplined attention a critic applies to art ought to apply to the self as well ... Also, it's funny and has a lot of sex and music in it." -- Christian Science Monitor "Saying something new and distinctive, even about art that's derivative and undistinguished, is a critic's perennial challenge. Christgau embraces it with undimming energy, his diction swerving between the academy and the street, his sentences unspooling and spilling references without waiting for you to catch them." -- The Guardian "Song titles, political movements, and aesthetic notions, in particular Christgau's restless, kaleidoscopic portrait of the late '60s ... What makes good criticism work, Christgau argues, is 'a brew of genre knowledge, general knowledge, aesthetic insight, moral passion, palpable delight, prose style, more prose style, and what-have-you.'" -- Boston Globe "Honest, detailed, stirring and sweet. And isn't that how all the best love songs should be?" -- Time "Here ... Christgau proves his essentiality with sharp insights and a profound take on popular culture." -- Booklist "Like his reviews, this is compelling, thoughtful and, of course, opinionated." -- Minneapolis Star Tribune "A deeply smart, charmingly gregarious read." -- New York magazine

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Book SynopsisQueen of Bebop brilliantly chronicles the life of jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, one of the most influential and innovative musicians of the twentieth century and a pioneer of women’s and civil rightsSarah Vaughan, a pivotal figure in the formation of bebop, influenced a broad array of singers who followed in her wake, yet the breadth and depth of her impact—not just as an artist, but also as an African-American woman—remain overlooked.  Drawing from a wealth of sources as well as on exclusive interviews with Vaughan’s friends and former colleagues, Queen of Bebop unravels the many myths and misunderstandings that have surrounded Vaughan while offering insights into this notoriously private woman, her creative process, and, ultimately, her genius. Hayes deftly traces the influence that Vaughan’s singing had on the perception and appreciation of vocalists—not to mention women—in jazz. She reveals how, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Vaughan helped desegregate American airwaves, opening doors for future African-American artists seeking mainstream success, while also setting the stage for the civil rights activism of the 1960s and 1970s. She follows Vaughan from her hometown of Newark, New Jersey, and her first performances at the Apollo, to the Waldorf Astoria and on to the world stage, breathing life into a thrilling time in American music nearly lost to us today.Equal parts biography, criticism, and good old-fashioned American success story, Queen of Bebop is the definitive biography of a hugely influential artist. This absorbing and sensitive treatment of a singular personality updates and corrects the historical record on Vaughan and elevates her status as a jazz great.

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Book SynopsisThe perfect gift for music lovers and Neil Young fans, telling the story behind Neil Young's legendary career and his iconic, beloved songs. “I think I will have to use my time wisely and keep my thoughts straight if I am to succeed and deliver the cargo I so carefully have carried thus far to the outer reaches.”—Neil Young, from Waging Heavy Peace   Legendary singer and songwriter Neil Young’s storied career has spanned over forty years and yielded some of the modern era’s most enduring music. Now for the first time ever, Young reflects upon his life—from his Canadian childhood, to his part in the sixties rock explosion with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, through his later career with Crazy Horse and numerous private challenges. An instant classic, Waging Heavy Peace is as uncompromising and unforgettable as the man himself.

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Book SynopsisWith a new introduction by Nick RhodesThe talent. The charisma. The videos. From their 1981 hit Planet Earth to their latest number-one album, All You Need Is Now, John Taylor and Duran Duran have enchanted audiences around the world. It's been a wild ride, and—for John in particular—dangerous. John recounts the story of the band's formation, their massive success, and his journey to the brink of self-destruction. Told with humor, honesty—and packed with exclusive pictures—In the Pleasure Groove is an irresistible rock-and-roll portrait of a band whose popularity has never been stronger. 

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Melinda Bargreen’s Classical Seattle is a who’s who of the city’s classical-music scene over the past half-century, an entertaining recapitulation of interviews she did while serving as the music critic for The Seattle Times and writing for other publications." -- Ellen Emry Heltzel * Seattle Times *Table of ContentsIntroduction THE MAESTROS Milton Katims: The Toscanini Protégé Rainer Miedel and Cordelia Wikarski Miedel: The Maestro and the Maestra Gerard Schwarz: The Consummate Music Director Ludovic Morlot: The Symphonic Innovator Peter Erős: The Old-School Maestro Vilem Sokol: The Patron Saint Of The Podium Stephen Stubbs: The Early-Music Innovator George Shangrow: The People’s Maestro Resident Conductors: The Vital Links in the Music Community THE IMPRESARIOS Glynn Ross: The Bantam of the Opera Speight Jenkins: The Ring Master Toby Saks: The Impresaria Louis Richmond: The Chamber Orchestra Pathfinder THE VIRTUOSI Béla Siki: The Elegant Stylist John Cerminaro: The Man With The Golden Horn Randolph Hokanson: The Old Master Silvia Kind: The Free Spirit Of The Harpsichord Eva Heinitz: The Greatest Gambist Robin McCabe: The Keyboard Diplomat Ronald Phillips: The Consummate Clarinetist Craig Sheppard: The Classicist Of The Ivories THE COMPOSERS Alan Hovhaness: The Composer of the Mountains William Bolcom: The Compositional Innovator Samuel Jones: The Harmony Seeker THE POWER BROKERS AND PATRONS William and Ruth Gerberding: The Couple Who Made Things Happen William Bain, Jr.: The Architect Of The Boardroom Hans Lehmann: The Renaissance Man Samuel N. Stroum: The Mover And Shaker Deborah (Card) Rutter: The Power Behind The Podium Sam and Gladys Rubinstein: The Key Advisors Buster and Nancy Alvord: The Practical Donors Jerry and Lenore Hanauer: The Imaginative Operaphiles John and Laurel Nesholm: The Activists For The Arts Charles Simonyi: The Genius Philanthropist Jack and Becky Benaroya: The Ultimate Benefactors Conclusion Acknowledgments Sources Index

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Book SynopsisTHE DEFINITIVE, INVESTIGATIVE BIOGRAPHY OFJAZZ LEGENDDAVE BRUBECK(TAKE FIVE) In 2003, music journalist Philip Clark was granted unparalleled access to jazz legend Dave Brubeck. Over the course of ten days, he shadowed the Dave Brubeck Quartet during their extended British tour, recording an epic interview with the bandleader. Brubeck opened up as never before, disclosing his unique approach to jazz; the heady days of his classic quartet in the 1950s-60s; hanging out with Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, and Miles Davis; and the many controversies that had dogged his 66-yearlong career. Alongside beloved figures like Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, Brubeck has achieved name recognition beyond jazz. But finding a convincing fit for Brubeck''s legacy, one that reconciles his mass popularity with his advanced musical technique, has proved largely elusive. In Dave Brubeck: A Life inTime, Clark provides us with a thoughtful, thorough, and long-overdue biography of an extraordinary man whose influence continues to inform and inspire musicians today. Structured around Clark''s extended interview and intensive new research, this book recounts one of the last untold stories of jazz, unearthing the secret history of Take Five and many hitherto unknown aspects of Brubeck''s early career-and sharing details about his creative relationship with his star saxophonist, Paul Desmond. Woven throughout are cameo appearances from a host of unlikely figures, from Sting, Ray Manzarek of The Doors, and Keith Emerson to John Cage, Leonard Bernstein, Harry Partch, and Edgard Varèse. Each chapter explores a different theme or aspect of Brubeck''s life and music, illuminating the core of his artistry and genius. To quote President Obama, as he awarded the musician with a Kennedy Center Honor: You can''t understand America without understanding jazz, and you can''t understand jazz without understanding Dave Brubeck.

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Book SynopsisThe legendary Patti LuPone is one of the theatre’s most beloved leading ladies. Now she lays it all bare, sharing the intimate story of her life both onstage and off--through the dizzying highs and darkest lows--with the humor and outspokenness that have become her trademarks.With nearly 100 photographs, including an 8-page four-color insert, and illuminating details about the life of a working actor, from inspired costars and demanding directors to her distinct perspective on how she developed and honed her Tony Award–winning performances, Patti LuPone: A Memoir is as inspirational as it is entertaining. And though the title might say “a memoir,” this is ultimately a love letter to the theatre by a unique American artist.Raised on Long Island’s North Shore, Patti discovered her calling at the age of four and knew that she was destined for the stage. A prodigiously gifted child, she was one of only 36 young actors chosen for the inaugural class of The Juilliard School’s Drama Division, where she fought near-constant criticism from her instructors, and here describes those early years with disarming frankness. From the heady days of her early twenties—crisscrossing the country as a founding member of the classical repertory theatre ensemble, The Acting Company--to her early success on Broadway, her four-year stint as Libby Thacher on the television series Life Goes On, her loving marriage to Matt Johnston, and much, much more, Patti chronicles her professional and personal life with inimitable candor and wit.  With its insightful retrospective of her career-defining turns, both on Broadway and abroad, in Evita, Les Misérables, Anything Goes, Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd, and Gypsy, Patti LuPone: A Memoir reveals the artist’s deeply felt passion for music and the theatre and is, in the end, the compelling and quintessential tale of an exceptional life well lived.“I have been incredibly fortunate over the course of my career to have been associated with some extraordinary dramatic and musical productions, and also some rather spectacular disasters. Looking back, I can find gifts and life lessons in every one.”

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Book SynopsisThe only Lou Reed bio you need to read. The Washington PostA Rolling Stone best music book of 2023 One of Pitchfork's ten best music books of 2023 A Variety best music book of the year A Kirkus Reviews best nonfiction book of 2023There have been many biographies of Lou Reed, but Will Hermes has written the definitive life . . . He has brought to the assignment a sharp eye, a clear head, a lucid prose style, and a determination to let Lou be Lou, without judgment. Lucy Sante, author of Low LifeThe most complete and penetrating biography of the rock master, whose stature grows every year.Since his death in 2013, Lou Reed's living presence has only grown. The great rock poet presided over the marriage of Brill Building pop and the European avant-garde, and left American culture transfigured. In Lou Reed: The King of New York, Will Hermes offers the definitive narrative of Ree

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Book Synopsis“Number One” was a phrase my father—and, for that matter, my mother—repeated time and time again. It was a phrase spoken by my parents’ friends and by their friends’ children. Whenever adults discussed the great Chinese painters and sculptors from the ancient dynasties, there was always a single artist named as Number One. There was the Number One leader of a manufacturing plant, the Number One worker, the Number One scientist, the Number One car mechanic. In the culture of my childhood, being best was everything. It was the goal that drove us, the motivation that gave life meaning. And if, by chance or fate or the blessings of the generous universe, you were a child in whom talent was evident, Number One became your mantra. It became mine. I never begged my parents to take off the pressure. I accepted it; I even enjoyed it. It was a game, this contest among aspiring pianists, and although I may have been shy, I was bold, even at age five, when faced

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Book SynopsisA Guide to the musical works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

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Book SynopsisAn intimate portrait of two years on the eve of fame by a friend and collaborator of the Wailers.

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Book SynopsisMcClatchy's heroic labor is a remarkable achievement. . . . Mozart and Da Ponte will be smiling down on this volume.Richard WilburTrade Review"Starred Review. Readers familiar with the operas will enjoy seeing their favorite passages retranslated by the sure hand of a great poet who is steeped in love for language, music, and drama. Highly recommended for all collections; an essential purchase for music libraries." -- Library Journal"To translate any one of these librettos into a readable prose text would be an accomplishment. To translate all seven into rhyming verse and prose recitative, fearlessly tackling two languages, is a major literary and musical event." -- David Lehman - The Best American Poetry blog

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Book Synopsis“An exceptionally fine book: erudite, digressive, urbane and deeply moving.” —Wall Street JournalTrade Review"Beguiling.… Limpidly written, effortlessly learned, copiously illustrated, Chopin’s Piano is a perfect illustration of how the best histories often emerge from left field." -- William Boyd - Times Literary Supplement"A sweeping story.… In graceful prose, Kildea explores developments in the history of piano-making, changes in the ways pianists have approached their craft, and, most luminously, the music of Chopin." -- Jonathan Rosenberg - Christian Science Monitor"This fascinating and beautifully written book will delight music lovers." -- Roger Kamien, author of Music: An Appreciation"Highly readable." -- Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim - The New York Times Book Review"Original, constantly interesting.… Kildea writes fluently about Chopin’s work." -- Jonathan McAloon - Financial Times"Captivating and intriguing, Chopin’s Piano will most certainly entertain both novice and hardcore music historians." -- Michael Thomas Barry - New York Journal of Books"Even those who are not musically inclined will find themselves reading this book to its very end.… [G]ripping." -- Phyllis Meras - Providence Journal"An episodic, picaresque tale, woven confidently.… [Kildea] writes knowledgeably and approachably about music and sympathetically about his cast of characters." -- Alan Rusbridger - The Spectator"In tracing the history of the Bauza piano and the lives of those who played it, Kildea achieves a combination of performance and reception history that makes one listen more closely to the music." -- Anna Picard - Times Literary Supplement"An impressive feat of wide learning intriguingly deployed.… [G]iddily well-informed.… Kildea finds illumination in the detail." -- Jonathan Gaisman - Standpoint

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Book SynopsisThe perfect gift for music and car lovers, Special Deluxe is Neil Young's New York Times bestselling follow-up to Waging Heavy Peace that “reads like a great Neil Young song plays.” (The Buffalo News)  In this acclaimed new memoir, New York Times bestselling author Neil Young has fashioned another extraordinary work of reminiscences told through the lens of one of his deepest passions: cars. A lifelong devotee and collector, Young explores his love for the well-crafted vintage automobile and examines his newfound awareness of his hobby’s negative environmental impact. Witty, eclectic, candid, and filled with Young’s original artwork, Special Deluxe will appeal to car lovers as well as the legions devoted to one of the most genuine and enigmatic artists of our time.

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Book SynopsisThe spellbinding memoir of a violin virtuoso who loses the instrument that had defined her both on stage and off -- and who discovers, beyond the violin, the music of her own voice   Her first violin was tiny, harsh, factory-made; her first piece was “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star.” But from the very beginning, Min Kym knew that music was the element in which she could swim and dive and soar. At seven years old, she was a prodigy, the youngest ever student at the famed Purcell School. At eleven, she won her first international prize; at eighteen, violinist great Ruggiero Ricci called her “the most talented violinist I’ve ever taught.” And at twenty-one, she found “the one,” the violin she would play as a soloist: a rare 1696 Stradivarius. Her career took off. She recorded the Brahms concerto and a world tour was planned.Then, in a London café, her violin was stolen. She felt as though she had lost her soulmate,

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Book SynopsisAmerican pop music is arguably this country’s greatest cultural contribution to the world, and its singular voice and virtuosity were created by a shining thread of Black women geniuses stretching back to the country’s founding. This is their surprising, heartbreaking, soaring story—from “one of the generation’s greatest, most insightful, most nuanced writers in pop culture” (Shea Serrano)“Sparkling . . . the overdue singing of a Black girl’s song, with perfect pitch . . . delicious to read.”—Oprah DailyONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, The Root, Variety, Esquire, The Guardian, Newsweek, Pitchfork, She Reads, Publishers WeeklySHORTLISTED FOR THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARDA weave of biography, criticism, and memoir, Shine Bright is Danyel Smith’s intimate history of Black women’s music as the foun

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Book SynopsisA beautiful genre-bending tribute to the larger-than-life blues singer Bessie Smith. Scotland’s National Poet blends poetry, prose, fiction, and nonfiction to create an entirely unique biography of the Empress of the Blues.There has never been anyone else like Bessie Smith. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1894 and orphaned by the age of nine, Bessie Smith sang on street corners before becoming a big name in traveling shows. In 1923, she made her first recording for the newly founded Columbia Records. It sold 780,000 copies and catapulted her to fame. Known for her unmatched vocal talent, her timeless and personal blues narratives, her tough persona, and her ability to enrapture audiences with her raw voice, the Empress of the Blues remains a force and an enigma. In this remarkable book, Kay combines history and personal narrative, poetry and prose to create an enthralling account of an extraordinary life, and to capture

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