Composers and songwriters Books

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Book SynopsisHow does a Romantic composer approach the poetry he sets: as raw material to be remade, a pretext for self-expression, a sanctified artefact, or a message to be illustrated with music? In my book, I examine Franz Liszt’s songs for voice and piano, which remain little known to scholars, artists, and music lovers alike. The objective is to present Liszt’s songs in all their complexity and diversity as well as identifying the key elements of the composer’s broadly understood song-writing technique – both those that make him unique and those that relate him to the European tradition. This approach also makes it possible to shed light on a major though previously neglected aspect of the composer’s workshop, namely, his work with the poetic text, which to Liszt was just as important as the musical setting.

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Book SynopsisThe elusive and ungraspable in Rihm’s musicWolfgang Rihm ( b. Karlsruhe, 1952) is the most performed living German composer. With his personal, expressive, and versatile music, he became the most prominent representative of his generation. His individual approach to music was established in the 1980s and he continues to explore and enlarge his original concepts today. His 1980s work is at the core of this book, more specifically his instrumental music: the Chiffre cycle and the string quartets. Thinking about Rihm includes reflecting on his interest in philosophy, his relation to fine arts, his awareness of principles found in nature, and his references to important composers from the past. His music is embedded in the past and the actuality in modernism and postmodernism. Notwithstanding Rihm’s generosity in essays and introductions to his works, many aspects of the ‘inner sound’ of his music stay an elusive, ungraspable ‘chiffre’: a challenge for the analyst.With Foreword by Richard McGregor (Professor Emeritus, University of Cumbria)This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).Trade Review'ook voor minder geschoolde lezers heeft het vele boeiende aspecten [...] Rihmologen zullen er vast dankbaar gebruik van maken'OpusKlassiek, Emanuel Overbeeke , januari 2018 * OpusKlassiek.nl *Table of ContentsForeword by Richard McGregorIntroduction Analysed CompositionsPart I - Style 1 Between Classical and Individual Individual Position Specific Terminology and Tools Generative Pole and Generated Elements Generative Pole versus Rewriting and Overwriting Fragmentation Disturbance Single Event Focal Pitch and Focal Pitch Aggregate Process and Planning Form Relationship between Form and Structure Conclusion of the Composition 2 Between Modernism and Postmodernism Position towards Postmodernism Position towards Modernism Musical Backgrounds in Modernism and Nineteenth Century Philosophical Influences in Postmodernism Philosophical Influences in Modernism 3 Musical Traces Dealing with Allusion and Quotation Verbal Allusions in the Chiffre Cycle Allusion to a Style: Baroque Allusion to a Composer: Varèse Allusion to a Composition: Schubert’s Octet 4 Fine Arts The Music of Painting Fine Arts Parallels: Different Viewpoints Fine Arts Parallels: Rihm’s Viewpoints Line Drawing Colour Layering and Overpainting Large Drawing Kurt Kocherscheidt The Sound of Wood 5 Repetition Create a State by (non-)Repetition Repetition as Questioning Repetition as Writer’s Block Repetition as Unique Event Repetition versus Generating Elements Repetition in the Context of Style 6 Nature and Proportions Rhizome Proportions in Nature Symmetry and Balance Proportions in Music 7 Studying Proportions Dis-Kontur, Sub-Kontur and Klavierstück Nr. 4 Schwebende Begegnung String Quartet no. 4 Proportion Typology Part II - Analysis 8 Integrated Approach Sound as a Whole Some Examples Integrated Analytical Tool Moment Analysis of the Chiffre Cycle 9 Parameter Characteristics Melody Melodic Compositions Melodic Element Harmony Metatonality Micro-interval Dissonance The Tritone-Triad Chord Chain Cluster Informal Harmony and Texture Tempo – Metre – Rhythm Dynamics – Articulation – Timbre Youth Experience Timbre and Resonance Resonance and Fine Arts Silence Texture 10 String Quartet in the 1980s: String Quartets nos. 5-8 Aesthetic viewpoints Group Formation versus Individual Quartets Common First Note f# The Importance of Pitch f# Transitions in String Quartet No. 5 Transitions in String Quartet No. 6 Transitions in String Quartet No. 7 Transitions in String Quartet No. 8 Closing Pitch Two Pairs of String Quartets Notebook Quartets: Hidden Structure String Quartet no. 7: Arch Form String Quartet no. 8: Structure based on Fibonacci Series 11 Group Formation: Chiffre Cycle The Meaning of “Chiffre” Chiffre: a Cycle 12 Chiffre Cycle: Harmony The Tritone-Triad Chromatic Cluster Harmonic Rhythm and Chordal Density Consonance versus Dissonance Focal Pitch 13 Chiffre Cycle: Resonance Chiffre I: Resonance Space versus Sound Space Chiffre IV: Resonance Research Chiffre VIII: Meta-resonance Sound Space 14 Chiffre Cycle: Cyclic Elements Cyclic Elements: Typology Repeated Passage Overwritten Passage Repeated Single Instrumental Part Cyclic Elements: Similar Event Returning Concept Cyclic Elements: Three Figures Figure 1: Generated Elements Figure 2: Generated Elements Figure 3: Generative Poles and Generated Elements 15 Chiffre Cycle: Symmetry Melodic Symmetry Rhythmic Symmetry Time Signature Symmetry Harmonic Symmetry Total Symmetry Symmetrical Placing 16 Chiffre Cycle: Proportions Tempo Indications Tempo Changes Time Signature Proportions in the Chiffre Cycle Proportions in Chiffre I Proportions in Chiffre II Proportions in Chiffre III Proportions in Chiffre IV Proportions in Bild Proportions in Chiffre V Proportions in Chiffre VI Proportions in Chiffre VII Proportions in Chiffre VIII Proportions in Nach-Schrift Proportions of Length in the Chiffre Pieces Comparison: Chiffre II, V and VI Comparison: Chiffre II and VII Conclusions Final Conclusions Appendix – Division in Sections Notes Selected Bibliography General Index Index of Compositions by Wolfgang Rihm

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Book SynopsisHave you ever wondered who your favourite artists admire and who they want to shine a spotlight on? Wonder no longer. In this first volume of Accolades, a wide range of musicians, composers, and songwriters praise and present their treasured gems. Contributors from Steve Albini to "Weird Al" Yankovic, from Julien Baker to Margo Price, present accolades to cherished colleagues, to amazing actors and authors, to admired activists and athletes, to precious poets and esteemed engineers. Belgian‐based illustrator Tom De Geeter thoughtfully curated this line-up of contributors. He interviewed close to 200 artists and asked them just these two questions: who do you want to honour and why? De Geeter's vivid, bold yet delicate line drawings accompany their answers in style and make Accolades a more than exceptional project for you to dive right into. Close to 200 contributions by musicians like Steve Albini, Julien Baker, Jehnny Beth, Dan Deacon, Feist, Steve Gunn, Tim Heidecker, Page Hamilton, Joan As Police Woman, Lambchop, Larkin Poe, Ian MacKaye, Mark Mothersbaugh, Margo Price, Mauro, Sun Kil Moon, Mike Watt, "Weird Al" Yankovic, but also from members of bands like Amenra, Bad Company, Bauhaus, Efterklang, Fleet Foxes, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Grandaddy, Grizzly Bear, Guided by Voices, The Hold Steady, Khruangbin, Royal Trux, Unsane, Xiu Xiu, and many more.

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Book SynopsisThis stylish rock'n'roll book is published on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of dEUS. It sums up the aura and the specific character of the successful Antwerp-based band by means of the best photographs and private pictures. Included are the highlights of dEUS; tour photos and a view behind the scenes by, among others, Federica Agamennoni, Behnam Bornak, Stefan De Batselier, Charlie De Keersmaeker, Bert Dentant, Kris Dewitte, Kristien Dirkx, Steve Gullick, Bache Jespers, Alex Salinas, Cassandre Sturbois, Senne Van der Ven, Maarten Vanden Abeele and Stephan Vanfleteren. With a foreword by Brian Molko, Placebo frontman.

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Book Synopsis

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