The Life of Bellini (Musical Lives) John Rosselli Cambridge University Press, 1997 Vincenzo Bellini's physical beauty, boundless success, and untimely death at the age of thirty-three combined to give him instant mythical status. In John Rosselli's new account, the first in English in twenty-five years, of his life and music, a more accurate view of Bellini emerges. Carefully sorting through fact, legend and even spurious documentation, Rosselli reassesses Bellini's ...             The Life of Verdi (Musical Lives) John Rosselli Cambridge University Press, 2000 Verdi's long life spanned Napoleonic rule and the age of broadcasting. In this new biography, John Rosselli considers a boldly innovative artist whose twenty-eight operas still speak to us. He investigates Verdi's businesslike running of a landed estate as well as a highly successful career, and looks into his complex relationships with two women singers: his second wife Giuseppina Strepponi and ...             The Life of Schubert (Musical Lives)3 reviews Christopher H. Gibbs Cambridge University Press, 2000 Bringing clarity to a misunderstood composer Poor Schubert! The Viennese-born composer was little appreciated in his day, even by the circle of close friends who periodically sponsored programs of his songs and chamber music. Despite the fact that several of his friends were writers, none seem to have thought to record their memories of the ...             The Life of Mozart (Musical Lives)2 reviews John Rosselli Cambridge University Press, 1998 A brief and concise introduction to Mozart's life Being a longtime fan of Mozart's work, naturally I wanted to learn more about the man himself. Too often I have found biographies to be dull, dry, and formulaic. This book provides a fresh and fascinating look into the life of the person many consider to be the world's greatest composer. The author ...             The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs Yearbook 2004/5 (Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and Dvds Yearbook)49 reviews Ivan March, Edward Greenfield, ... Penguin (Non-Classics), 2004 The 2004/5 supplement to the 2003/4 main guide + "THE" SOURCE FOR CLASSICAL MUSIC REVIEWS + Don't buy this if... + Great help when buying classical CDs!!! + Creme de la creme             The Life of Charles Ives (Musical Lives) Stuart Feder Cambridge University Press, 1999 Ives' life (1874-1955) spanned two centuries; he grew up in the nineteenth and composed chiefly in the twentieth. His nostalgia for a simpler life in the New England town of his youth is revealed in his frequent musical quotation of songs of that earlier time: parlor and patriotic songs, hymns and gospel music that he learned from his father, a village bandmaster, and the most important influence ...             The Life of Elgar (Musical Lives)1 review Michael Kennedy Cambridge University Press, 2004 An Excellent Introduction I have had a longtime interest in the music of Sir Edward Elgar but I never knew very much about the composer or a great deal about his music, for that matter, other than his main works. With the 150th anniversary of Elgar's birth I thought it was time to learn more about his, and this book by ...             The Life of Richard Strauss (Musical Lives)1 review Bryan Gilliam Cambridge University Press, 1999 Wonderful read! I had to purchase this book for an independant study in modern operas for my senior year as an undergrad. My professor is a friend of Gilliam, and I must say his writing and research is very well done. I knew nothing of Strauss, and after I was done reading the few Chapters that I had to read, I ...             The Vintage Guide to Classical Music18 reviews Jan Swafford Vintage, 1992 "The Vintage Guide to Classical Music" by Jan Swafford - Striking a Responsive Chord + Educates and inspires + The intage Guide to Classical Music + A fantastic all-around introduction             The Life of Beethoven (Musical Lives)1 review David Wyn Jones Cambridge University Press, 1998 A Mediocre Biography This is a very mediocre biography of Beethoven. Not much more is contained here but a chronicle of concerts during Beethoven's lifetime and which of his pieces were played, and who published what pieces and how much Beethoven was paid. A mere paragraph or two is given to the Heiligenstadt ...             The Life of Mahler (Musical Lives)3 reviews Peter Franklin Cambridge University Press, 1997 A good, aloof Mahler biography. + a Big little book on Mahler + A tribute to a philosophical, creative genious This biography is an excellent introduction into the life of the composer Gustav Mahler. The creative process of his symphonies and his relationship with his wife, the free-spirited Alma, is revealed in great detail, and Franklin avoids any declaration of opinion, forming assumptions through ...             The Cambridge Companion to Debussy (Cambridge Companions to Music) Cambridge University Press, 2003 Often considered the father of twentieth-century music, Debussy was a visionary whose influence is still felt. This Companion offers new insights into Debussy's character, his environment and his music, including challenging views of the roles of nature and eroticism in his life and music. While works in all genres are discussed, they are considered through the themes of sonority, rhythm, ...             If It Ain't Baroque: More Music History As It Ought To Be Taught2 reviews David W. Barber Sound And Vision, 1992 For its goal, easily a 5! + a very good sequel indeed I was unfamiliar with Barber's works and from the title expected the book to accompany my Mus 312 class on Baroque Music History and focus completely on that. (whoops) The book's real goal is a comical approach to music history in its entirety. None the less, I still read the book and enjoyed it ...             Mozart: A Penguin Life (Penguin Lives)21 reviews Peter Gay Viking Adult, 1999 Mozart's Life: Lite yet Substantial + Bravo Peter Gay + A good short life -but does not explain the miracle and mystery Peter Gay's `Mozart' is the sort of book a heavy-hitting historian like Gay writes while on holiday at the beach. Lite, witty and short, but still substantial enough to satisfy. (The same could be said for many of the excellent volumes of the Penguin Lives series--alas, now defunct.) As nearly ...             Poetics of Music in the Form of Six Lessons (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures)7 reviews Igor Stravinsky Harvard University Press, 1993 Essential reading for Stravinsky devotees, but requires some background and additional reading + Clear your writer's block + about art by an artist + From a composer's perspective.... + Essential Stravinsky             The Grove Book of Operas3 reviews Oxford University Press, USA, 2006 The Best One Stop Shop + A good source for opera plots and history + Oh, really?! The New Grove Book of Operas is the best single-volume opera reference available in English. The term "reference" deserves careful emphasis. The New Grove Book does not read like a textbook, and is best suited for individuals seeking details about specific operas rather than opera in general. It is ...             Opera and the Morbidity of Music (New York Review Books Collections)3 reviews Joseph Kerman New York Review Books, 2008 Excellent reviews and essays about Music.- + Classical Music is still alive! + Another Great Book from Joseph K Yesterday I received this book from Amazon, and already today I have finished reading it, it so fascinated me.- I am sure that I will read it again, more leisurely, many times.- In the first place it is necessary to state that of the 30 essays the first 27 are all book reviews i.e. commentaries ...             Beethoven (Revised Edition)25 reviews Maynard Solomon Schirmer Trade Books, 2001 The DEFINITIVE Beethoven biography. + TMaynard Solomon Biography of Mozart + The definitive biography. The title of my review encapsulates how I feel about this book. While honesty compells me to report that I have not completed reading this book, I have finished Edmund Morris's biography "Beethoven, the Universal Composer," and that book owes a lot to Solomon's book. Solomon goes into much ...             Mawrdew Czgowchwz (New York Review Books Classics)5 reviews James Mccourt NYRB Classics, 2002 Wonderful, but Not For Everyone + Comic masterpiece + A Triumphant Return This book is not for everyone. The prose style is dense, there are far too many characters, and the novel requires at least a passing knowledge of opera. However, the cattyness of the observations, the rhythmns of the sentences and their unexpected twists and turns, make for delightful reading. A ...             The Life of Bach (Musical Lives) Peter Williams Cambridge University Press, 2004 Like Shakespeare, J.S. Bach is known largely by his works. Peter Williams asks many questions in this examination of the man as well as the composer. What was Bach like as a youth, father, and, eventually, church elder? What music did he know and how did he compose and perform such an amazing amount? Ultimately, Williams questions the effects of unremitting acclaim on objective evaluations of ...