"The idea of creating a counterfeit of a genuine Mozart manuscript is outrageous, but to attempt the forging of two such compositions for the purpose of a technical/musical swindle is an order of magnitude more aggressive. Yet that is exactly what Forger, a counterfeiting genius, and Librarian, an eighteenth century document specialist, decide to do, their motivation being a $20,000,000 price tag ... their choice of composition are the lost manuscripts of Mozart's clarinet concerto and his quintet for clarinet and strings." -- Book jacket.
"The idea of creating a counterfeit of a genuine Mozart manuscript is outrageous, but to attempt the forging of two such compositions for the purpose of a technical/musical swindle is an order of magnitude more aggressive. Yet that is exactly what Forger, a counterfeiting genius, and Librarian, an eighteenth century document specialist, decide to do, their motivation being a $20,000,000 price tag ... their choice of composition are the lost manuscripts of Mozart's clarinet concerto and his quintet for clarinet and strings." -- Book jacket.
The haunting beauty of Mozart's Requiem and the tragic circumstances surrounding its composition have made it a favorite among performers and listeners alike. But how much of it actually Mozart's - and how do we know? Who wrote the missing pieces? What role did his wife, Constanze, play - and what about the man who secretly commissioned the work? Who tricked whom, and who had the last laugh in this grim tale? The author, an internationally recognized expert on Mozart, traces the complex web of events and intrigue surrounding the composition of the Requiem and how it was completed after Mozart's death. In an easy-to-read style, he presents an accurate, precise, complete narrative of the dramatic story; and with a spoonful of sugar, he introduces newcomers to some of the technical problems, clues, and terminology used in reconstructing such histories.
The possibility that works of art and literature might be forged and that identity might be faked has haunted the cultural imagination for centuries. That spectre seems to have returned with a vengeance recently, with a series of celebrated hoaxes and scandals ranging from the Alan Sokal hoax article in Social Text to Binjamin Wilkomirskiâ (TM)s â oefakeâ Holocaust memoir. But as well as creating anxiety, the possibility of â oefaking itâ has now been turned into entertainment. Traditionally these activities have been dismissed as dangerous and immoral, but more recently some scholars have begun to speculate, for example, that all forms of national identity rely on forged myths of origin. Recent cultural theory has likewise called into question traditional notions of authenticity and originality in both personal identity and in works of art. Despite critical pronouncements of the death of the author and the substitution of the simulacrum for the original, however, making a distinction between the genuine and the fake continues to play a major role in our everyday understanding and evaluation of culture, law and politics. Consider, for example, the fiasco surrounding the â oeforgedâ Hitler diaries, law suits against auction houses for failing to detect forgeries in the art market, or the problem of plagiarism at universities. It still seems to matter that we can spot the difference, especially in the historical moment when we are capable of making copies that are indistinguishableâ "perhaps even better thanâ "the original. This collection of essays considers the moral, aesthetic and political questions that are raised by the long history and current prevalence of fakes and forgeries. The international team of contributors consider the issues thrown up by a wide range of examples, drawn from fields ranging from literature to art history. These case studies include little-known subjects such as Eddie Burrup, the Australian aboriginal artist who turned out to be an 81-year-old white woman, as well as new interpretations of familiar cases such as faked holocaust memoirs. The strength of the collection is that it brings together not only a wide range of cultural examples of fakes and forgeries from different historical periods, but also offers a wide variety of theoretical takes that will form a useful introduction and casebook on this growing field of inquiry.
The greatest problem in historical scholarship, theoretically and practically, is the relation between historians and their subject matter. The past is gone and historians can only study its remnants. On what basis do scholars select certain facts from the mass of data left from the past? How do they explain the interrelationship of the facts they select? What criteria do they use to evaluate their subject? The 35 volumes in this set, originally published between 1926 and 1990 discuss and answer these essential questions faced by historians. The development of historical understanding during the 18th and 19th centuries was one of the most striking features of Western culture. Both historiography and historical thinking advanced as never before. The historial movment of the 19th century was perhaps second only to the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century in transforming Western thought. One consequence was extensive organisation and professionalization of research, which the volumes in this set reflect.
(Fake Book). A comprehensive reference for all classical music lovers, the second edition of this fake book features 250 pieces added since the last edition. Imagine having one handy volume that includes everything from Renaissance music to Vivaldi to Mozart to Mendelssohn to Debussy to Stravinsky, and you have it here! We have included as much of the world's most familiar classical music as possible, assembling more than 850 beloved compositions from ballets, chamber music, choral music, concertos, operas, piano music, waltzes and more. Featuring indexes by composer, title and genre, as well as a timeline of major classical composers, this encyclopedic fake book is great to use for playing and performing, but it's also a terrific resource for concert-goers, music students and music lovers. The chords of the harmony are indicated, and lyrics, in the original language, are included where appropriate.
Does an authentic Andy Warhol painting need to be painted by Andy Warhol? Why do audiences feel outraged when they find out that scenes from their beloved blockbuster documentaries are staged? Can people move past assuming that a diamond grown in a lab is a fake? What happens when a forged painting or manuscript becomes more valuable than its original? This is a book about genuine fakes – the curious and complex objects that provoke these very sorts of questions. Genuine fakes fall into the space between things that are real and things that are not; whether or not we think that those things are authentic is a matter of perspective. Unsurprisingly, the world is full of genuine fakes – full of things that defy simple categorisation. From stories of audacious forgeries to feats of technological innovation, historian Lydia Pyne explores how the authenticity of eight genuine fakes depends on their unique combinations of history, science and culture. The stories of art forgeries, fake fossils, nature documentaries, synthetic flavours, museum exhibits, Maya codices and Palaeolithic replicas show that genuine fakes are both complicated and change over time. Drawing from historical archives, interviews, museum exhibits and science fiction as well as her own research, Pyne brings each genuine fake to life through unexpected and often outrageous stories. Genuine Fakes will make readers think about all the unreal things they encounter in their daily lives, and why they invoke the reactions – surprise, wonder, understanding or annoyance – that they do.
