Biographaical dictionary emphisizes classicaland art music; also gives ample attention to the classics as well as Jazz, Blues, rock and pop, and hymns and showtunes across the ages.
Maureen O'Carroll vividly brings to life growing up in a large, quirky but ambitious Irish immigrant family, as seen through the eyes of middle child Maureen. After years of periodic imprisonment in Ireland for their fight for independence, Maureen's parents immigrated to Sydney, Australia where they raised ten children during the Depression and war time. The patriarch, John O'Carroll, sets up in the storefront of their Balmain terrace house a barbershop, The Anchor Hairdressing Salon, which becomes a hub of activity for the locals. Throughout this colorful memoir infused with Irish history, local politics, Catholicism and the humorous struggles of Depression-era life, music remains a vital theme; It is instrumental in all ten O'Carroll children overcoming their hard circumstances to achieve a better life.
Offering comprehensive coverage of classical music, this guide surveys more than eleven thousand albums and presents biographies of five hundred composers and eight hundred performers, as well as twenty-three essays on forms, eras, and genres of classical music. Original.