Shaw's Music: 1876-1890

Shaw's Music: 1876-1890

Author: Bernard Shaw

Publisher: Bodley Head

Published: 1989-01

Total Pages: 960

ISBN-13: 9780370312705

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This is the first of three volumes of musical criticisms by Bernard Shaw reflecting his great breadth of knowledge of the works of Wagner, Bach and Mozart to more contemporary British composers such as Walton, Tippett and Britten.


Shaw on Music

Shaw on Music

Author: Bernard Shaw

Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9781557831491

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This volume contains the best of Shaw's musical writing, including sections on Gluck, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Verdi, Berlioz, pieces on opera, musical analysis, oratorios, Gilbert and Sullivan, plus a long autobiographical preface, one of Shaw's most self-revealing works. The result is a book of unparalleled brilliance and grace by a writer who, according to W.H. Auden, "was probably the greatest music critic who ever lived." "For all music collections." - Library Journal


The Great Composers

The Great Composers

Author: Bernard Shaw

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 1978

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 9780520032668

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"Bernard Shaw's essays on music include some of the most scintillating ever written on the subject. In this volume, Louis Crompton has brought together Shaw's major articles on Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, and a host of other composers, articles culled from six miscellaneous volumes of criticism made up largely of untitled reviews. Concert goers and opera enthusiasts will enjoy comparing Shaw's views of familiar works with their own, and professional music critics will find much to engage them in his pungent opinions. Throughout these pages Shaw's sparkling wit is everywhere in evidence, along with the intellectual vigor that him one of the mentors of his age. Crompton's extensive introduction discusses Shaw's views on musical greatness and traces connections between his thinking on music and the social and aesthetic currents of his time."--Publisher's description.


Shaw on Shakespeare

Shaw on Shakespeare

Author: Bernard Shaw

Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9781557835611

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(Applause Books). "With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott, whom I can despise so entirely as I despise Shakespeare when I measure my mind against his." - From SHAW ON SHAKESPEARE Celebrated playwright, critic and essayist George Bernard Shaw was more like the Elizabethan master that he would ever admit. Both men were intristic dramatists who shared a rich and abiding respect for the stage. Shakespeare was the produce of a tempestuous and enlightening era under the reign of his patron, Queen Elizabeth I; while G.B.S. reflected the racy and risque spirt of the late 19th century as the champion of modern drama by playwrights like Ibsen, and, later, himself. Culled from Shaw's reviews, prefaces, letters to actors and critics, and other writings, SHAW ON SHAKESPEARE offers a fascinating and unforgettable portrait of the 16th century playwright by his most outspoken critic. This is a witty and provocative classic that combines Shaw's prodigious critical acumen with a superlative prose style second to none (except, perhaps, Shakespeare!).


The Perfect Wagnerite A Commentary On The Niblung's Ring

The Perfect Wagnerite A Commentary On The Niblung's Ring

Author: Bernard Shaw

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2023-12-01

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 9359323349

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Bernard Shaw's "The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Ring of the Niblung" is a major work. This book offers an in-depth examination of Richard Wagner's famous opera cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen." Shaw's commentary delves into the complex strata of Wagner's magnum opus, providing a multidimensional assessment that goes beyond typical music analysis. He introduces readers to Wagnerian mythology, complex character relationships, and the overarching plot, frequently through the lens of socialism and revolutionary thought. Shaw's opinion that the Ring Cycle might be viewed as a parable for societal reform is one of his core arguments. He sees the demise of the gods and the return of the ring to the Rhine as a metaphor for the inevitable collapse of repressive society systems and the possibility of a more egalitarian future. Shaw's distinct wit and intellectual depth shine through throughout the book as he connects with Wagner's work. His commentary extends beyond musical criticism to include political and philosophical implications. Shaw's approach encourages readers to evaluate Wagner's music dramas in the light of a broader cultural and historical backdrop. In conclusion, George Bernard Shaw's "The Perfect Wagnerite" is a thought-provoking and enduring investigation of Wagner's vast operatic masterpiece, providing readers with a novel perspective that mixes musical analysis with socio-political criticism.


George Bernard Shaw in Context

George Bernard Shaw in Context

Author: Brad Kent

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-10-14

Total Pages: 723

ISBN-13: 1316432165

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When George Bernard Shaw died in 1950, the world lost one of its most well-known authors, a revolutionary who was as renowned for his personality as he was for his humour, humanity, and rebellious thinking. He remains a compelling figure who deserves attention not only for how influential he was in his time, but for how relevant he is to ours. This collection sets Shaw's life and achievements in context, with forty-two scholarly essays devoted to subjects that interested him and defined his work. Contributors explore a wide range of themes, moving from factors that were formative in Shaw's life, to the artistic work that made him most famous and the institutions with which he worked, to the political and social issues that consumed much of his attention, and, finally, to his influence and reception. Presenting fresh material and arguments, this collection will point to new directions of research for future scholars.


Bernard Shaw on Music

Bernard Shaw on Music

Author: George Bernard Shaw

Publisher: Rosetta Books

Published: 2016-02-29

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 0795346891

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A collection of critical writings on music from the Nobel Prize–winning playwright behind Saint Joan and Man and Superman. The Critical Shaw: On Music is a comprehensive selection of renowned Irish playwright and Nobel Laureate Bernard Shaw’s extensive writings on a wide range of musical topics. Still recognized as one of Great Britain’s most important music critics, Shaw enriched London’s musical scene for some twenty years with his provocative, original, and penetrating reviews, before giving up music criticism to concentrate his talents on playwriting. His vast critical output encompassed opera, operetta, vocal and orchestral performance, musical theater, and oratorios, and took in major composers and performers as well as many long since forgotten names. Frequently embellished by his controversial political and social opinions, and delving as well into the nature of music criticism itself, Shaw’s reviews continue to stimulate and surprise, their depth and range setting standards that are rarely, if ever, matched today. Included in this edition is a previously unpublished draft on voice training prepared by Shaw for Vandeleur Lee, his mother’s singing teacher. The Critical Shaw series brings together, in five volumes and from a wide range of sources, selections from Bernard Shaw’s voluminous writings on topics that exercised him for the whole of his professional career: Literature, Music, Politics, Religion, and Theater. The volumes are edited by leading Shaw scholars, and all include an introduction, a chronology of Shaw’s life and works, annotated texts, and a bibliography. The series editor is L.W. Conolly, literary adviser to the Shaw Estate and former president of the International Shaw Society.


Love Among The Artists

Love Among The Artists

Author: George Bernard Shaw

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2012-08-16

Total Pages: 522

ISBN-13: 1848547323

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With his inimitable wit and sparkle, George Bernard Shaw brings us the character of Owen Jack, a salty non-conformist composer said to have been suggested by Beethoven. The relations between Jack and the other wayward bohemians of the story with the more conventional socialites around them offers shrewd insight into the nature of the artistic temperament, with its needs for a kind of commitment that overrides the everyday claims of the heart. A novel which anticipated Shaw's first plays by more than ten years, LOVE AMONG THE ARTISTS shows him already mocking the respectable morality of the Victorian society around him.


Man and Superman

Man and Superman

Author: George Bernard Shaw

Publisher:

Published: 2018-01-19

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 1531277225

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Mr. Whitefield has recently died, and his will indicates that his daughter Ann should be left in the care of two men, Roebuck Ramsden and Jack Tanner. Ramsden, a venerable old man, distrusts John Tanner, an eloquent youth with revolutionary ideas, saying "He is prodigiously fluent of speech, restless, excitable (mark the snorting nostril and the restless blue eye, just the thirty-secondth of an inch too wide open), possibly a little mad". In spite of what Ramsden says, Ann accepts Tanner as her guardian, though Tanner doesn't want the position at all. She also challenges Tanner's revolutionary beliefs with her own ideas. Despite Tanner's professed dedication to anarchy, he is unable to disarm Ann's charm, and she ultimately persuades him to marry her, choosing him over her more persistent suitor, a young man named Octavius Robinson.