Schubert Studies comprises eleven essays by renowned Schubert scholars and performers. The volume sheds light on certain aspects of Schubert‘s music and biography which have hitherto remained relatively neglected, or which warrant further investigation. Musical topics include analyses of tempo conventions, transitional procedures and rhythmic organization. There are reassessments of several works, using autograph research, performing experience and other approaches; while assumptions as to the extent of Schubert‘s influence on later Czech composers are also brought into question. Concerns with aspects of Schubert‘s biography, in particular the social and musical circles in which he moved, come under examination in several essays. The final two chapters deal specifically with the composer‘s relationships with women, and the psychological and physiological illnesses from which he suffered. Each of the essays here charts new and existing evidence to provide fresh perspectives on these aspects of Schubert‘s life and music, making this volume an indispensable tool for scholars concerned with his work.
The most readable and comprehensive guide to enjoying over five hundred years of classical music -- from Gregorian chants, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, John Cage, and beyond. The Vintage Guide to Classical Music is a lively -- and opinionated -- musical history and an insider's key to the personalities, epochs, and genres of the Western classical tradition. Among its features: -- chronologically arranged essays on nearly 100 composers, from Guillaume de Machaut (ca. 1300-1377) to Aaron Copland (1900-1990), that combine biography with detailed analyses of the major works while assessing their role in the social, cultural, and political climate of their times; -- informative sidebars that clarify broader topics such as melody, polyphony, atonality, and the impact of the early-music movement; -- a glossary of musical terms, from a cappella to woodwinds; -- a step-by-step guide to building a great classical music library. Written with wit and a clarity that both musical experts and beginners can appreciate, The Vintage Guide to Classical Music is an invaluable source-book for music lovers everywhere.
This single volume study score contains all of Mozart's string quartets: the little-known early quartets in an Italianate manner; the six quartets dedicated to Haydn; the D Major Quartet; and the last three quartets written for the King of Prussia. In addition to the 23 string quartets, the alternate slow movement to the G Major Quartet, K.156, is included.
Spotlighting the four women of the Lafayette Quartet, a leading Canadian ensemble, Rounds offers both a comprehensive history of the beloved instrumental form and an inside view of the complex world of professional quartet players, revealing the exultation and heatache that are the performing artists' daily fare. A treat for every music lover, whether player, listener or composer.
Within his broad historical narrative Professor Smallman provides descriptive analyses of key works, many with music examples, and also comments perceptively on local trends and developments.
This book is a compilation of two volumes of the series Musical Musings, Symphonies Parts 1 and 2, articles that were originally on my blog Musical Musings. Included are all 9 symphonies of Beethoven, 11 symphonies of Bruckner, and 4 symphonies of Brahms along with other entries by known and lesser-known composers such as Pejačević, Méhul, Arriaga, Schulhoff, Rott, and others. There are over 40 different composers represented and over 100 symphonies The original articles can be found on my blog Musical Musings https://muswrite.blogspot.com/ on the Symphonies page under the Pages heading in the left hand column. The original articles have musical examples and pictures of the composers as well as a video of the work being discussed. Or if preferred, there is a page on my blog titled Links To Youtube For Symphonies also under the Pages heading in the left hand column, the direct link is: https://muswrite.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html So if any of the articles tweak your aural interest, there are performances to explore and listen to. Words and descriptions can only go so far when writing (and talking) about music. The proof is in the hearing! Alan Beggerow, March 2020
Masterful essays honoring the great pianist and critic Charles Rosen, on masterpieces from Bach and Beethoven to Chopin, Verdi, and Stockhausen. Charles Rosen, the pianist and man of letters, is perhaps the single most influential writer on music of the past half-century. While Rosen's vast range as a writer and performer is encyclopedic, it has focused particularly on theliving "canonical" repertory extending from Bach to Boulez. Inspired in its liveliness and variety of critical approaches by Charles Rosen's challenging work, Variations on the Canon offers original essays by some of the world's most eminent musical scholars. Contributors address such issues as style and compositional technique, genre, influence and modeling, and reception history; develop insights afforded by close examination of compositional sketches; and consider what language and metaphors might most meaningfully convey insights into music. However diverse the modes of inquiry, each essay sheds new light on the works of those composers posterity has deemed central to the modern Western musical tradition. Contributors: Pierre Boulez, Scott Burnham, Elliott Carter, Robert Curry, Walter Frisch, David Gable, Philip Gossett, Jeffrey Kallberg, Joseph Kerman, Richard Kramer, William Kinderman, Lewis Lockwood, Sir Charles Mackerras, Robert L. Marshall, Robert P. Morgan, Charles Rosen, Julian Rushton, David Schulenberg, László Somfai, Leo Treitler, James Webster, and Robert Winter. Robert Curry is principalof the Conservatorium High School and honorary senior lecturer in the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Sydney; David Gable is Assistant Professor of Music at Clark-Atlanta University; Robert L. Marshall is Louis, Frances, and Jeffrey Sachar Professor Emeritus of Music at Brandeis University.