What is the relationship between performance and recording? What is the impact of recording on the lives of musicians? Comparison of the lives of musicians and audiences in the years before recordings with those of today. Survey of the changing attitudes toward freedom of expression, the globalization of performing styles and the rise of the period instrument movement.
Listeners have enjoyed classical music recordings for more than a century, yet important issues about recorded performances have been little explored. What is the relationship between performance and recording? How are modern audiences affected by the trends set in motion by the recording era? What is the impact of recordings on the lives of musicians? In this wide-ranging book, Robert Philip extends the scope of his earlier pioneering book, "Early Recordings and Musical Style: Changing Tastes in Instrumental Performance 1900-1950." Philip here considers the interaction between music-making and recording throughout the entire twentieth century. The author compares the lives of musicians and audiences in the years before recordings with those of today. He examines such diverse and sometimes contentious topics as changing attitudes toward freedom of expression, the authority of recordings made by or approved by composers, the globalization of performing styles, and the rise of the period instrument movement. Philip concludes with a thought-provoking discussion of the future of classical music performance.
A brief but comprehensive examination of how records are made, marketed, and sold. This new edition takes into account the massive changes in the recording industry occurring today due to the revolution of music on the web.
In this fascinating study, Robert Philip argues that recordings of the early twentieth-century provide an important, and hitherto neglected, resource in the history of musical performance.
An invaluable guide for lovers of classical music designed to enhance their enjoyment of the core orchestral repertoire from 1700 to 1950 Robert Philip, scholar, broadcaster, and musician, has compiled an essential handbook for lovers of classical music, designed to enhance their listening experience to the full. Covering four hundred works by sixty-eight composers from Corelli to Shostakovich, this engaging companion explores and unpacks the most frequently performed works, including symphonies, concertos, overtures, suites, and ballet scores. It offers intriguing details about each piece while avoiding technical terminology that might frustrate the non-specialist reader. Philip identifies key features in each work, as well as subtleties and surprises that await the attentive listener, and he includes enough background and biographical information to illuminate the composer’s intentions. Organized alphabetically from Bach to Webern, this compendium will be indispensable for classical music enthusiasts, whether in the concert hall or enjoying recordings at home.
In 1915, Thomas Edison proclaimed that he could record a live performance and reproduce it perfectly, shocking audiences who found themselves unable to tell whether what they were hearing was an Edison Diamond Disc or a flesh-and-blood musician. Today, the equation is reversed. Whereas Edison proposed that a real performance could be rebuilt with absolute perfection, Pro Tools and digital samplers now allow musicians and engineers to create the illusion of performances that never were. In between lies a century of sonic exploration into the balance between the real and the represented. Tracing the contours of this history, Greg Milner takes us through the major breakthroughs and glorious failures in the art and science of recording. An American soldier monitoring Nazi radio transmissions stumbles onto the open yet revolutionary secret of magnetic tape. Japanese and Dutch researchers build a first-generation digital audio format and watch as their "compact disc" is marketed by the music industry as the second coming of Edison yet derided as heretical by analog loyalists. The music world becomes addicted to volume in the nineties and fights a self-defeating "loudness war" to get its fix. From Les Paul to Phil Spector to King Tubby, from vinyl to pirated CDs to iPods, Milner's Perfecting Sound Forever pulls apart musical history to answer a crucial question: Should a recording document reality as faithfully as possible, or should it improve upon or somehow transcend the music it records? The answers he uncovers will change the very way we think about music.
Chronicles the creation of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man—reprinted now as the Broadway Edition Composer Meredith Willson described The Music Man as “an Iowan’s attempt to pay tribute to his home state.” Now featuring a new foreword by noted singer and educator Michael Feinstein, this book presents Willson’s reflections on the ups and downs, surprises and disappointments, and finally successes of making one of America’s most popular musicals. Willson’s whimsical, personable writing style brings readers back in time with him to the 1950s to experience firsthand the exciting trials and tribulations of creating a Broadway masterpiece. Fresh admiration of the musical—and the man behind the music—is sure to result.
Audio recordings are the calling card with which musicians share and promote their work so a knowledge of recording techniques and technologies is essential to the 21st century musician. Recording On a Budget provides a comprehensive introduction to the recording arts from a budget-conscious perspective. Written by a professional musician and educator, this book is ideal for musicians, educators, music students, songwriters and hobbyists. A central theme of the book is that it is possible to make quality recordings with a modest selection of recording tools. Chapters cover the selection and use of all of the components of a project studio including microphones, mixer, computer, digital audio workstation software, and signal processors. Additional chapters provide a solid foundation in acoustics, audio recording, podcasting, mixing and mastering. The final chapter of the book features do-it-yourself projects that can be completed with a modest selection of tools. Most musicians have developed their ears to a high level so a special focus is placed on the development of recording technique through experimentation and the application of critical listening skills. The book is supported by an online resource of nearly 250 audio excerpts detailing all of the primary topics of the book. Recording on a Budget is ideal for: · Musicians who are interested in recording a quality CD or demo · Choir, orchestra, and band directors who want to record vocal or instrumental ensemble · Student performers and composers who wish to record a performance or produce their own music · Bands interested in recording live concerts or recording an album in a home studio · Videographers interested in recording location sound, voice-overs or music · Songwriters who wish to produce a quality demo · Podcasters and ALL who want to make quality recordings without spending fortunes on equipment. Readers will learn · to cut budget corners without sacrificing audio quality · to choose the right microphone for the job (and where to place it) · to assemble an equipment rack, mixing desk, and speakers stand · to avoid common mistakes · And to be creative and have fun with recording technology Visit the companion website at www.oup.com/us/recordingonabudget for free selection of sample recordings!
