History of music Books

Book Synopsis''The greatest book ever written on British independent music'' Guardian''One of the best British music books of the last ten years'' MojoFounded by Alan McGee in 1983, Creation Records achieved notoriety as the home of Primal Scream, the Jesus and Mary Chain and other anti-Establishment acts. During the Britpop boom of the mid-90s, the astonishing success of Oasis brought Creation fame on the world stage. In 1999, however, McGee announced his shock departure as his label''s influence over a generation of British music came to a confusing and disappointing end. Containing interviews with Creation musicians, employees, supporters and detractors, this is the inside story of Creation Records - and of British music since the 1980s.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPatti Smith arrived in New York City at the end of the Age of Aquarius in search of work and purpose. Through her poetry, her songs, her unapologetic vocal power, and her very presence as a woman fronting a rock band, she kicked open a door that countless others walked through. No other musician has better embodied the nothing-to-hide rawness of punk, nor has any other done more to nurture a place in society for misfits of every stripe.Why Patti Smith Matters is the first book about the iconic artist written by a woman. The veteran music journalist Caryn Rose contextualizes Smith's creative work, her influence, and her wide-ranging and still- evolving impact on rock and roll, visual art, and the written word. Rose goes deep into Smith's oeuvre, from her first album, Horses, to acclaimed memoirs operating at a surprising remove from her music. The portrait of a ceaseless inventor, Why Patti Smith Matters rescues punk's poet laureate from strong woman clic

Read more less

Book SynopsisCelebrate the holidays with this merry collection of beloved Christmas albums paired with mood-setting cocktails—a companion to the bestselling listening party guide, Booze & Vinyl. Whether you're planning your finest Ugly Christmas Sweater Party or spending a quiet evening by the stocking-lined fireside at home, make the season bright with this guide to 40 favorite holiday albums from the 1940s to the present. Each entry features liner notes on the album and accompanying boozy beverage recipes that complement the music or connect the drink to the artist. Select holiday food recipes throughout complete the experience. Among the artist albums featured are: Johnny Mathis, the Beach Boys, Elvis, the Jackson 5, Mariah Carey, Bob Dylan, Justin Bieber, Gwen Stefani, Sia, Dolly Parton, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Vince Guaraldi, Barbara Streisand, Willie Nelson, Boyz II Men, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fi

Read more less

Book SynopsisCelebrate the music that has shaped the culture and given us some of the greatest hits of all time with this vibrantly illustrated anthology, featuring 50 of the most lauded, controversial, and iconic hip-hop albums! From underground roots to mainstream popularity, hip-hop's influence on music and entertainment around the world has been nothing short of extraordinary. Ode to Hip-Hop chronicles the journey with profiles of fifty albums that have defined, expanded, and ultimately transformed the genre into what it is today. From 2 Live Crew's groundbreaking As Nasty As They Wanna Be in 1989 to Cardi B's similarly provocative Invasion of Privacy almost thirty years later, and more, Ode to Hip-Hop covers hip-hop from coast to coast. Organized by decade and with sidebars on fashion, mixtapes, and key players throughout, the result is a comprehensive homage to hip-hop, published just in time for the fiftieth anniversary. Enjoyed in the club, at a party, through speakers or headphones--the albums in this book deserve to be listened to again and again, for the next fifty years and beyond. Albums featured: Kurtis Blow (self-titled, 1980); The Message (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, 1982); Run-D.M.C (self-titled, 1984), Hot, Cool & Vicious (Salt-N-Pepa, 1986); Paid in Full (Eric B. & Rakim, 1987); Straight Outta Compton (N.W.A, 1988); Lyte as a Rock (MC Lyte, 1988); As Nasty as They Wanna Be (2 Live Crew, 1989); Mama Said Knock You Out (LL Cool J, 1990); People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (A Tribe Called Quest, 1990); The Chronic (Dr. Dre, 1992); Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Wu-Tang Clan, 1993); Black Reign (Queen Latifah, 1993); Doggystyle (Snoop Dogg, 1993); Illmatic (Nas, 1994); Ready to Die (The Notorious B.I.G., 1994); The Diary (Scarface, 1994); Funkdafied (Da Brat, 1994); Mystic Stylez (Three 6 Mafia, 1995); Hard Core (Lil' Kim, 1996); Ridin' Dirty (UGK, 1996); All Eyez On Me (2Pac, 1996); Supa Dupa Fly (Missy Elliott, 1997); Aquemini (Outkast, 1998); The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Lauryn Hill, 1998); It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (DMX, 1998); Things Fall Apart (The Roots, 1999); Da Baddest B***h (Trina, 2000); The Marshall Mathers LP (Eminem, 2000); The Blueprint (JAY-Z, 2001); Lord Willin' (Clipse, 2002); Get Rich or Die Tryin' (50 Cent, 2003); The College Dropout (Kanye West, 2004); Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 (Young Jeezy, 2005); King (T.I., 2006); Lupe Fiasco's the Cool (Lupe Fiasco, 2007); The Carter III (Lil Wayne, 2008); The State vs. Radric Davis (Gucci Mane, 2009); Pink Friday (Nicki Minaj, 2010); Watch the Throne (JAY-Z & Kanye West, 2011); Nothing Was the Same (Drake, 2013); To Pimp a Butterfly (Kendrick Lamar, 2015); DS2 (Future, 2015); Culture (Migos, 2017); Invasion of Privacy (Cardi B., 2018); Whack World (Tierra Whack, 2018); Eve (Rapsody, 2019); City on Lock (City Girls, 2020); Montero (Lil Nas X, 2021); Traumazine (Megan Thee Stallion, 2022)  

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe definitive illustrated history of "Tommy," the album that made the Who one of the greatest and most influential bands of all time.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA listener’s guide to classical music to take you through the day, from getting up and getting dressed, to running, reading, walking the dog, cooking and eating, taking a bath, going to sleep and everything in betweenFrom the world’s most romantic music and the greatest Christmas choral music, to more ordinary but no less important situations such as music to listen to when taking a shower, A Soundtrack for Life is for anyone who has ever wanted to discover more about classical music but doesn’t know where to begin.Organized by Occasion and Themes, such as upbeat, contemplative or perfect for a celebration, along with key facts and fascinating details about each piece, the book also includes music from film, TV, videos and musicals. It also offers an entry point into what is, for many people, an unfamiliar world with suggestions of classical covers of such artists and genres as Nirvana, Garage, Ed Sheeran and Hip Hop. Each Entry p

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis Element aims at reconstructing and describing the main features of the French republican festivals in Milan, and their impact on the city's landscape, soundscape and self-representation. It offers some reflections on these events' consequences on the following century's patriotism/nationalism and cultural production.Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Republican festivals in northern Italy: historical and ideological background; 2. The festivals and the city; Epilogue; Bibliography.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen The Beatles arrived in postwar America, Beatlemania swept the nation as hysterical girls flocked to the band and young men grew out their hair. In this book Andrew Hunt explores this wildly enthusiastic fandom from the bottom-up. Showcasing oral histories, fan magazines, club newsletters, newspapers and personal memoirs, he uncovers The Beatles'' fan culture from the perspective of Beatlemaniacs, Beatlephobes and ordinary Americans to understand the impact it had on society at large. Offering a cultural history from below, Beatlemania in America highlights previously neglected voices of fans, critics, parents, teachers and politicians. It contextualises the Beatles fandom against a wider, global perspective of changing cultures and shows how this band was part of a wider shift of social change. It delves into who Beatles fans were and shows how their collective voice gave them power. Exploring themes of gender and race in this turbulent and tumultuous era of American histoTrade ReviewA fascinating account of the youth craze known as Beatlemania. While explaining the screaming crowds that the Beatles garnered as they toured the U.S., Hunt documents important themes, like how the civil rights movement related to the craze and how merchandising and commodification of the band mattered as much as the music itself. Fans did what they wanted to squeeze meaning out of it all. And before reading this book, I had never heard of anti-Beatles clubs! And just how polarized American audiences were. Just something more to add to an already fascinating treatment of Beatlemania. * Kevin Mattson Connor, Study Professor of Contemporary History, Ohio University, USA *Beatlemania in America offers a nuanced look at one of the most consequential cultural phenomena of the twentieth century. The challenge in writing about Beatlemania today is to not only offer new insights, but to communicate the band's ubiquity and disruptiveness. Andrew Hunt has met this challenge. * Candy Leonard, author of Beatleness: How the Beatles and Their Fans Remade the World *Andrew Hunt’s Beatlemania in America: Fan Culture from Below affords readers with a fascinating study of the fan communities that made the Beatles’ pop-cultural explosion a reality for the ages. Drawing on fanzines and oral histories, Hunt brings the contours of Beatlemania to life in new and innovative ways. * Kenneth Womack, author of Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Early Stirrings: The Origins of American Beatlemania 2. Hysterical Girls and Long-Haired Boys: Beatlemania through a Gendered Lens 3. Blurring the Colour Line: Beatlemania, Race and the African American Experience 4. Beatlemania’s Discontents: Beatlephobia and Culture Wars in the Mid-sixties 5. The Beatles for Sale: Marketing, Merchandizing and Beatlemania 6. Coming Apart: Later Beatlemania in a Time of Torment 7. The Legacies of Beatlemania Conclusion

Read more less

Book SynopsisA colourful collection of pieces on the enigmatic genius of Scott Walker from THE WIRE.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''A wholly successful endeavour carried along by waves of infectious enthusiasm'' Mojo''Fascinating'' New StatesmanThe ''80s were about big ideas writ large - new money, new style, gender fluidity, gay pride, attritional politics, the ''special relationship'', nuclear fear, AIDS, cocaine, ecstasy, tabloid royalty, the rise of urban pop, and ultimately geopolitical chaos. Dylan Jones'' history of the decade in pop frames the ''80s through some of its most important and popular hits, choosing records which either epitomised their time, or ushered in a new cultural shift. So we move seamlessly from ''Rapper''s Delight'' and the genre defining moment of hip hop into The Specials'' spectral, ''Ghost Town''; from ABC and the apotheosis of New Pop (''The Look of Love'') to Madonna''s breakthrough moment with ''Like a Virgin'', and so on.Subjective and idiosyncratic, Shiny and New takes us from downtown New York to post-industrial Manch

Read more less

Book SynopsisAddicted to Noise collects the best interviews, profiles, and essays Michael Goldberg has written during his forty-plus years as a journalist. From combative interviews with Frank Zappa and Tom Waits to essays on how Jack Kerouac influenced Bob Dylan and the lasting importance of San Francisco's first punk rock club, Goldberg, as novelist Dana Spiotta wrote, shows us how consequential music can be.Contained within these pages: interviews with Sleater-Kinney, Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Flipper, John Fogerty, Neil Young, and Rick James, along with profiles of Robbie Robertson, John Lee Hooker, James Brown, the Clash, Prince, Michael Jackson, the Flamin' Groovies, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, X, Laurie Anderson, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, Devo, San Francisco punks Crime, and more. Plus short takes on Muddy Waters, Townes Van Zandt, Captain Beefheart, Professor Longhair, and others. As Greil Marcus writes in the Foreword, You can feel the atmosphere: someone has wal

Read more less

Book SynopsisString Quartets in Beethoven’s Europe is the first detailed study of string quartets in late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century Europe. It brings together the work of nine scholars who explore little-studied aspects of this multi-faceted genre. Together, this book’s chapters deal with compositional responses to Beethoven’s string quartets and the prestige of the genre; varied compositional practices in string quartet writing, with a particular emphasis on texture and performance elements; and the reception of Beethoven’s string quartets ca. 1800. They include discussions of quartets composed for the amateur and connoisseur markets in Beethoven’s Europe; virtuosity, the French Violin School, and the quatuor brillant; the relationship between quartet composers and their audiences during Beethoven’s era; and the cross-pollination of quartet styles in Europe’s musical centers such as Vienna, Paris, and St. Petersburg.Trade Review“Studies of string quartet compositions have long been skewed toward works by the triumvirate: Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. This collection of essays fills in some of the gaps by broadening that scope to consider other leading composers of their time, including members of Beethoven’s circle (Ferdinand Ries, Louis Spohr, Anton Reicha, Andreas Romberg, Franz Weiss), and the Frenchmen Pierre Rode and Hyacinthe Jadin.”— The Beethoven Newsletter (Winter 2023)“The nine essays November… has collected provide a broad view of the string quartet in Viennese musical life around 1800. This topic has been insufficiently studied, and the book helps remedy that. … Expanding the lens through which to view the period, analyses are in depth and detailed and comprehensive bibliographies and useful footnotes are included. … Recommended.” — M. N.-H. Cheng, Colgate University, CHOICE (April 2023: Vol. 60 No. 8)“String Quartets in Beethoven’s Europe seeks to expand the available information about, and intellectual approaches to, chamber music around the turn of the nineteenth century, moving the discourse beyond a focus on Vienna and its most famous triumvirate, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. As an introduction to string quartets by a number of mostly overlooked composers contemporaneous with Beethoven, the book is a success… [T]he book suggests many avenues for future research and opens opportunities for scholars and students to explore music that has until now received less than its due attention, especially in English-language scholarship.”— Marie Sumner Lott, Music & LettersTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. His Master’s Voice? Ries, Reputation, and the String QuartetAllan Badley2. The “Middle Period” String Quartets of Spohr and BeethovenNancy November3. Counterpoint without Anxiety? Andreas Romberg’s String Quartets Op. 2, Dedicated to HaydnW. Dean Sutcliffe4. On the Fugues in Anton Reicha’s Quatuor Scientifique: Between Tradition and InnovationMai Koshikakezawa5. The Other “Razumovsky” Quartets: Franz Weiss’s Op. 8 and the Formation of Vienna’s KennerpublikumMark Ferraguto6. Hyacinthe Jadin and the Sound of Revolution: Recovering French String Quartet Aesthetics in 1790s ParisCallum Blackmore7. “One for the Rode”: The Contribution of Pierre Rode and the Quatuor Brillant to the Early Nineteenth-Century String QuartetSam Girling8. A Surprise to the Ears, an Amusement for the Eyes: Compositional Strategy and Audience Response to String Quartets ca. 1800Yoko Maruyama9. The Canonization of Beethoven’s String Quartets in the Musikalisches Taschenbuch auf das Jahr 1803 Christian SpeckEpilogueAuthors’ BiographiesIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisNevermind, Achtung Baby, Use Your Illusion 1&2 – the 90s saw some classic albums produced by artists such as Nirvana, U2, Gun n’ Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as a resurgence in country music popularized by Shania Twain and Garth Brooks. Combining information from both the US and UK charts provided by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI), 100 Best Selling Albums of the 90s features chart-topping work from Michael Jackson, Puff Daddy and Green Day. Each album entry is accompanied by the original sleeve artwork – front and back – and is packed full of facts and recording information, including a complete track listing, musician and production credits, and an authoritative commentary on the record and its place in cultural history. Soundtracks featured include the 60s and 70s hits on Forrest Gump, the Elton John/Tim Rice songs in The Lion King, and the orchestral score for Titanic (and Celine Dion’s Oscar-winning My Heart Will Go On). Other stand-out albums include the Eagles’ reforming to make Hell Freezes Over and Eric Clapton’s Unplugged, a career revival for him in the popular 90s back-to-basics semi-acoustic series. With vinyl sales now at their highest in 25 years, 100 Best Selling Albums of the 90s is an expert celebration of popular music from Sheryl Crow to Shania Twain, from the Spice Girls to the Backstreet Boys, from Gloria Estefan to Michael Jackson to Lauryn Hill.Table of ContentsShania Twain – Come On Over Whitney Houston – The Bodyguard Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill Hootie & The Blowfish – Cracked Rear View Garth Brooks – No Fences Garth Brooks – Double Live Santana – Supernatural Backstreet Boys – Backstreet Boys Garth Brooks – Ropin’ The Wind Britney Spears - …Baby One More Time Backstreet Boys – Millennium Celine Dion - Falling Into You Shania Twain – The Woman In Me Dixie Chicks – Wide Open Spaces Soundtrack – Forrest Gump Kenny G – Breathless Pearl Jam – Ten Matchbox 20 – Yourself Or Someone Like You Boyz ii Men Soundtrack –Titanic Celine Dion – Let’s Talk About Love Mariah Carey – Music Box TLC – CrazySexyCool Kid Rock – Devil Without A Cause Jewel – Pieces Of You Eric Clapton –Unplugged Mariah Carey – Daydream Nirvana – Nevermind MC Hammer – Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom Soundtrack – The Lion King Green Day – Dookie Creed – Human Clay Dixie Chicks – Fly Notorious BIG – Life After Death Spice Girls – Spice Britney Spears – Oops! …I Did It Again Will Smith – Big Willie Style Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and… Mariah Carey – Mariah Carey U2 –Achtung Baby Michael Bolton – Time, Love & Tenderness Ace Of Base – The Sign Billy Ray Cyrus – Some Gave All Boyz ii Men – ColeyHighHarmony Destiny’s Chld – The Writing’s On The Wall Michael Jackson – Dangerous Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill Toni Braxton – Secrets R. Kelly – R Backstreet Boys – Black & Blue Christina Aguilera – Christina Aguilera Tupac – All Eyez On Me Live – Throwing Copper Garth Brooks – In Pieces Toni Braxton – Toni Braxton Stone Temple Pilots – Core Faith Hill – Breathe Sarah McLachlan – Surfacing Kenny G – Miracles Aerosmith – Get a Grip Garth Brooks - The Chase Oasis - Morning Glory The Cranberries – No Need To Argue Savage Garden – Savage Garden Sheryl Crow – Tuesday Night Music Club Celine Dion - The Colour of My Love Ricky Martin – Ricky Martin Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magick Guns’n’Roses – Use Your Illusion 1&2 Vanilla Ice – To The Extreme Fugees – The Score Limp Bizkit – Significant Other Garth Brooks – Sevens Puff Daddy – No Way Out Eagles – Hell Freezes Over Pearl Jam – Vs. Counting Crows – August & Everything After ‘N Sync – ‘N Sync Dave Matthews Band – Crash Soundtrack – Waiting To Exhale Bonnie Raitt – Luck Of The Draw Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II Janet Jackson – Janet TLC – Fanmail Dr Dre – Dr Dre 2001 Usher – My Way Soundtrack – Space Jam Garth Brooks – Fresh Horses Stone Temple Pilots – Purple R. Kelly – 12 Play Chicago – Chicago 17 Creed – My Own Prison Third Eye Blind – Third Eye Blind Leann Rimes – Blue Bush – Sixteen Stone Dave Matthews Band – Under The Table And Dreaming Blues Traveller – Four Offspring – Smash Mana – Donde Jugaran Los Ninos

Read more less

Book SynopsisElvis, Eddie, Chuck, Gene, Buddy and Little Richard were the original rockers. Dylan, The Beatles, The Stones and The Who formed rock’s second coming. As the 1960s turned into the 1970s, the crucial question was who would lead rock ’n’ roll’s third generation? Pin-Ups 1972 tracks the London music scene during this pivotal year, all Soho sleaze, neon, grease and leather. It begins with the dissolution of the underground and the chart success of Marc Bolan. T. Rextasy formed the backdrop to Lou Reed and Iggy Pop’s British exile and their collaborations with David Bowie. This was the year Bowie became a star and redefined the teenage wasteland. In his wake followed Roxy Music and the New York Dolls, future tense rock ’n’ roll revivalists. Bowie, Bolan, Iggy, Lou, Roxy and the Dolls – pin-ups for a new generation.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis first academic collection dedicated to popular music in Leeds - developed from the work of interdisciplinary scholars, drawn from a major public museum exhibition “Sounds of Our City” and built upon contemporary research. Leeds has rich musical histories and heritage, a long tradition of vibrant music venues, nightclubs, dance halls, pubs and other sites of musical entertainment. The city has spawned crooners, folk singers, punks, post- punks, Goths, DJs, popstars, rappers and indie rockers, yet – with a few exceptions - Leeds has not been studied for its scenes in ways that other UK cities have. In ways that the chapters explore, Leeds’ popular music exemplifies and informs understandings of broader cultural and urban changes – both in Britain and across wider global contexts – of the social and historical significance of music as mass media; music and migration; music, racialisation and social equity; industrial decline, de-industrialisation, neoliberalism and the rise of the 24-hour city. Charting moments of stark musical politicisation and de-politicisation, while concomitantly tracing arguments about “heritagising” popular music within discussions about music’s “place” in museums and in the urban economy, this book contributes to debates about why music matters, has mattered, and continues to matter in Leeds, and beyond. Table of ContentsList of Figures ix Acknowledgements xi Foreword xiii Jez Willis Introducing Leeds 1 Brett Lashua, Karl Spracklen, Kitty Ross and Paul Thompson PART 1. PLACES OF LEEDS’ POPULAR MUSIC 13 1. Dance and Drink the Fenton: Fighting for Territory in Leeds’ Culture Wars 15 Rio Goldhammer 2. When Mr Fox Met Kit Calvert, the Maker of Wensleydale Cheese: Constructing Yorkshireness in the Sixties Leeds Folk Scene 31 Karl Spracklen 3. Park Life: When Roundhay Went Pop 43 Peter Mills 4. ‘Everything Is Brilliant in Leeds’: Venues in the Leeds Indie Scene 1992–2012 57 Dan Lomax 5. Noise, Power Electronics and the No-Audience Underground: Place, Performance and Discourse in Leeds’ Experimental Music Scene 70 Theo Gowans, Phil Legard and Dave Procter PART 2. PEOPLE: LEEDS’ MUSICAL COMMUNITIES AND CULTURAL IDENTITIES 85 6. La-Di-Dah: Some Thoughts on Jake Thackray and British Popular Culture 87 Stephen Wagg 7. Home Is Where the Music Is: Migrants and Belonging in Leeds 102 Jonathan Long 8. A Tale of Two Artists: Thinking Intersectionally About Women and Music in Leeds 117 Beccy Watson 9. Leeds Punk through a Feminist Lens 130 Mallory McGovern 10. Americana and Leeds: Narrating the American South with Northern Grit 144 Dave Robinson PART 3. HISTORIES OF POPULAR MUSIC IN LEEDS 159 11. Leeds City Varieties in the 1950s and 1960s: Decline, Nudity and Nostalgia in the British Variety Industry 161 Dave Russell 12. The Evolution of DIY Venues as Dancing Spaces in Leeds from the 1940s to 2020s 176 Stuart Moss 13. Music of the Leeds West Indian Carnival 191 Danny Friar 14. Jazz in Leeds, 1940s–50s 205 Michael Meadowcroft PART 4. POPULAR MUSIC HERITAGE, LEGACIES AND FUTURES 215 15. Sounds of Our City Exhibition: Music and Materiality in Leeds’ Abbey House Museum 217 Kitty Ross and Paul Thompson 16. Where You’re From and Where They’re At: Connecting Voices, Generations and Place to Create a Leeds Hip Hop Archive 235 Sarah Little and Alex Stevenson 17. A Splendid Time is Guaranteed for All: A Psychogeography of Leeds’ Popular Music Heritage 250 Brett Lashua and Paul Thompson 18. Music: Leeds – Supporting a Regionalized Music Sector and Scene 264 Paul Thompson and Sam Nicholls Conclusion: Putting Popular Music in Leeds ‘On the Map’ 279 Brett Lashua, Paul Thompson, Kitty Ross and Karl Spracklen Notes on Contributors 287 Index 299

Read more less

Book Synopsis***'Eddie was there very early doors. His story is of the many.' Paul Weller'A total riot! Takes me right back to the 70s. A Superb book' Mani, The Stone Roses'What a wonderful book. Mod isn't about what decade you lived in, it's about your attitude, and this book has tons of it' Kenney Jones, The Small Faces'A charismatic storyteller, witty and unpretentious, he is at once an engaging protagonist and an indisputable authority, giving a live-wire, visceral perspective on mod life in that short flash of time. He manages to create a welcoming space in this rather exclusive world while never losing his formidable edge as a narrator' - The Big Issue'Buy it on sight. You won't be disappointed' - Louder Than War'Eddie's book is really good!' - Robert Elms'Akin to being in the company of someone with plenty of entertaining tales to tell.... the comradery and spirit of like-minded souls is inspiring.' - Paul Ritchie, Shindig! MagazineWITH A FOREWORD BY PAUL WELLERThis is the memoir of a teenage mod from the East End of London.A journey of discovery for a schoolboy dabbling with punk, funk, record shops, discos and clothes, and then... WHAAAM! An unstoppable wave of like-minded kids fall headlong in love with 60s mod culture, revived and reformatted for the 70s and 80s generation.Eddie Piller was one such kid. His life was changed forever. Written with humour, passion and attention to detail, CLEAN LIVING UNDER DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES is perhaps the ultimate mod memoir, taking us from meeting the Small Faces as a toddler, to the 1979 Mod revival, through the more purist 1980s mod scene and eventually to Acid Jazz.A born storyteller, Eddie takes us evocatively into a world of scooters, clothes, and music. We run with the crowd to decaying seaside towns, East End backstreet boozers and sweaty teenage gigs, all fizzing with an uncontainable excitement and often exploding into violence.Once mod touched your soul it changed the way you looked at life, unexpectedly broadening your horizons. In Eddie it awakens a can-do attitude that sees him setting up a fanzine, putting on club nights, hustling jobs in the music industry, and eventually setting up a record label. It even takes him to Ireland at the height of the troubles and to Australia where the local mods take him on a military exercise...Visceral and always entertaining, CLEAN LIVING UNDER DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES is a stand-out memoir that relives the thrill of the 70s and 80s, and the movement that helped make mod the most enduring and successful British youth culture of all time.Trade ReviewIf I'd have lived through the mod movement in London in the 60s my heroes would've been Guy Stevens and Pete Meaden - but as a teenage mod in the early 1980's Eddie Piller was that guy. This book is a glorious testament to that. -- David HolmesEddie Piller's life in music (and elsewhere) is quite a tale. He always strikes me as one of the lucky few who win the lottery by making up their own job description. Deejay, broadcaster, self-taught producer, he's covered many angles in his time. This book is as fun and engaging as the man himself. -- Martin FreemanA charismatic storyteller, witty and unpretentious, he is at once an engaging protagonist and an indisputable authority, giving a live-wire, visceral perspective on mod life in that short flash of time. He manages to create a welcoming space in this rather exclusive world while never losing his formidable edge as a narrator. * The Big Issue *[CLEAN LIVING UNDER DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES] never loses its percussive humour or whip-hand sense of style... Piller is one of those inspirational figures (a lot like Creations Alan McGee ) who has always acted like a conduit between creative talent, lighting the blue touch paper for those with musical chops and similar vision. If this book is his legacy, then it's a fantastic one, for his is most certainly a life less ordinary. Buy it on sight. You won't be disappointed. * Louder than war *Eddie's book is really good! * Robert Elms *Akin to being in the company of someone with plenty of entertaining tales to tell .... the comradery and spirit of like-minded souls is inspiring. -- Paul Ritchie * Shindig! Magazine *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis paperback edition is updated to include new insights into Holst's life and work resulting from the discovery of important unseen archival materials. Imogen Holst was one of the most wide-ranging and highly regarded of musicians. Popular with all who knew her, she was intensively protective of her inner life, reminding one friend of a 'locked door of which she had thrown away the key'. Imogen Holst: A Life in Music uses a wealth of newly discovered material to explore the complexities and contradictions of her life and career, drawing on her own writings - ranging from heartfelt early poetry, through correspondence, to a series of journals that maintain a colourful record of her travels and achievements. Most revealing of these is the daily journal that she kept at the start of her working association with Britten, adocument that provides a unique insight both into her own thoughts, and into the professional and domestic life of a major composer. Extensively revised with new material, the book also includes a study of Imogen Holst's music and a chronological list of her works, revealing her as a composer of tremendous talent, whose music deserves to be much more familiar. CHRISTOPHER GROGAN is Director of Collections and Heritage at the Britten-Pears Foundation.Trade ReviewThis magnificent centenary volume...(miraculously edited to her own high standards)...documents a lifetime's pioneering achievement...A compelling portrait emerges of a single minded and uniquely talented woman. -- Geraint Lewis * GRAMOPHONE *An encounter with a true original...Grogan has put together an excellent critical biography. * TLS *This book - available at a remarkably reasonable price given the quality of its production...is a wonderful centenary tribute to a fascinating and often underappreciated figure. * BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY NEWS *Excellently written...a successful, lively portrait of an important personality in C20th British musical life. * DIE MUSIKFORSCHUNG *Table of ContentsForeword 'She do favour 'er Pa': Infancy and early schooldays, 1907-20 'Corn-coloured pigtails and very blue eyes': St Paul's Girls' School, 1921-6 'To be best when all are good': The Royal College of Music, 1926-30 'Wandering about Europe', 1930-31 'Life is not going to be too easy for you': London and elsewhere, 1931-8 'A present from the Government': Travelling with CEMA, 1939-42 'A wonderful opportunity': Dartington, 1942-50 'She is quite brilliant': India to Aldeburgh, 1950-52 'The excitement of working with Ben': an introduction to the Aldeburgh Diary Aldeburgh Diary, September 1952-March 1954 'The thing that one wants to do most in the whole world', 1955-64 'The joy of learning about Holst via Britten', 1964-76 'Old age - Protest against disintegration - Gradual calming down - Acceptance', 1977-84 'A real composer': an introduction to Imogen Holst's musical style Chronological list of works

Read more less

Book SynopsisCritically acclaimed biography of one of England's best loved composers, with a full discussion and evaluation of his works. Gerald Finzi is one of the best-known modern English composers. While he is especially famous as a song-writer, for his sensitive settings of poets such as Hardy and Wordsworth, he also wrote in other genres; notable works includethe exquisite cantata Dies Natalis, and his cello concerto. He also exerted a major influence in the musical world as a whole, championing the neglected Ivor Gurney and reviving eighteenth-century composers with the amateur orchestra he founded. In this lively and sensitive study of his life and works, Diana McVeagh, the renowned Elgar and Finzi scholar, has made use of interviews with the main figures in his life, correspondence with contemporaries such as Vaughan Williams, Edmund Blunden, Arthur Bliss, Edmund Rubbra, Howard Ferguson and Herbert Howells, and her access to previously unpublished material in the form of his widow, Joy's, unpublished journal. The Finzithat emerges is a multi-faceted and complex character. The author shows how he developed from a solitary, introverted youth into a man with strong views and a myriad of interests: everything from education, pacifism, vegetarianism, to the Arts and Crafts movement, the English pastoral tradition, English apple varieties, and the significance of ancestry, friendship and marriage in an artist's life. She also discusses every work within the narrative of Finzi's life, and shows what makes his output so outstanding. Diana McVeagh is the author of the highly acclaimed Elgar the Music Maker [2007]; of the entries on Elgar and Finzi for The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians [1980, 2001]; and of the Finzi entry in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography [2004].Trade Review[T]he author's style is very easy indeed, informal and communicative. * RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS SOCIETY JOURNAL *The book is very well researched and immensely informative. [...] From reading this particular biography, there is also the wish to read more by Diana McVeagh. * THE ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL *McVeagh's analyses unfailingly draw the reader's attention to the melodic and harmonic subtleties of Finzi's writing. At her best, as in a beautiful passage on Finzi and Hardy, she sings with a lyricism that matches Finzi's own. This book comes as a timely reminder that there should be a place for the finely wrought music of a minor master. -- Richard Lawrence * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *This has been long in preparation, but the wait has been worthwhile. Lucky the composer who finds so fair-minded, candid and scrupulous a biographer and one who writes so well...[McVeagh's] analyses achieve the rare distinction of being both illuminating and readable. This is one of the best-written books about a musician to appear for many years. -- Michael Kennedy * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE *McVeagh surely loves Finzi's music and it shows. However her devotion is clear-eyed and her writing completely avoids the sort of pastoral hagiography that Finzi scholarship can easily collapse into. The book is self-recommending but that does not stop me recommending it. - * CLASSICAL MUSIC ON THE WEB *[This] is unquestionably destined to be the standard biography of Gerald Finzi. - -- Rolf Jordan * RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS SOCIETY JOURNAL *[Now] we have McVeagh at last, so good and so well written that those who already possess...other books must have it, not only to complement them but for the sheer pleasure afforded by such a winning combination of scholarship, insight and clear-eyed humanity.. their belief will be reinforced and intensified by Miss McVeagh's candour and her remarkable achievement in writing not only a good biography but in re-creating the atmosphere of English musical life in the half-century of Finzi's life. * FINZI NEWSLETTER *With clear-eyed affection for her subject, McVeagh relates Finzi's poignant history with clarity of design that does not preclude empathy, and never allows herself the luxury of letting him off lightly over either musical or personal foibles...[a] lovely, warm and elegiac book. -- Byron Adams * MUSIC & LETTERS *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe untold story behind one of the most controversial album releases in modern music history, for fans of the Wu-Tang Clan, hip-hop music, and all those interested in the music industry. Take a kid with a dream. A legendary hip hop group. 6 years of secret recordings. A casing worthy of a king. A single artifact. Hallowed establishment institutions. An iconoclastic auction house. The world's foremost museum of modern art. A bidding war. Endless crises of conscience. An angry mob. A furious beef. A sale. A villain of Lex Luthor-like proportions. Bill Murray. The FBI. The internet gone wild. In 2007, the innovative Wu-Tang producer, Cilvaringz, feeling that digitisation increasingly supported the perception of music as disposable, took an incendiary idea to his mentor, hip hop legend, RZA: create a unique physical copy of a secret Wu-Tang album, to be encased in silver and sold through auction as a work of contemporary art. The plan raised a number of complex questions: Would selling one album for millions be the ultimate betrayal of music? How would fans react to an album that's sold on condition it could not be commercialised? And could anyone justify the ultimate sale of the album to the infamous pharmaceutical mogul Martin Shkreli? "An epic battle between colorful, creative maniacal heroes and one of the blandest beta-villains of our time. Couldn't put it down."Patton Oswalt, comedian and bestselling author of Silver Screen FiendTrade Review“An epic battle between colorful, creative maniacal heroes and one of the blandest beta-villains of our time. Couldn’t put it down.”Patton Oswalt, comedian and bestselling author of Silver Screen Fiend"[An] utterly candid work...Bozorgmehr's stirring account gives readers the insider's view of musical outlaws who possessed the best intentions of elevating hip-hop from its street moorings to more stylish, chic surroundings, and whose efforts exploded in a crisis of bad media coverage and soulless pharmaceutical drug merchants."Publishers Weekly

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom Kate Bush to Nicki Minaj, from Janet Jackson to TLC and Taylor Swift, pop's greatest female pioneers are simply strange: smashing notions of taste and decorum, and replacing them with new ideals of pleasure. Instead of rehashing biographies, Lesley Chow dives deep into the music of these groundbreaking performers, identifying the ecstatic moments in their songs and finding out what makes them unique. You’re History is a love letter to pop’s most singular achievements, celebrating the innovations of women who are still critically underrated. It's a ride that includes tributes to Chaka Khan, Rihanna, Neneh Cherry, Sade, Shakespears Sister, Azealia Banks, and many more...Trade Review"Lesley Chow is the best and rarest kind of critic—one who loves to be surprised, and can always surprise you in turn… The emphasis is firmly on aesthetic pleasure, and the book itself is a unique pleasure to read: joyful, witty, knowledgeable, intensely observant, and indifferent to received ideas.""By embracing pop's sonic artifice, its vocal textures and its wordless moments of rapture – toooften ignored by other critics – Lesley Chow constructs a new version of pop history. Her assemblageof pop's 'hybrid girls' and wayward women is a sly, original analysis."“Lesley Chow's sparklingly written book is full of whip-smart wit and electric prose. You're History isn't just a work of great criticism: it will make you rethink your understanding of pop music and the strange, sublime sounds of its creators.”“Lesley Chow explores the alchemy of pop that comes from breath, sound and lyrics. Her deep dive into these extraordinary women made me feel their music all over again.”“A constantly surprising and thought-provoking book tracing... non-verbal bliss, irruptive sensuality, and mouth-music magic — a counter-canon of oozy oohs and sweet nothings that takes in Chaka Khan, Janet Jackson, TLC.”“The slim, sharp book considers a range of female artists from Janet Jackson and Taylor Swift to TLC and Nicki Minaj, a group that the Australian cultural critic Chow views as ‘outliers, marking moments where the culture might have swerved to incorporate their influence, but somehow contrived not to.’”“You’re History is the ideal book for anyone who thinks a great song is like a puzzle, with every individual component its own unique mystery worth investigating.”

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Beatles are not only a rock n' roll group, but a social and cultural phenomenon that have captivated music fans for decades. For many, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr changed everything. This guide distils their amazing story into 101 informative and entertaining chapters, taking you from their rough and ready early Liverpool days through their world-shattering success in sound, stage and screen, to an afterlife that could never have been predicted when they first started out. Here, you'll find facts and figures about their chartbusting songs, albums and films, meet the people that helped them along the way, and visit milestones and controversies such as their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, meeting Elvis Presley, John Lennon’s ‘Bigger than Jesus’ comments, experimenting with drugs and the avant-garde, and starting up Apple. The Beatles 101 is a perfect introduction for new fans, a refresher for superfans, and ideal reading for quizmasters everywhere.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMusicologists have increasingly taken a wide-angled lens on the study of music in society, to explore how it can be intertwined with issues of politics, gender, religion, race, psychology, memory, and space. Recent studies of music in connection with society take in a variety of musical phenomena from diverse periods and genres—medieval, classical, opera, rock, etc. This ten-chapter book not only asks how music and society are, and have been, intertwined and mutually influential, but it also examines the agents behind these connections: who determines musical cultures in society? Which social groups are represented in particular musical contexts? Which social groups are silenced or less well represented in music’s histories, and why?Table of ContentsIntroductionNancy NovemberPart One: Cultural and Cross-Cultural AgenciesThe Year the Music Died: Agency in the Context of Demise on Takū, Papua New GuineaRichard Moyle“One of the finest and best-appointed theatres in the colonies”: His Majesty’s Theatre and the Evolution of Entertainment in Dunedin, New ZealandSandra Crawshaw“In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room”: Musicalizing the South Pacific in Disney’s Theme ParksGregory CampPart Two: Vocal Music’s AgenciesFigaro Transmuted through the Agency of Neapolitan Social and Political Creatives: Niccolò Piccinni’s La serva onorataLawrence MaysJosephinism and Leopold Koželuh’s Masonic Cantata Joseph der Menschheit Segen Allan BadleyAgency, Politics, and Opera Arrangements in Fanny von Arnstein’s SalonsNancy NovemberPart Three: Performance and AgencyReflections on Aladdin’s Lamp: Developing a Framework for Creative Practice Research in-and-through Historically Informed PerformanceImogen MorrisWhen Your Heart Is Set on Both Broadway and the Met: An Exploration of Vocal Technique in Contemporary Musical TheatreChristopher McRaePart Four: Composition and Agency“Brows betwixt and between”: The Agents of the Cultural Middlebrow and the Use of Topoi in Benjamin Britten’s First Suite for Cello Eliana DunfordProvincializing Practice: Parsing Historical Influences on Contemporary Cross-Cultural Music in Aotearoa/New ZealandCeleste OramContributorsIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisSelling over forty-five million copies, The Dark Side of the Moon topped the US Billboard charts when it was first released in 1973 and took up residence there for over 700 weeks. Lunacy delves into the making of this iconic record and why it continues to speak to generation after generation of music lovers around the world. Music biographer John Kruth starts with Pink Floyd's band history, leading up to the creation of their masterpiece and exploring what inspired the sonic stew of stylesa mixture of avant-garde electronic, jazz, and classical music all contributed to the timeless album. With interviews of musicians, artists, DJs, and fans, Kruth gets to the heart of the lasting importance of The Dark Side of the Moon. Lunacy also looks at Pink Floyd after the departure of the band's original leader and visionary songwriter Syd Barrett. Pink Floyd became a rudderless ship and released a series of nebulous (yet highly enjoyable) jam albums and went on tours that almost

Read more less

Book SynopsisIncludes a new chapter on John Cage.Alex Ross's award-winning international best-seller, The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century', has become a contemporary classic, establishing him as one of our most popular and acclaimed cultural historians; this is his much anticipated next book on the subject of music.In Listen To This' Alex Ross, the music critic for the New Yorker, looks both backwards and forwards in time, capturing essential figures and ideas in classical music history, as well as giving an alternative view of recent pop music that emphasizes the power of the individual musical voice.After relating his first encounter with classical music, Ross vibrantly sketches canonical composers such as Schubert, Verdi and Brahms; gives us in-depth interviews wth modern pop masters such as Bjork and Radiohead; and introduces us to music students at a Newark high school and to indie-rock hipsters in Beijing. In his essay Chacona, Lamento, Walking Blues', Ross brilliantly retelTrade Review‘Chacona, Lamento, Walking Blues. This essay is Alex Ross’s own chaconne, one that only he could have written – a display of lateral thinking as virtuosic, in its own way. It alone is worth the price of the book, which I strongly encourage you to buy.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘One minute, you're immersed in Mozart, and then suddenly you're on tour with Radiohead and contemplating what it must have felt like for an unworldly Finnish conductor, Esa-Pekka Salonen, to take the reins of the LA Philharmonic. Reading the book is the literary equivalent of an iPod on shuffle; it offers fresh and unexpected stimulation at every turn.’ Guardian ‘The qualities that make him a top-notch critic become clearer in concentrated reading…Ross is an avowed buff. He loves music with a nerdish obsession and he wants you to love it as much as he does’ New Statesman

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book explores the cultural, aesthetic, and political relevance of music in radio art from its beginnings to present day. Contributors include musicologists, literary studies, and cultural studies scholars and cover radio plays, radio shows, and other programs in North American, English, Spanish, Greek, Italian, and German radio.Table of ContentsRadio Art and Music: An IntroductionJarmila Mildorf and Pim VerhulstChapter 1: The Making of a Nomenclature: José Iges on Radiophonic ArtLuz María Sánchez CardonaChapter 2: Maestro, If You Please: The Radio Producer as MusicianJeremy LakoffChapter 3: Norman Corwin, Bernard Herrmann, and Musical Direction for Columbia Presents CorwinReba A. WissnerChapter 4: “Attitudes toward History” and the Radiophonic Compositions of Daphne Oram and the Firesign TheatreDavid McCarthyChapter 5: Between Art and Promotion: The Prix Italia, Its Historical Context and Aims in the First Fifty Years 1949-1998 Angela Ida De Benedictis Chapter 6: A Canadian Experiment in Words-as-Music: Glenn Gould’s Invention of Form in his Radio Program The Idea of NorthElissa GuralnickChapter 7: Jewish Musical Material in a 1946 American Radio Drama: “Rachel”Paula Eisenstein Baker and Robert S. NelsonChapter 8: The Bad Violin’s Good Politics: Music of Protest and Disavowal in The Jack Benny ProgramJade ConleeChapter 9: Shifting Hues of Blackface: Performance of Race in Radio Adaptations of Holiday Inn (1942)Emily LaneChapter 10: Voicing the Other World: Music and the Victorian Occult in Midcentury American Radio DramaOlivia CacchioneChapter 11: Collective Responsibility in Ingeborg Bachmann and Hans Werner Henze’s Radio Drama The CicadasLucy JeffreyChapter 12: Music and Politics in the BBC Radio Adaptation of Alan Bennett’s The Madness of George IIIJarmila MildorfChapter 13: Adapting the Soundtrack of Revolution: Tom Stoppard’s Rock ’n’ Roll from Stage to RadioPim VerhulstChapter 14: Children’s Songs as Socio-Political Comment in the Greek Radio Show Edo LilipoupoliAikaterini GiampouraAbout the Contributors

Read more less

Book SynopsisA century ago, the emergence of radio, along with organized systems of broadcasting, sparked a global fascination with the wonder' of sound transmission and reception. The thrilling experience of tuning in to the live sounds of this new medium prompted strong affective responses in its listeners. This book introduces a new concept of radiophilia, defined as the attachment to, or even a love of radio. Treating radiophilia as a dynamic cultural phenomenon, it unpacks the various pleasures associated with radio and its sounds, the desire to discover and learn new things via radio, and efforts to record, re-experience, and share radio. Surveying 100 years of radio from early wireless through to digital audio formats like podcasting, the book engages in debates about fandom, audience participation, listening experience, material culture, and how media relate to affect and emotions.Trade ReviewAn inspiring example of how to resist entrenched narratives. Birdsall’s study issues a rallying cry for work that is intermedial and interdisciplinary, crossing boundaries of geography and history in order to love radio better. * Sound Studies *Carolyn Birdsall has provided a brilliant and extremely original way of understanding the affective and emotional engagement with radio at the intersection of media cultural history, cultural studies, fan and sound studies. The book offers a refined analysis of the different forms of affection towards radio and provides a new key to understanding the social uses of radio. No scholar has ever written such an accurate analysis or comprehensive description of how we love, know, save and share radio. * Tiziano Bonini, Associate Professor of Sociology of culture and communication, University of Siena, Italy *Ranging from the collection of merchandise to the conservation of infrastructure, Radiophilia is a brilliant analysis of how radio matters to people. Detailing how affective practices have moved between professional broadcasters, archivists and listeners, and how crossover fandom has connected radio and music fans, this book is itself a superb bridging of radio/fan studies. Carolyn Birdsall skilfully explores the material, multisensorial and intermedial dimensions of radiophilia: any reader interested in radio’s history, preservation and present-day energy will find a lot to love here. * Matt Hills, Professor of Fandom Studies, University of Huddersfield, UK *Radiophilia provides an original and compelling investigation of how radio – as a medium, a practice, an idea, an object of desire, an institution – has entered into our lives along a shifting variety of axes across the last hundred years, changing the way we both experience and respond to the world around us. A wonderful addition to the field. * Michele Hilmes, Professor Emerita of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA *Table of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Loving 2. Knowing 3. Saving 4. Sharing Conclusion Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisA collection of essays commemorating Hector Berlioz's life and work on the 200th anniversary of his birth. This far-reaching collection of heretofore unpublished studies ushers in the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Hector Berlioz [1803-1869]. The contributors include leading music historians and two prominent historians of culture, Peter Gay and Jacques Barzun. The essays discuss Berlioz's views of the music of the "past," Berlioz's interactions with music and musicians of his "present," and views of Berlioz during the several generations after his death [the "future"]. A long-awaited piece by Richard Macnutt meticulously inventories and investigates more than two hundred letters and documents that are now known to have been forged but that have sometimes been accepted as authentic. Further contributions, from David Charlton, Heather Hadlock, Sylvia L'Ecuyer, Katherine Kolb, Catherine Massip, Kerry Murphy, Jean-Michel Nectoux, Cecile Reynaud, and Lesley Wright, consider specific aspects of Berlioz's creative work and critical reception. The editor, Peter Bloom, is Grace Jarcho Ross 1933 Professor of Humanities in the Department of Music at Smith College. His scholarly work has focused primarily on the life and workof Berlioz. He is a member of the Panel of Advisors of the New Berlioz Edition and the author of The Life of Berlioz.Trade ReviewAll in all, a wonderful book to mark the birthday anniversary of a composer whose life and works deserve to be celebrated most noisily! * OPERA QUARTERLY *A compendium of first-rate musicological research and reportage that easily lives up to its ambitious title. * CHOICE *New and uncommon perspectives on Berlioz research . . . [including on] Berlioz's political consciousness and contemporary awareness of his political attitudes. . . . [Barzun] reveal[s] misunderstandings and clichéd opinions that still exist today about Berlioz. -- Frank Heidlberger * MUSIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NOTES *Excellent volume. * GRAMOPHONE *Brilliant discussion...extremely pertinent yet diverse analyses....This work, in its very diversity, has the clear advantage of the universality of Berlioz's genius. * AD PARNASSUM *Well-written and impeccably edited. . . . An outstanding Afterword by Jacques Barzun. -- Laurence M. Porter * FRENCH REVIEW *Table of ContentsBerlioz's Berlioz - Peter Gay Catherine Massip, "Berlioz and Early Music" David Charlton, "Learning the Past" Sylvia L'Ecuyer, "Joseph d'Origue's 'Autopsy' of Benvenuto Cellini"Cellini" Katherine Kolb, "Plots and Politics: Berlioz's Tales of Sound and Fury"and Fury" Kerry Murphy, "Berlioz, Meyerbeer, and the Place of Jewishness in Criticism"Criticism" Cecile Reynaud, "Berlioz, Liszt, Virtuosity" Heather Hadlock, "Berlioz, Ophelia, and Feminist Hermeneutics" Jean-Michel Nectoux, "Berlioz in 1900: Between Fervor and Fear" Lesley Wright, "Berlioz in the Fin-de-siècle Press" "Berlioz Forgeries" Richard Macnutt Fourteen Points about Berlioz and the Public,or Why There Is Still a Berlioz Problem - Jacques Barzun

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume provides a transnational study of the impact of musical cultures in the Eastern Baltics—Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Russia—at the end of the Cold War and in the early post-Communist period. Throughout the book, the contributors explore and conceptualize transnational musical collaboration and the diffusion of information, people, and ideas focusing on musical activity which shaped the moral and artistic outlook of several generations. The volume sheds light on the transformative power of politically and socially engaged music and offers a deeper understanding of the artistic potential of societies and its impact on social and political change.Table of ContentsIntroductionRūta Stanevičiūtė and Małgorzata Janicka-SłyszPart One: Cultural Encounters and Musicians’ Networking1. From Ignorance to Familiarity: Lithuanian and Polish Musical Networking During the Cold WarRūta Stanevičiūtė, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre2. On Forms of Memory and Freedom in Polish and Lithuanian Music before and after 1989Małgorzata Janicka-Słysz, Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music, Krakow3. The Musical Meetings in Baranów and Sandomierz as Oases of FreedomDominika Micał, Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music, Krakow4. Rebellion and Identity: A Generational Breakthrough in Polish Music in the 1970sKinga Kiwała, Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music, KrakowPart Two: The Musical Expression of Cultural and Political Liberation5. The Idea of Freedom in Krzysztof Penderecki’s Works: From Experience to ExpressionIwona Sowińska-Fruhtrunk, Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music, Krakow6. Nodes and Turning Points in the Life and Art of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki as a Resonance of Polish Politics and History in the Second Half of the Twentieth CenturyTeresa Malecka, Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music, Krakow7. The Dimensions of Freedom in Wojciech Marczewski’s Movie Escape from the “Liberty” Cinema and Witold Leszczyński’s Siekierezada (Axiliad): Music Functions in FilmsEwa Czachorowska-Zygor, Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music, Krakow8. Lithuanian Music in Transition: Independent Festivals of the 1980s and 1990sVita Gruodytė, Lithuanian Academy of Music and TheatrePart Three: Music and Politics before and after the Fall9. Disco Culture and the Ritual Journey in the Soviet 1980sKevin C. Karnes, Emory University10. The Ganelin Trio, Rova Saxophone Quartet, and US-Soviet Cultural Exchanges in the 1980sPeter J. Schmelz, Arizona State University11. On the Other Side of Freedom: The Band Miłość and the Polish Yass SceneAndrzej Mądro, Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music, Krakow12. Critics’ Choice: New Russian Music Criticism and Leonid DesyatnikovOlga Manulkina, Saint Petersburg State UniversityEditors and ContributorsIndex of Names

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis collection of essays addresses a very broad range of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s most significant works, examining them through the lens of “transgression.” Transgression bears relevance to Hoffmann’s life and professions in three ways. First, his official career path was that of jurisprudence; he was active as a lawyer, a judge and eventually as one of the most important magistrates in Berlin. Second, his personal life was marked by numerous conflicts with political and social authorities. Seemingly no matter where he went, he experienced much chaos, grief and impoverishment in leading his always precarious existence. Third, his works explore characters and concepts beyond the boundaries of what was considered aesthetically acceptable. “Normal” bourgeois existence was often juxtaposed to the lives of criminals, sinners, and other deviants, both within the spaces of the known world as well as in supernatural realms. He, perhaps more than any other author of the German Romantic movement, regularly portrayed the dark side of existence in his works, including unconscious psychological phenomena, nightmares, somnambulism, vampirism, mesmerism, Doppelgänger, and other forms of transgressive behavior. It is the intention of this volume to provide a new look at Hoffmann’s very diverse body of work from numerous perspectives, stimulating interest in Hoffmann in English language audiences.Trade ReviewReviews'This new resource is both enjoyable and thoroughly thought-provoking—and so is well worth consultation by faculty and students.'Seán Williams, European Romantic Review'Transgressive Romanticism engages its central spatial metaphor to make Hoffmann’s complex potential as a protorealist clear: expertly attuned to the forms of life and literature with which he was familiar, while always ready to subvert and think beyond them.'Polly Dickson, German Studies ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction --- Christopher R. Clason, Oakland UniversityI. Transgression and Institutions1. “A poor, imprisoned animal.” Persons, Property, and the Unnatural Nature of the Law in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “Das Majorat.” --- Alexander Schlutz, John Jay College and CUNY Graduate Center2. Vergiftete Gaben: Violating the Laws of Hospitality in E. T. A. Hoffmann’s “Das Fräulein von Scuderi” --- Peter Erickson, Colorado State University 3. Transgressive Science in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Fantastic Tales --- Paola Mayer, University of GuelphII. Transgression and the Arts4. E. T. A. Hoffmann and the Bamberg Theater --- Frederick Burwick, University of California, Los Angeles5. Transitions and Slippages of Mimesis in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “Der goldene Topf,” “Die Fermate,” and “Das öde Haus.” --- Beate Allert, Purdue University6. Transgressions: On the (De-)Figuration of the Vampire in E. T. A. Hoffmann’s “Vampyrism" --- Nicole Sütterlin, Harvard UniversityIII. Transgression in the Märchen 7. Transgressive Play and Uncanny Toys in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “Das fremde Kind” --- Christina Weiler, Purdue University8. Attending to the Everyday: Idiosyncrasy in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “The Golden Pot” --- Ruth Kellar, University of Wisconsin, Madison9. Prinzessin Brambilla: The Aesthetic between Public and Private --- Howard Pollack-Millgate, DePauw UniversityIV. Transgression of Reception in Kater Murr10. Hoffmann’s “Two Worlds” and the Problem of Life-Writing --- Julian Knox, Georgia College11. “Real Humor Cannot Be Captured in a Novel”: Kierkegaard Reading E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Lebens-Ansichten des Katers Murr --- James Rasmussen, United States Air Force AcademyWorks CitedIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisMusic, Words and Nationalism: National Anthems and Songs in the Modern Era considers the concept of nationalism from 1780 to 2020 through anthems and national songs as symbolic and representative elements of the national identity of individuals, peoples, or collectivities. The volume shows that both the words and music of these works reveal a great deal about the defining features of a nation, its political and cultural history, and its self-perception. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach that provides a better understanding of the role of national anthems and songs in the expression of national identities and nationalistic goals. From this perspective, the relationship between hymns and political contexts, their own symbolic content (both literary and musical) and the role of specific hymns in the construction of national sentiments are surveyed. Table of Contents1. Introduction.- Section I: General Perspectives.- “National Anthems in the Nineteenth-Century: Honor Anthems vs. Revolutionary Anthems”.- 2. “What to Sing? Anthems and the Problems of National Building”.- 3. “A Connected History of Republican Anthems: Independence, Decolonization and Nationalism”.- 4. “The Voices of the Nation. The Form and Content of National Anthems”.- 5. “Resounding Nations: Anthems in Europe at War (1936-1945)”.- 6. “Songs of Redemption: A Comparison of the Anthems of European Substate Nationalisms in the Long Twentieth Century”.- Section II Case Studies.- “The National Anthem’s Moment”.- 7. “Globalization of the National Anthem: The Case of Japan and the Japanese Empire in Asia.- 8. “Displaced national anthems: An Example from Iran”.- 9. “Anthems in Schools: Negotiating National and Youth Identities in a Bilingual Florida Elementary School”.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOf the many Cold War radio DJs who broadcast to the USSR, Seva Novgorodsev must be near the top of the list. A masterful BBC presenter, Seva was considered a sage of rock ‘n’ roll. His programs introduced forbidden western popular music and culture into the USSR, rendering him an “enemy voice” and ideological saboteur to the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Despite KGB threats and constant media pillorying, Seva remained on the air for 38 years, acquiring millions of listeners all across the breadth of the USSR and beyond. He became a cult phenomenon, dismantling the Soviet way of life in the hearts and minds of youth. This is the story of Russia’s first and best-known DJ.Trade Review"Michelle Daniel's book is more than a biography of the legendary DJ who brought western musical culture to the Soviet Union via BBC radio. It is, by turns, insightful political, cultural, and social history. Compelling features include testimony from Seva's listeners and Daniel’s speculation on just why he became so central a feature of Soviet life. A fascinating read for all interested in understanding the final years of the Cold War, the power of radio, or the role of what has been termed Soft Power in international relations."— Nicholas J. Cull, Professor of Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California“With the creation of any new medium—newsprint, radio, television—propagandists learn first how to exploit it for their own purposes. In our own era of ‘fake news,’ disinformation, and the ongoing political assault on truth, we’ve seen this play out over the Internet. But be careful: because the ‘soft power’ of popular familiarity with any new technology often undermines the clunky, cloying voice of the ideologue, in favor of the cool, revolutionary voice of popular culture. In this engaging tale of the life of Seva Novgorodsev—and how his popular BBC broadcasts helped lead to the downfall of the Soviet empire—Michelle Daniel weaves a narrative tale that is compelling and instructive, full of lessons about how the human need for truth and authenticity triumphs. While this book will surely appeal to Russia scholars and historians alike, it deserves a wide audience, for it reads like a novel and tells a story that is especially important in our own cultural moment. What can we learn from the early ‘weaponization’ of radio to amplify propagandistic falsehoods—then seeing this turned back on itself as young people discovered the pleasure of listening to rock ‘n’ roll music—that can be applied to today's disinformation war? Plenty, for we now face an age-old beast in new clothing: the human desire to lie for political profit, up against the indomitable spirit of today's young people, whose heroes are still emerging in this digital era.”— Lee McIntyre, author of Post-Truth“Rock 'n' roll was a revolutionary movement in the West. Behind the Iron Curtain, however, it also played an inordinate role in helping to change culture, politics, and society. Michelle Daniel's book is a welcome volume that adds to our understanding of how music and radio waves—amplified by Seva Novgorodsev—were able to work their way through the semi-permeable membranes of otherwise seemingly impenetrable Cold War borders and mindsets.”— Markos Kounalakis, Ph.D., former Radio Sweden International shortwave radio producerTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroduction: Radio, Rock ‘n’ “Role” Part One: 1917-761. The Great Wireless Experiment2. The Sounds of War3. Big Waves4. Birth of the Cool5. Rocket Around the Clock6. Between Jazz and a Hard Rock Place7. After ‘While, KrokodilPart Two: 1976-918. Smoke on the Water9. Round Midnight10. It’s a Hard Rock Life11. The Barbarossa of Rock ‘n’ Roll12. Red Waves on the “Cinderella Hour” 13. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction14. Highway to Hell15. Welcome to the Jungle16. It’s the End of the World as We Know ItConclusionAcknowledgementsBibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisOf the many Cold War radio DJs who broadcast to the USSR, Seva Novgorodsev must be near the top of the list. A masterful BBC presenter, Seva was considered a sage of rock ‘n’ roll. His programs introduced forbidden western popular music and culture into the USSR, rendering him an “enemy voice” and ideological saboteur to the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Despite KGB threats and constant media pillorying, Seva remained on the air for 38 years, acquiring millions of listeners all across the breadth of the USSR and beyond. He became a cult phenomenon, dismantling the Soviet way of life in the hearts and minds of youth. This is the story of Russia’s first and best-known DJ.Trade Review"Michelle Daniel's book is more than a biography of the legendary DJ who brought western musical culture to the Soviet Union via BBC radio. It is, by turns, insightful political, cultural, and social history. Compelling features include testimony from Seva's listeners and Daniel’s speculation on just why he became so central a feature of Soviet life. A fascinating read for all interested in understanding the final years of the Cold War, the power of radio, or the role of what has been termed Soft Power in international relations."— Nicholas J. Cull, Professor of Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California“With the creation of any new medium—newsprint, radio, television—propagandists learn first how to exploit it for their own purposes. In our own era of ‘fake news,’ disinformation, and the ongoing political assault on truth, we’ve seen this play out over the Internet. But be careful: because the ‘soft power’ of popular familiarity with any new technology often undermines the clunky, cloying voice of the ideologue, in favor of the cool, revolutionary voice of popular culture. In this engaging tale of the life of Seva Novgorodsev—and how his popular BBC broadcasts helped lead to the downfall of the Soviet empire—Michelle Daniel weaves a narrative tale that is compelling and instructive, full of lessons about how the human need for truth and authenticity triumphs. While this book will surely appeal to Russia scholars and historians alike, it deserves a wide audience, for it reads like a novel and tells a story that is especially important in our own cultural moment. What can we learn from the early ‘weaponization’ of radio to amplify propagandistic falsehoods—then seeing this turned back on itself as young people discovered the pleasure of listening to rock ‘n’ roll music—that can be applied to today's disinformation war? Plenty, for we now face an age-old beast in new clothing: the human desire to lie for political profit, up against the indomitable spirit of today's young people, whose heroes are still emerging in this digital era.”— Lee McIntyre, author of Post-Truth“Rock 'n' roll was a revolutionary movement in the West. Behind the Iron Curtain, however, it also played an inordinate role in helping to change culture, politics, and society. Michelle Daniel's book is a welcome volume that adds to our understanding of how music and radio waves—amplified by Seva Novgorodsev—were able to work their way through the semi-permeable membranes of otherwise seemingly impenetrable Cold War borders and mindsets.”— Markos Kounalakis, Ph.D., former Radio Sweden International shortwave radio producerTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroduction: Radio, Rock ‘n’ “Role” Part One: 1917-761. The Great Wireless Experiment2. The Sounds of War3. Big Waves4. Birth of the Cool5. Rocket Around the Clock6. Between Jazz and a Hard Rock Place7. After ‘While, KrokodilPart Two: 1976-918. Smoke on the Water9. Round Midnight10. It’s a Hard Rock Life11. The Barbarossa of Rock ‘n’ Roll12. Red Waves on the “Cinderella Hour” 13. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction14. Highway to Hell15. Welcome to the Jungle16. It’s the End of the World as We Know ItConclusionAcknowledgementsBibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe phrase "music history" likely summons up images of long-dead composers, smug men in wigs and waistcoats, and people dancing without touching. In Music: A Subversive History, Gioia responds to the false notions that undergird this tedium. Traditional histories of music, Gioia contents, downplay those elements of music that are considered disreputable or irrational-its deep connections to sexuality, magic, trance and alternative mind states, healing, social control, generational conflict, political unrest, even violence and murder. They suppress the stories of the outsiders and rebels who created musical revolutions and instead celebrate the mainstream assimilators who borrowed innovations, diluted their impact, and disguised their sources. Here, Gioia attempts to reclaim music history for the riffraff, the insurgents, and provocateurs-the real drivers of change and innovation. In Music, Gioia tells the four-thousand-year history of music as a source of power, change, upheaval, and enchantment. He shows how social outcasts have repeatedly become the great trailblazers of musical expression: slaves and their descendants, for instance, have repeatedly reinvented music in America and elsewhere, from ragtime, blues, jazz, R&B, to bossa nova, soul, and hip hop. A revolutionary and revisionist account, Music: A Subversive History is essential reading for anyone interested in the meaning of music.

Read more less

Book SynopsisShows how enlightened aristocrats, reactionary romantics, and the theorists and victims of totalitarianism have variously fashioned their vision of Russian society in musical terms. This book focuses on four individual composers, each characterized both as a self-consciously Russian creator and as a European.Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1997 "A passionate vision of what Russian music has meant both as an expression and as a shaping force of the country's character... [Taruskin is] an exceptionally gifted critic... [T]he connections between technique and expression are formidably argued, and it is the capacity to do this, with patience and depth of understanding and with a vast knowledge of the literature, that gives Taruskin's criticism its quality."--John Warrack, Time Literary Supplement "Taruskin's work is far too rich and multi-layered, steeped in Russian intellectual history, literature, and culture, even to synopsize in a short review... His newest book is essential for musicologists wishing to understand Russia's place in music, and for Slavists wishing to understand music's place in Russia."--Robert W. Oldani, The Russian Review "More than a musicologist, Richard Taruskin is a cultural critic who deserves non-scholarly readers. His brilliant and alarmingly timely book Defining Russia Musically is about the battle for a nation's soul--fought between Europe and Asia, modernity and primitivism--in the music of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich."--Peter Conrad, The Observer "Taruskin's hallmarks are evident throughout: research of almost astonishing breadth, impatience with facile views and those who propound them, and contempt for formalist modes of analysis that ignore the extramusical. This is an important, challenging book; no other book in English covers this ground with equal depth or brilliance."--Choice "When this controversial book first appeared in hardback, it sparked a debate ... both because of and despite the way it tore into big names in the musicological world. Now it seems like a landmark... Richard Taruskin raises important questions about how cultural and artistic judgements are made."--Literary ReviewTable of ContentsOthers: A Mythology and a Demurrer (By Way of Preface)Pt. IDefining Russia Musically (Seven Mini-Essays)11N. A. Lvov and the Folk32M. I. Glinka and the State253P. I. Chaikovsky and the Ghetto484Who Am I? (And Who Are You?)615Safe Harbors816After Everything997Objectives105Pt. IISelf and Other1118How the Acorn Took Root1139"Entoiling the Falconet"15210Ital'yanshchina186Pt. IIIHermeneutics of Russian Music: Four Cruxes23711Chaikovsky and the Human: A Centennial Essay23912Scriabin and the Superhuman: A Millennial Essay30813Stravinsky and the Subhuman36014Shostakovich and the Inhuman468Index545

Read more less

Book SynopsisIt was the year their records were burned in America after John’s explosive claim that the group was "more popular than Jesus," the year they were hounded out of the Philippines for "snubbing" its First Lady, the year John met Yoko Ono, and the year Paul conceived the idea for Sgt.Trade Review"A pleasing romp through the Beatles' annus mirabilis...Turner does a nice job of capturing them at their best." -- Kirkus Reviews "Reading Beatles '66, I'm right there-and where else would you want to be if you love music?" -- Bono "1966 was a crucial year in the Beatles' amazing journey from being the Fab Four to becoming the princes of psychedelia...By concentrating on just this one year, Steve Turner has been able to examine every influence, document every detail, and fit the jigsaw together. An extraordinary achievement." -- Barry Miles, author of Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now and In the Sixties "1966 was the year of my marriage to George, our first visit to India, and the Beatles' last concert. It was a really exciting time of innovation and exploration- the world, our oyster. Everything is captured most vividly and in such detail in this book. " -- Pattie Boyd "A fascinating dissection of these best and worst of times for the Beatles. Steve Turner's research is impressive." -- Philip Norman, author of Shout! The True Story of the Beatles, John Lennon: The Life, and Paul McCartney: The Biography "The most comprehensive coverage of Revolver and the events in the Beatles' lives and times in 1966. Splendid!" -- Tony Bramwell, author of Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles "Turner succeeds in creating an illuminating portrait of the Beatles, both as a band and as individual artists." -- Publishers Weekly "This book guides Beatles fans through that year in an engaging, interesting and compelling way. Beatles '66 is a major achievement-for Beatles fans, yes of course, but also for anyone interested in how creativity works and is affected by its surroundings." -- New York Journal of Books "Turner's well-researched, in-depth, quote- and photo-filled precis will thrill all Beatles fans." -- Booklist "What music journalist Turner brings...is fantastic access (the book draws upon his interviews with The Beatles, as well as producer George Martin and George Harrison's mentor Ravi Shankar) and an extraordinary, Peter Guralnick-like (Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley) attention to detail." -- USA Today "Turner tackles the year from all angles, incorporating a wealth of source material and new quotes from people involved to shed some fresh light on these incidents ... This book is the work of an expert, and expertly written at that." -- Paste Magazine "A wonderfully compelling look into the year that changed everything for the band." -- BookPage "This is a Beatles book to read many times. An extraordinary book." -- Beatles Magazine

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Music journalist Azerrad provides an electric revision to his 1993 account of the defining band of the grunge movement. (...) The band’s myriad fans will be rapt." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) Thirty years after its original publication, rock writer Azerrad (Our Band Could Be Your Life) updates and nearly doubles the number of pages of his groundbreaking Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana. The author intersperses hundreds of new, detailed paragraphs throughout the original text to amplify and clarify the earlier material. Most satisfying, he adds a lengthy epilogue which deals with events that happened after the 1991 release of the album Nevermind, including Kurt Cobain’s last months and tragic death in 1994. New material includes the Nirvana tours and practice sessions that Azerrad attended; Cobain’s meeting with one of his heroes, William Burroughs; the telltale signs that pointed to Cobain’s self-destructive impulses and his eventual death; and the utter remorse that Azerrad and other insiders felt after Cobain’s suicide at age 27. VERDICT (...) Nirvana fans will want to read it. — Library Journal (starred review) "Michael Azerrad has always demonstrated a passionate feeling for the ideas, the ambitions, that drive the notable moments of recent musical history. But this annotated edition of his earlier book, which was already a very successful biography, breaks out even further into high art. He's the perfect narrator, now, for a very important question, perhaps increasingly forgotten: why was punk important and how do we talk about it now? The urgencies of this question are everywhere in this powerful, uncertain, and profoundly human work. Azzerad's restless plunging onward, represents the further entanglement in deep, fraught, endangered wisdom." — Rick Moody, bestselling author of The Ice Storm and Hotels of North America “Enriched with new anecdotes, insights and info-morsels, this super-expanded Michael Azerrad classic is a great story made even more gripping. Nirvana’s underground-overground arc becomes a prism for understanding an entire era of rock music and pop culture.” — Simon Reynolds, author of Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-84 "Essential for Nirvana fans." — Kirkus Reviews "A fascinating examination of a band's rise and demise; life and death, personality flaws and mistakes and the ways in which someone in the public eye deals with them" — Culture Catch “Veteran music scribe Michael Azerrad’s absorbing, admirable and deeply personal sequel to his acclaimed 1993 bio Come As You Are: The Story Of Nirvana. (...) [This] might be the most fully rounded portrait of the artist to date” — Tinnitist

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn den 1920er-Jahren gerät nicht nur die Welt, sondern auch die Musik und das Musikleben ins Taumeln: zwischen Krise und Krieg, Abschottung und Austausch, dem resignativen Blick zurück und neuer Dynamik. Wie eng Musik und Gesellschaft miteinander verflochten sind, zeigt das Jahr 1923. Geprägt ist es durch Geschehnisse, Debatten und Entwicklungen, die uns auch heute noch beschäftigen.Im besetzten Ruhrgebiet wird Musik zu einem Mittel des politischen Kampfes; in der von der Hyperinflation erschütterten Weimarer Republik verschärft sich die Krise des Konzertlebens und der Kartenpreis steigt im Herbst auf 200 Milliarden Mark; in den USA machen afroamerikanische Blues- und Jazz-Größen wie Bessie Smith, oder Louis Armstrong im Rahmen der sogenannten „race records“ ihre ersten Schallplattenaufnahmen; In Wien vollendet Arnold Schönberg seine ersten zwölftönigen Werke; In Paris schockiert Igor Strawinsky die Avantgarde mit seinem neoklassizistischen Bläseroktett und in Budapest setzt Béla Bartók mit seiner Tanz-Suite ein musikalisches Zeichen gegen den Nationalismus. Im Berliner Voxhaus wird mit der Ausstrahlung der ersten Funkstunde auf dem Höhepunkt der politischen und ökonomischen Krise das Zeitalter des öffentlichen Rundfunks in Deutschland eingeläutet.- Das Buch von Tobias Bleek erzählt auf faszinierende Weise, wie die Musik in das kulturelle, gesellschaftliche und politische Leben dieses Jahres der Extreme eingebettet ist.Trade Review“... Wie vielfältig und dramatisch die politischen Ereignisse in Europa um das Jahr 1923 waren und wie heterogen gleichzeitig künstlerische Strömungen, Trends und Erfindungen, das weiß dieses Buch beeindruckend zu schildern.” (Hans Georg Nicklaus, in: OE1, oe1.ORF.at, 22. September 2023)“... Tobias Bleek hat diese belangvollen Ereignisse und wegweisenden Innovationen sorgfältig und gründlich untersucht und bis aufs Einzelne zu Papier gebracht. Doch damit nicht genug. Denn darüber hinaus setzt er sie in einen Kontext zu den politischen, gesellschaftlichen und wirtschaftlichen Geschehnissen als da sind etwa Migration, Antisemitismus, Rassismus und Militarismus. Des Weiteren zeigt er auf, welche Wirkung sie auf die Musiker, Komponisten und deren Kompositionen ausübten. … Flüssig und allgemeinverständlich ist der Band verfasst und ist somit eine fesselnde Lektüre.” (Hartmut Sassenhausen, in: O-Ton, o-ton.online, 18. August 2023)“... Das anregende, elegant geschriebene Buch legt die erhebliche Wechselwirkung zwischen Musik, Gesellschaft und Politik dar. Diese Fundgrube für musik- wie historisch Interessierte mit Literaturverzeichnis, zahlreichen Anmerkung und einem Register wird dringend empfohlen.” (Johannes Vesper, in: Musenblätter, musenblaetter.de, 15. August 2023)“... Bleeks Buch liest sich nicht nur wie ein (dazu präzise mit historischen Aufnahmen bebilderter) Roman, sondern ist darüber hinaus pointiert und witzig. … Der Zoom von «allgemeiner» Geschichte im Großen zur Musik im Kleinen»: Er funktioniert an jeder Stelle dieses vergnüglich zu lesenden und doch intensiv immersiven Buches. Dabei holt Bleek den Leser immer von der Haltestelle richtig vermuteten Vorwissens ab ...” (Arno Lücker, in: Opernwelt, August 2023)“Noch ein Band zu den Zwanzigern? – ja, diesen gern! … eine sehr lebendige Kulturgeschichte zu einer Zeit, die nicht nur musikalisch in alle denkbaren Richtungen explodierte.” (Michael Wackerbauer, in: Neue Musikzeitung, Juni 2023) “... Endlich gibt es eines der beliebten „Jahresbücher“ auch für die Musik. ... Bleek behandelt das krisenhafte Umbruchsjahr zum einen sehr strukturiert ... Zum enorm sinnlichen Erlebnis wird die Lektüre zum anderen durch „eine Vielzahl historischer Quellen: Briefe, Tagebücher und andere private Aufzeichnungen, Artikel aus Zeitungen und Journalen, Fotografien und Bilder. Schallplatten, historische Notendrucke und Musikmanuskripte, Programmzettel, Annoncen, Eintrittskarten ...” (Ingo Hoddick, in: das Orchester, Heft 12, 2023)“... Bewundernswert ist ... sein Buch sowohl für eine Leserschaft ohne spezielle Fachkenntnis oder Studium als auch für ein wissenschaftlich gebildetes Publikum zu schreiben, weshalb es für alle Musik- und Kulturinteressierten lesenswert ist. Ein Anhang mit Hunderten von Anmerkungen, einem ausführlichen Literatur- und Quellenverzeichnis sowie Register runden dieses überaus spannend geschriebene, sehr empfehlenswerte Buch ab.” (Michael van Gee, in: Jazz ´n´ More, Das Schweizer Jazz & Blues Magazin, Heft 6, 2023)Table of ContentsSelbsterneuerung eines Migranten: Igor Strawinskys Metamorphosen.- Komponieren in Zeiten des Nationalismus: Béla Bartóks Tanz-Suite im kulturpolitischen Kontext.- „deutsche Treue … und deutscher Sang“: Die Nationalhymne und Musik in Zeiten der Ruhrbesetzung.- Black Music Matters – Bessie Smith erobert den Tonträgermarkt.- Von der Peripherie ins Zentrum – Louis Armstrong, Joe Oliver, Lilian Hardin und die Creole Jazz Band.- Arnold Schönberg und die „Hegemonie der deutschen Musik“: Die Entwicklung der Zwölftontechnik als Kompositionsverfahren und kulturpolitisches Projekt.- Eine Konzertkarte für 200 Milliarden Mark – Musikleben in Zeiten der Hyperinflation – „Start up“ am Küchentisch: Karl Vötterle gründet den Bärenreiter-Verlag.- Fritz Kreisler im Äther – Medienwelten 1923.

Read more less

Book SynopsisNoted organist and scholar Anthony Hammond tells the full story, for the first time, of one of the great organists of the twentieth century. Described by his teacher Marcel Dupré as "a phenomenon without equal in the history of the contemporary organ," Pierre Cochereau is considered one of the twentieth century's greatest French organists.This book tells, for the firsttime, the full story of of his extraordinary life and glittering, worldwide career. In 1955 Cochereau was appointed Organiste Titulaire at Notre-Dame de Paris, where he restored the cathedral's musical glory and oversawa far-reaching and controversial transformation of its organ. As a recitalist, he toured South America, Australia, Asia, Canada, and Europe in addition to twenty-five tours of the United States. He was the first western organist to perform in the former Soviet Union., played with many major orchestras under the batons of distinguished conductors, participated in numerous music festivals in Europe, made over eighty recordings, and was one of the founders of the Chartres International Organ Competition. He was honored several times for his achievements, including being named an Officer of the Legion of Honor (1978). A tireless campaigner for standards in music education, Cochereau also served as director at many of France's prominent conservatories, including Le Mans, Lyons, and Nice, which under his directorhsip became one of the leading music schools in France. Biographer AnthonyHammond draws from a variety of of prominent primary sources, notably Marcel Dupré's papers in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, but also from Cochereau's surviving family and friends, and uses recordings and previously overlooked archive films in the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel, France to construct this definitive account and critical appraisal of one of France's most distinguished organists. Anthony Hammond is an English concert organist, improviser, and musicologist who specializes in French Romantic and twentieth-century organ music.Trade ReviewA layered and affectionate portrait. . . Figure 4.4, modestly described as 'summariz(ing) the essential features of Cochereau's style, is in fact a tiny masterpiece. . . . Hammond's manner of discussing improvisation is readable and practical. . . . His writing is sharp and deeply knowledgeable, [with] inspiring originality and enormous energy. Anthony Hammond makes me think of a young Charles Rosen, enthusiastic and sincere, . . . an advocate for performance as an intellectual act. -- Christina Linklater * MUSIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NOTES *A compelling read for all organists and, especially today, for the new breed of improvisers. . . . . In the discussions of Cochereau the improviser the story really comes to life. . . . A fine tribute to one of the 20th century's true musical geniuses--and a great read. -- Rollin Smith * THE AMERICAN ORGANIST *Fascinating and welcome. . . . Daring, brave, and brilliant. . . . Defines and reintroduces us to a spectacular church musician, organist, educator, and 'Premier Prix' in all his accomplishments. . . . Be sure to read this charming and intelligent book. -- William Tortolano * PASTORAL MUSIC *Fascinating. . . . A most respectful account of his compositions, at a length and thoroughness to satisfy anyone as keen on the French conception of organ-music and organ-playing as he clearly is. -- Peter Williams * MUSICAL TIMES *Hammond here offers a thorough account of the work of this passionate, attractive, and generous artist, . . . showi[ng] how Pierre Cochereau's legacy would inspire generations to come. . . . Can be consulted with great interest even by non-English-speakers. -- Carolyn Shuster Fournier * ORGUES NOUVELLES *In this most welcome first biography of Pierre Cochereau, Anthony Hammond gives us just what one would hope for: a detailed account of Cochereau's life, a thorough look at the influences that shaped his work, a valuable assessment of his craft as an interpreter, and new understanding of his art as an improviser. --Lawrence Archbold, Carleton College * . *'A model of scholarly research, Pierre Cochereau's legendary career is extensively recounted and the influence forming his mature style as an improviser and composer expertly documented. The post-1955 history of the Notre-Dame organ is by far the most accurate account in print today. -- Jesse Eschbach, University of North TexasTable of ContentsIntroduction Cochereau: The Life and Career of the Organist of Notre-Dame An Apostolic Succession?-Studies with Marcel Dupré Pierre Cochereau as Interpreter The Musical Language of Pierre Cochereau The Improvisations of Pierre Cochereau In Conclusion: The Legacy of Pierre Cochereau Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe definitive account of the life and music of Hungary’s greatest twentieth-century composerTrade Review“David Cooper offers a rounded, all-encompassing portrait of the man and the musician in this authoritative biography”—Stringendo'Béla Bartók was without a doubt one of the most important composers of the twentieth century. Outside of his native country Hungary, there have been relatively few books devoted to his life and works. David Cooper's comprehensive study of Bartók?'s ?oeuvre is a most welcome addition to the canon. Cooper justly concentrates on the music, introducing and analysing each and every composition, starting with the very early works. He also provides the appropriate historical background that is absolutely necessary to comprehend the man and his music. Bartók's life is a rare example of artistic progress and of uncompromising integrity. He is one of the giants in the history of music, a fact that this book will duly confirm.' - Sir Andras Schiff

Read more less

Book SynopsisU2 planted the seeds for The Joshua Tree during an existential journey through America. As Irishmen in the 1970s, the band grew up with the belief that America was a place of freedom and prosperity, a symbol of hope and a refuge for all people. However, global politics of the 1980s undermined that impression and fostered hypocritical policies that manipulated Americans and devastated people around the world. Originally conceived as The Two Americas, The Joshua Tree was U2''s critique of America. Rather than living up to the ideal that the country was an idea that belongs to people who need it most, the band found that America sacrificed equality and justice for populism and fascism. This book explores the political, social, and cultural themes rooted in The Joshua Tree when it was originally released in 1987 and how those themes resonated as a response to the election of Donald Trump when U2 toured for the album''s 30th anniversary. The author juxtaposes the band''s ex

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom his own adolescence, when his allegiance was to punk rock, to his work as one of the essential voices of our time on music and culture at the New York Times and the New Yorker, Kelefa Sanneh has made a deep study of how our popular music unites and divides us. Distilling a career's worth of knowledge, Sanneh explores the tribes music forms, and how its genres, shape-shifting across the years, give us a way to track larger forces and concerns.He debunks cherished myths, reappraises beloved heroes and upends familiar ideas of musical greatness, arguing that sometimes the best popular music isn't transcendent: it expresses our grudges as well as our hopes, and is motivated by greed as well as inspiration. Throughout, race is a powerful touchstone: just as there's always been a 'Black' audience and a 'white' audience (with some overlap) there is Black music and white music and a whole lot of expropriation.This is a book to shock and awe the deepest music nerd, and at the same time to work as a heady gateway drug for the uninitiated.Trade ReviewThe most elegant history of popular music ever written . . . Sanneh not only delivers a coolly dazzling overview of the battlefields of genre but also revels open-heartedly in the music itself, his taste unbound by dogma or prejudice. The operative word is keen: zealous in spirit, exact in execution, ferociously acute from the first sentence to the last -- ALEX ROSS * * author of The Rest is Noise * *Kelefa Sanneh has achieved the impossible. Major Labels somehow manages to unspool everything you need to know about 50 years of music, but more impressively, he makes you care about all of it. Even the stuff you don't care about. It's funny, it's personal, and as a piece of writing the book borders on poetry -- DAVID LETTERMANAn intellectually rigorous retelling of rock and pop history * * The Times, Best Books of the Year * *The most wide-ranging music book of the year . . . elegantly written * * Herald, Music Books of the Year * *Intriguing, controversial, personal . . . a unique and absorbing read * * Guardian * *The book is immensely readable, and full of rich detail * * Independent * *This is a long-haul read, yet charmingly conducted in that languid, laconic New Yorker style that makes such a mammoth undertaking even possible. Its kick is to sew into the stories some near hidden gems - and socking ones too -- ANNIE NIGHTINGALESanneh's hospitable prose makes understanding this labyrinthine history feel like an adventure * * Guardian * *Entertaining, diligent . . . His observations are always fresh and thought-provoking, and presented with clarity and wit * * MOJO * *Inside this big, ambitious hybrid book was a smaller, more personal and altogether more compelling exploration of belonging and identity through music * * Observer * *

Read more less

Book SynopsisExactly what does a conductor do in front of an orchestra? Internationally renowned conductor Christopher Seaman offers lively and informative answers in this wise yet humorous book. What does a conductor actually do? How much effect does he or she have? Can the orchestra manage without one? Why don't the players look at the conductor more? Is it necessary for the conductor to play every instrument? What about interpretation? What happens at rehearsals? Why do some conductors "thrash around" more than others? Who's the boss in a concerto: the soloist or the conductor? These are some of the questions that receive lively andinformative answers in this book by renowned conductor Christopher Seaman. Composed of short articles on individual topics, it is accessible and easy to consult. Each article begins with an anecdote or saying and ends with quotations from musicians, often expressing opposing views. There are many books on the art of conducting, but none like this. Music lovers wondering what the figure on the podium actually does, and aspiring conductors eager to learn more about the art and craft of leading an orchestra, will all treasure this wise yet humorous book. Christopher Seaman has been successful at both ends of the baton. After four years as principal timpanist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, he was appointed principal conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and has enjoyed a busy international conducting career for over forty years. He is now Conductor Laureate for Life of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, New York, and he continues to bring great music and wise words to audiences, students, and readers around the world.Trade Review[Seaman's] experience is wonderfully crystallized in the pithy observations here. TLS [Michael Downes] -- Michael Downes * TLS *Engaging, uncomplicated overview of the conductor's role ... Very readable, with some good jokes, hoary anecdotes and nice analogies. * CLASSICAL MUSIC's Books of the Year, December 2013 *Chosen by Financial Times as a Classical Music Book of the Year * . *One of Classical Music's Best Books of the Year * . *With humor, clarity, and wisdom, Christopher Seaman gives insight into the mind of a conductor. A feast of inside scoops for music lovers. -- -- Yo-Yo Ma, cellist and Artistic Director of the Silk Road Project * Yo-Yo Ma, cellist and Artistic Director of the Silk Road Project *This book is simply typical Christopher, something I would consider one of the highest compliments. Typical of Christopher to combine so much wisdom with so much wit. Required reading, I think, and one of the friendliest books about music ever penned. -- -- Sir Simon Rattle, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra * Sir Simon Rattle, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra *To hear the human truths from an experienced music director, enriched by examples from his life, is marvelously illuminating. I learned many little things and some big ones. -- -- Norman Lebrecht, author and criticChristopher Seaman, who is renowned for his teaching work at the Guildhall School of Music, and has conducted at the highest level, provides a barrage of straight answers. Most are directed towards real would-be conductors, rather than bedroom-mirror amateurs, but there's plenty for the outsider looking in. . . . The conductor's work is not often discussed in such plain detail. Conducting is 'like riding a horse not driving a car'. A tighter grip on the baton produces a harder tone. Keeping the arms moving upward very slowly can restrain an audience's desire to rush to clap after a quiet ending. . . . Demystifies the art and the figure of the conductor. -- James McConnachie http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/8966601/inside-conducting-by-christopher-seaman-a-review/'>Full Review * THE SPECTATOR *The art of conducting is hard to nail but Christopher Seaman does just that in exemplary fashion. . . . Interesting reading for all lovers of music, students of conducting as well as fellow professionals. . . . Serious practical application and in-depth musicological insight laced with the author's engaging humour. Highly recommended. -- Christopher Fifield * MUSICWEB-INTERNATIONAL *Table of ContentsBackground Harmony Memory Perfect Pitch Training Conductors Youth Orchestras Balance Choral Works Concerto Accompaniment Ear Eye Contact Opera Rehearsing Baton Beat Behind-the-Beat Playing Directing from the Harpsichord Economy of Gesture, Cueing, Use of the Left Hand Auditions Chamber Orchestras Chief Conductor Friend or Boss? Orchestral Playing Role of Concertmaster Solos in an Orchestral Piece Stage Settings Strings Winds Timpani and Percussion Composers Learning Scores, Interpretation Marking Parts Performance Practice Shape and Structure Tempo and Metronome Addressing the Audience Applause, Platform Demeanor, Coughing Program Planning Career and Agents Critics Gender Guest Conducting Orchestra Managements Recording Travel and Packing Concentration Control and Power Ego Languages Nervousness Our Heritage: Some Ancestors and My Links with Them Suggested Reading Musical Example Credits A Note on the Illustrations Index of Conductors

Read more less

Book SynopsisA fully updated edition of the leading reference work on musical key characteristics during the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. This is a revised second edition of Dr. Steblin's important work on key characteristics, first published in 1983 by UMI Research Press and re-issued by the University of Rochester Press in 1996. The revision has been limited to athorough correction and update of the material in the first edition, so as to not disrupt the content and organization, for which the book has been praised as a significant and noteworthy reference for both scholars and research students alike. The book discusses the extra-musical meanings associated with various musical keys by ancient Greek and medieval-renaissance theorists and in particular composers and writers on music in the Baroque, Classical,and early Romantic periods. Chapters focus on Mattheson's extensive key descriptions from 1713, the Rameau-Rousseau and Marpurg-Kirnberger controversies regarding unequal versus equal temperaments, and C.F.D. Schubart's influential list based on the sharp-flat [bright-dark] principle of key-distinctions. Rita Katherine Steblin is a world-renowned music scholar, living and working in Vienna.Table of ContentsThe Ancient Greeks and the Doctrine of Ethos The Medieval-Renaissance Modes and Their Affects The Transition from Modality to Tonality: Early French Key Characteristics Johann Mattheson and the Early Eighteenth-Century German Approach to Key Characteristics Rameau and Rousseau: Equal Temperament versus Unequal Temperament Marpurg versus Kimberger: The Tuning Controversy in Germany Psychological Factors: The Sharp-Flat Principle Physical Factors: The Properties of Instruments Tradition and Key Characteristics in the Early Nineteenth Century

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn authoritative survey of music and its context in the Renaissance. The sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries - the so-called Golden Age of Polyphony - represent a time of great change and development in European music, with the flourishing of Orlando di Lasso, Palestrina, Byrd, Victoria, Monteverdi and Schütz among others. The chapters of this book, contributed by established scholars on subjects within their fields of expertise, deal with polyphonic music - sacred and secular, vocal and instrumental - during this period. The volume offers chronological surveys of national musical cultures (in Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany, England, and Spain); genre studies (Mass, motet, madrigal, chanson, instrumental music, opera); and is completed with essays on intellectual and cultural developments and concepts relevant to music (music theory, printing, the Protestant Reformation and the corresponding Catholic movement, humanism, concepts of "Renaissance" and "Baroque"). It thus provides a complete overview of the music and its context. Contributors: GARY TOMLINSON, JAMES HAAR, TIM CARTER, GIULIO ONGARO, NOEL O'REGAN, ALLAN ATLAS, ANTHONY CUMMINGS, RICHARD FREEDMAN, JEANICE BROOKS,DAVID TUNLEY, KATE VAN ORDEN, KRISTINE FORNEY, IAIN FENLON, KAROL BERGER, PETER BERGQUIST, DAVID CROOK, ROBIN LEAVER, CRAIG MONSON, TODD BORGERDING, LOUISE K. STEIN, GIUSEPPE GERBINO, ROGER BRAY, JONATHAN WAINWRIGHT, VICTOR COELHO, KEITH POLKTrade ReviewA fine achievement. * THE CONSORT *Offers a selection of essays by many of the leading figures in the field of Renaissance music history, creating a mosaic in a carefully thought-out pattern of viewpoints and topics. The single contributions are excellent. * EARLY MUSIC *A fine book. [...] This civilised volume is highly recommended [and] excellent in content. * EARLY MUSIC REVIEW *This is an extremely useful addition to music historiography that will both aid students and provide many insights to the more general reader who feels in need of an over-arching survey of the period. -- Brian Robins * GOLDBERG *A lively and scholarly account of the multiple complexities and paradoxes that characterise this period...compelling reading with hitherto neglected areas at last gaining accessible recognition. * EARLY MUSIC TODAY *Table of ContentsRenaissance Humanism and Music - Gary Tomlinson The Concept of the Renaissance - James Haar The Concept of the Baroque - Tim Carter Italy [i], 1520-1560 - Giulio Ongaro Music in Italy [ii], 1560-1600 - T Noel O'Regan Ital [iii], 1600-1640 - Tim Carter Music for the Mass - Allan Atlas The Motet, 1520-1640 - Anthony Cummings Music in France [i], 1520-1560 - Richard Freedman France [ii], 1560-1600 - Jeanice Brooks French Music in the Early Seventeenth Century - David Tunley Chanson, 1520-1640 - Kate Van Orden Madrigal - James Haar The Netherlands [i], 1520-1560 - Kristine Forney The Netherlands [ii], 1560-1600 - Kristine Forney The Netherlands [iii], 1600-1640 - Kristine Forney Music, Print and Society in Sixteenth-Century Europe - Iain Fenlon Concepts and Developments in Music Theory - Karol Berger German Music [i], 1520-1560 - Peter Bergquist German Music [ii], 1560-1600 - Peter Bergquist Germany and Central Europe, 1600-1640 - David Crook The Reformation and Music - Robin Leaver Renewal, Reform, and Reaction in Catholic Music - Craig Monson Spain [i-ii], 1530-1600 - Todd Borgerding and Louise K Stein Spain [iii], 1600-1640 - Louise K Stein Early Opera: the Initial Stage - Iain Fenlon Music in England before 1560 - Roger Bray Music in England [ii], 1560-1600 - Roger Bray English Music, 1603-1642 - Jonathan Wainwright Instrumental Music in Europe, 1520-1640 - Victor Coelho and Keith Polk

Read more less

Book SynopsisWithout an understanding of the conflicts of Mahler's youth one cannot truly appreciate the impulses behind the major symphonies and song cycles of his later years. Available again for a new generation of Mahlerians, Donald Mitchell's famous study of the composer's early life and music was greeted as a major advance on its first appearance in 1958. Revised and updated in the early 1980s, thispaperback edition includes a new introduction by the author to bring this classic work once again to the forefront of Mahler studies. From his birth in Bohemia, then part of the mighty Austro-Hungarian empire, to a surveyof his early works, many now lost, Gustav Mahler: The Early Years forms an indispensable prelude to the period of the great compositions. The conflicts which came to mark Mahler's music and personality had their beginningsin his childhood and youth. Without understanding the territorial, social and familial conflicts of this time one cannot truly appreciate the impulses behind the major symphonies and song cycles of his later years. DONALD MITCHELL was born in 1925. Two composers have been central to his writings on music, Gustav Mahler and Benjamin Britten. His three studies of Mahler, The Early Years (1958), The Wunderhorn Years (1975), and Songs and Symphonies of Life and Death (1985), are among the enduring monuments of postwar Mahler literature. He was founder Professor of Music at the University of Sussex (1971-76), was visiting Professor atKing's College, London, and is currently a visiting Professor at the Universities of Sussex and York.

Read more less

Book SynopsisNew research throws light on the history of the viol after Purcell, including its revival in the late eighteenth century through Charles Frederick Abel. It is normally thought that the bass viol or viola da gamba dropped out of British musical life in the 1690s, and that Henry Purcell was the last composer to write for it. Peter Holman shows how the gamba changed its role and function in the Restoration period under the influence of foreign music and musicians; how it was played and composed for by the circle of immigrant musicians around Handel; how it was part of the fashion for exotic instruments in themiddle of the century; and how the presence in London of its greatest eighteenth-century exponent, Charles Frederick Abel, sparked off a revival in the 1760s and 70s. Later chapters investigate the gamba's role as an emblem of sensibility among aristocrats, artists and intellectuals, including the Countess of Pembroke, Sir Edward Walpole, Ann Ford, Laurence Sterne, Thomas Gainsborough and Benjamin Franklin, and trace Abel's influence and legacy farinto the nineteenth century. A concluding chapter is concerned with its role in the developing early music movement, culminating with Arnold Dolmetsch's first London concerts with old instruments in 1890. PETER HOLMAN is Professor Emeritus of Historical Musicology at Leeds University, and director of The Parley of Instruments, the choir Psalmody, and the Suffolk Villages Festival.Trade Review[O]utstanding research [...] a valuable reference book that I will no doubt consult again and again. * EIGHTEENTH CENTURY MUSIC *[A] fascinating study that has significantly enlightened the dark ages of a much loved instrument. * MUSIC & LETTERS *[Eine] spannenede und extreme informative Abhandlung. * VIOLA DA GAMBA *This is a book not only for those interested in the viola da gamba but also in musical social history in Britain from the 17th to the end of the 19th century. It is rich in scholarly detail and is entertaining to read. * STRINGENDO *[B]eautifully presented and Holman's lucid and elegant prose is a joy to read. [...] This is a book suitable for players and scholars alike, which makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the viol; I recommend it wholeheartedly. * EARLY MUSIC *[This] volume draws on a truly vast range of documentation [...] and is written in an unpretentious, descriptive prose [...] the coverage is impressive and its result will be of use in many connections: indeed a reference work. * MUSICAL TIMES *There are so many new insights into the life of the viol in this book [...] that the reader is put on a steep learning curve and sent on a truly fascinating journey through the centuries. [...] it can easily be used as a reference book by delving into the sub-chapters or consulting the very comprehensive index, or be read like an exciting novel. * THE CONSORT *No one better could have written this book, which is superb. [...] Applying to the task his extensive research, close acquaintance with the instruments and their music, stellar command of the literature, and lively narrative, Holman demonstrates the extent to which viol playing in Britain survived. * CHOICE *Holman has the knack of finding interesting information and writing interestingly about it. [...] It is a book to dip into. * EARLY MUSIC REVIEW *

Read more less