A Listener's Guide-Of all the biggest-name composers Handel probably wrote the most truly great music that no one knows about. This book takes the curious listener through his entire output from his earliest works in Italy through his more than 40 operas and including the famous English oratorios on which his reputation largely rests. Along the way it examines his orchestral music the pieces he wrote for England's lavish royal ceremonies and his surprisingly limited production of sacred music. Just as important the book surveys and recommends recordings of all of the music discussed so that listeners can acquire a music collection of whatever depth suits them best while the included CDfeatures top-notch recordings from the Harmonia Mundi label of a wide range of Handel's music in all of the major media in which he worked both vocal and instrumental. Few composers cared more than Handel about pleasing his listeners and creating a body of work that was both entertaining and fun. It's time to blow away the Victorian cobwebs that have dogged his reputation and discover just how much there is to enjoy.

Includes full-length audio CD-Over the course of some three dozen volumes Amadeus Press highly acclaimed Unlocking the Masters series has drawn readers into the worlds of the greatest composers and their music. Curated pairings of critically minded introductory texts andcompanion CDs loaded with tracks selected from the worlds foremost libraries of recorded classics the series truly brings the sounds and stories of its legendary subjects to life. Its latest entry Victor Lederers Schumann: A Listeners Guide isan essential portal to the musical works of and tempestuous life of this little-understood genius. Many if not most major composers improve over the course of their careers. For Schumann however the opposite was true: plagued throughout his lifeby physical and mental illnesses he helplessly – and consciously – endured the gradual diminution of his prodigious talent until his premature death at age 46. Throughout Schumann: A Listeners Guide Lederer provides unflinching critiques of theweaknesses that plagued Schumanns style contrasting them with the brilliance of his earliest triumphs. This eminently accessible account explores the full spectrum of the master composers oeuvre from his popular early music and lieder to hisworks for chamber ensembles composed in 1842 to his four beloved if flawed symphonies. It also accounts for Schumanns dramatic works particularly Genoveva his only opera and Incidental Music to Byrons “Manfred ” a bewilderingly unappreciatedmusical score. As with all volumes in the UTM series Schumann: A Listeners Guide is accompanied by a CD containing two of the masters most daring imaginative flights both explored in detail in the text: the Davidsbündlertänze for piano andDichterliebe (A Poets Love) one of the all-time greatest song cycles and works for voice. Geared toward fledglings but written with an eye turned to aficionados the book is a must-have for Schumann buffs and classical music fans young and old.

A Listener's Guide-Of all the biggest-name composers Handel probably wrote the most truly great music that no one knows about. This book takes the curious listener through his entire output from his earliest works in Italy through his more than 40 operas and including the famous English oratorios on which his reputation largely rests. Along the way it examines his orchestral music the pieces he wrote for England's lavish royal ceremonies and his surprisingly limited production of sacred music. Just as important the book surveys and recommends recordings of all of the music discussed so that listeners can acquire a music collection of whatever depth suits them best while the included CDfeatures top-notch recordings from the Harmonia Mundi label of a wide range of Handel's music in all of the major media in which he worked both vocal and instrumental. Few composers cared more than Handel about pleasing his listeners and creating a body of work that was both entertaining and fun. It's time to blow away the Victorian cobwebs that have dogged his reputation and discover just how much there is to enjoy.

Includes full-length audio CD-Over the course of some three dozen volumes Amadeus Press highly acclaimed Unlocking the Masters series has drawn readers into the worlds of the greatest composers and their music. Curated pairings of critically minded introductory texts andcompanion CDs loaded with tracks selected from the worlds foremost libraries of recorded classics the series truly brings the sounds and stories of its legendary subjects to life. Its latest entry Victor Lederers Schumann: A Listeners Guide isan essential portal to the musical works of and tempestuous life of this little-understood genius. Many if not most major composers improve over the course of their careers. For Schumann however the opposite was true: plagued throughout his lifeby physical and mental illnesses he helplessly – and consciously – endured the gradual diminution of his prodigious talent until his premature death at age 46. Throughout Schumann: A Listeners Guide Lederer provides unflinching critiques of theweaknesses that plagued Schumanns style contrasting them with the brilliance of his earliest triumphs. This eminently accessible account explores the full spectrum of the master composers oeuvre from his popular early music and lieder to hisworks for chamber ensembles composed in 1842 to his four beloved if flawed symphonies. It also accounts for Schumanns dramatic works particularly Genoveva his only opera and Incidental Music to Byrons “Manfred ” a bewilderingly unappreciatedmusical score. As with all volumes in the UTM series Schumann: A Listeners Guide is accompanied by a CD containing two of the masters most daring imaginative flights both explored in detail in the text: the Davidsbündlertänze for piano andDichterliebe (A Poets Love) one of the all-time greatest song cycles and works for voice. Geared toward fledglings but written with an eye turned to aficionados the book is a must-have for Schumann buffs and classical music fans young and old.

A Listener's Guide-Of all the biggest-name composers Handel probably wrote the most truly great music that no one knows about. This book takes the curious listener through his entire output from his earliest works in Italy through his more than 40 operas and including the famous English oratorios on which his reputation largely rests. Along the way it examines his orchestral music the pieces he wrote for England's lavish royal ceremonies and his surprisingly limited production of sacred music. Just as important the book surveys and recommends recordings of all of the music discussed so that listeners can acquire a music collection of whatever depth suits them best while the included CDfeatures top-notch recordings from the Harmonia Mundi label of a wide range of Handel's music in all of the major media in which he worked both vocal and instrumental. Few composers cared more than Handel about pleasing his listeners and creating a body of work that was both entertaining and fun. It's time to blow away the Victorian cobwebs that have dogged his reputation and discover just how much there is to enjoy.

Includes full-length audio CD-Over the course of some three dozen volumes Amadeus Press highly acclaimed Unlocking the Masters series has drawn readers into the worlds of the greatest composers and their music. Curated pairings of critically minded introductory texts andcompanion CDs loaded with tracks selected from the worlds foremost libraries of recorded classics the series truly brings the sounds and stories of its legendary subjects to life. Its latest entry Victor Lederers Schumann: A Listeners Guide isan essential portal to the musical works of and tempestuous life of this little-understood genius. Many if not most major composers improve over the course of their careers. For Schumann however the opposite was true: plagued throughout his lifeby physical and mental illnesses he helplessly – and consciously – endured the gradual diminution of his prodigious talent until his premature death at age 46. Throughout Schumann: A Listeners Guide Lederer provides unflinching critiques of theweaknesses that plagued Schumanns style contrasting them with the brilliance of his earliest triumphs. This eminently accessible account explores the full spectrum of the master composers oeuvre from his popular early music and lieder to hisworks for chamber ensembles composed in 1842 to his four beloved if flawed symphonies. It also accounts for Schumanns dramatic works particularly Genoveva his only opera and Incidental Music to Byrons “Manfred ” a bewilderingly unappreciatedmusical score. As with all volumes in the UTM series Schumann: A Listeners Guide is accompanied by a CD containing two of the masters most daring imaginative flights both explored in detail in the text: the Davidsbündlertänze for piano andDichterliebe (A Poets Love) one of the all-time greatest song cycles and works for voice. Geared toward fledglings but written with an eye turned to aficionados the book is a must-have for Schumann buffs and classical music fans young and old.

Maria Callas was almost as famous for her personal life - her jet-setting her staggering weight loss her tigress-like temperament - as she was for her singing. Of Greek parentage the New York-born internationallyfamous Callas was the most influential soprano of the 20th century reviving a school of singing - bel canto - that had been forgotten for 75 years. Unlike most of her generation of sopranos she was a superb actressboth vocally and physically: her voice encompassed many colors and she embodied each character she portrayed. After seeing or hearing her in a role it was said it was difficult to imagine another singer attempting it so fiercewas her individual stamp. Her status went beyond cult; her triumphs and failures appeared on the front page of newspapers all over the world. This profusely illustrated musical biography covers Callas's life and career. Afinal third of the book analyzes the tracks on the two CDs describing what made Callas unique what made Callas Callas. Listen for yourselves to La Divina (the divine one) as the Italians dubbed her and be amazed. Maria Callas was almost as famous for her personal life - her jet-setting her staggering weight loss her tigress-like temperament - as she was for her singing. Of Greek parentage the New York-born internationally famous Callas was the most influential soprano of the 20th century reviving a school of singing - bel canto - that had been forgotten for 75 years. Unlike most of her generation of sopranos she was a superb actress both vocally and physically: her voice encompassed many colours and she embodied each character she portrayed. After seeing or hearing her in a role it was said it was difficult to imagine another singer attempting it so fierce was herindividual stamp. Her status went beyond cult; her triumphs and failures appeared on the front page of newspapers all over the world. This profusely illustrated musical biography covers Callas's life and career. A final third of the book analyzes the tracks on the two CDs describing what made Callas unique what made Callas Callas. Listen for yourselves to La Divina ('the divine one') as the Italians dubbed her and be amazed.

John Bell Young explores some of the richest and most memorable instrumental music ever written. How did this prolific musician compose more than a thousand masterpieces in a career that spanned less than two decades? Young'scolorful analysis of a Schubert's greatest orchestral piano and chamber works deftly illuminates these issues. The accompanying CD features superb performances by Claudio Arrau.

Along with Beethoven's sonatas and the purely idiomatic works for piano of Chopin and Debussy the solo keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach represents the heart of the pianist's repertory; in the more specialized field ofmusic for the organ Bach's primacy seems beyond challenge. This listener's guide to Bach's music for the keyboard provides the interested amateur with a close but non-technical look at these two crucial parts of the master'soeuvre. The composer's tendency to work exhaustively in tightly structured formats - such as the 48 preludes and fugues of The Well-Tempered Clavier - provides a natural framework for this study; but the power beauty high polish and occasionally the sheer strangeness of Bach's imagination are carefully examined as well.

Ringer sheds new perspectives on Schubert's songs focusing on their incomparable dramatic power which often exceeds that of many a full-fledged opera. But Schubert's 'stage' was not to be the public theatres of the repressive Metternich regime in Vienna but the far less censorable 'theatre of the mind'. Schubert's theatre of song would spring to life in intimate social gathering of like-minded friends wherever a singer and a Piano were available. An accompanying CD from NAXOS Records features superb performances by pianists Michael Volle Roman Trekel Julia Borchert Wolfgang Holzmair and others.

Evenings at the Opera: An Exploration of the Basic Repertoire is a collection of essays based on Jeffery Langford's lectures at the Manhattan School of Music and inspired by his pre-performance talks at the MetropolitanOpera Guild. It presents a unique view of the stylistic development of nearly 200 years of opera history (from Mozart to Britten) with special attention to the question of how the genre's competing components of action music and text combine to make effective music drama. Taking a thematic (rather than a purely historical) approach to this exploration of selected works from the standard repertoire Langford engages the reader in the fundamentalquestion of how the shifting aesthetics of opera from one composer to another one country to another and one era to another have resulted in vastly different solutions to the problem of how to make a dramma per musica (drama in music) as the Italian inventors of opera first called it. Going beyond mere plot synopsis he guides the reader through analysis of specific issues of musical form style and technique to shed new light on theperennial question of how opera (sometimes) works.

In 1935 George Gershwin continued the melding of theatrical classical and jazz idioms he began with Rhapsody in Blue bringing DuBose Heyward's novel and play Porgy to the musical stage with Porgy andBess . Collaborating with his brother Ira and Heyward Gershwin created what was deemed at the time a folk opera - a work that over the years has passed through cycles of praise and criticism finallyachieving recognition as a great American theatrical achievement and inclusion in the repertoire of opera companies around the world. In this lavishly illustrated 75th anniversary volume created with theparticipation of the Gershwin estate opera producer and author Robin Thompson recounts the history of Porgy and Bess as he looks at the various interpretations of the work and the many layers of meaning to be found in thestory of the crippled Porgy the conflicted and vulnerable Bess the dope peddler Sportin' Life and the other residents of Catfish Row. Packed with unique rarely seen archival photographs and documents associatedwith the production Porgy and Bess commemorates this uniquely American blending of musical ethnic and creative styles and the people the performers and the times that produced it.

Includes full-length audio CD-Over the course of some three dozen volumes Amadeus Press highly acclaimed Unlocking the Masters series has drawn readers into the worlds of the greatest composers and their music. Curated pairings of critically minded introductory texts andcompanion CDs loaded with tracks selected from the worlds foremost libraries of recorded classics the series truly brings the sounds and stories of its legendary subjects to life. Its latest entry Victor Lederers Schumann: A Listeners Guide isan essential portal to the musical works of and tempestuous life of this little-understood genius. Many if not most major composers improve over the course of their careers. For Schumann however the opposite was true: plagued throughout his lifeby physical and mental illnesses he helplessly – and consciously – endured the gradual diminution of his prodigious talent until his premature death at age 46. Throughout Schumann: A Listeners Guide Lederer provides unflinching critiques of theweaknesses that plagued Schumanns style contrasting them with the brilliance of his earliest triumphs. This eminently accessible account explores the full spectrum of the master composers oeuvre from his popular early music and lieder to hisworks for chamber ensembles composed in 1842 to his four beloved if flawed symphonies. It also accounts for Schumanns dramatic works particularly Genoveva his only opera and Incidental Music to Byrons “Manfred ” a bewilderingly unappreciatedmusical score. As with all volumes in the UTM series Schumann: A Listeners Guide is accompanied by a CD containing two of the masters most daring imaginative flights both explored in detail in the text: the Davidsbündlertänze for piano andDichterliebe (A Poets Love) one of the all-time greatest song cycles and works for voice. Geared toward fledglings but written with an eye turned to aficionados the book is a must-have for Schumann buffs and classical music fans young and old.

A Listener's Guide-Of all the biggest-name composers Handel probably wrote the most truly great music that no one knows about. This book takes the curious listener through his entire output from his earliest works in Italy through his more than 40 operas and including the famous English oratorios on which his reputation largely rests. Along the way it examines his orchestral music the pieces he wrote for England's lavish royal ceremonies and his surprisingly limited production of sacred music. Just as important the book surveys and recommends recordings of all of the music discussed so that listeners can acquire a music collection of whatever depth suits them best while the included CDfeatures top-notch recordings from the Harmonia Mundi label of a wide range of Handel's music in all of the major media in which he worked both vocal and instrumental. Few composers cared more than Handel about pleasing his listeners and creating a body of work that was both entertaining and fun. It's time to blow away the Victorian cobwebs that have dogged his reputation and discover just how much there is to enjoy.