Music has been a significant part of life in Mi’kma’ki for many thousands of years, and classical music in particular since the founding of Halifax in 1749. Musicians of various European origins brought their instruments, musical traditions, and tastes with them, and their commitment to and joy of music-making planted the seeds for the vibrant Symphony Nova Scotia we know today. The region’s musical story is a testament to the hard work and creativity of the musicians who have shared their...

This is the story of the National Ballet of Canada – the people, the determination, and how at sixty it is still creating new work while still representing the classics.Passion to Dance is the story of the National Ballet of Canada – the people who dreamt the company into existence, the determination needed to keep it afloat, the bumps on the road to its success, and above all, its passion for dance as a living, evolving art form.From catch-as-catch-can beginnings ...

The life, times, and travels of a remarkable instrument and the people who have made, sold, played, and cherished it.A 16-ounce package of polished wood, strings, and air, the violin is perhaps the most affordable, portable, and adaptable instrument ever created. As congenial to reels, ragas, Delta blues, and indie rock as it is to solo Bach and late Beethoven, it has been played standing or sitting, alone or in groups, in bars, churches, concert halls, lumber camps, even concentra...

Short-listed for the Ottawa Book Awards, 2010This is the story of the creation and first four decades of one of Canada’s pre-eminent cultural organizations. While it documents the history of Canada’s National Arts Centre in Ottawa, it also tells the story of the arts in Canada from the 1960s to 2006. The story breaks down into three parts: the years of creation and early growth, fuelled by the talent and resources generated by Canada’s 1967 Centennial celebration; the turb...

In At the Piano: Interviews with 21st-Century Pianists, Caroline Benser explores the kaleidoscopic world of twenty-first-century pianism through a series of extended interviews with eight major pianists: Leif Ove Andsnes, Jonathan Biss, Simone Dinnerstein, Marc-André Hamelin, Stephen Hough, Steven Osborne, Yevgeny Sudbin, and Yuja Wang.The pianists represented here are not only a virtuosos on their instrument, renowned for their renditions of classic works by Bach, Beethoven, Liszt...

The Orchestra: A Very Short Introduction considers the structure, roots, and day-to-day functioning of the modern philharmonic society. Far from an anachronistic organization that cannot long survive, it is shown to be powerful political and social force, occupying critical positions in cultural diplomacy, national identity, and civic pride.

The Beethoven Obsession tells the story of how the greatest piano music ever written acquired a unique Australian voice, played on a revolutionary grand piano that shook up the conservative music establishment.It is a fast-paced drama of frustration, envy, rivalry, struggle and success, starring a self-taught child prodigy who sold condoms and contraband to advance his studies; a fanatical inventor who took apart pianos as a child to examine their 'gizzards'; and a TV came...

"I recommend this book wholeheartedly to new music lovers" Sir Charles Groves CBE Thanks to Nigel Kennedy and Pavarotti, millions of people have recently discovered that classical music is a highly enjoyable experience, perhaps contrary to their expectations. But the world of classical music can be highly intimidating and confusing. Ian Christians, for many years a passionate believer in broadening the interest in classical music, has developed a unique approach, designed to make it as eas...

Kwakwaka'wakw welcome songs an aria from Joseph Quesnel's 1808 opera Lucas et Cécile rubbaboos (a combination of elements from First Peoples French and English music) the Tin Pan Alley hits of Shelton Brooks and the contemporary work of Claude Vivier and Blue Rodeo all dance together in Canada's rich musical heritage. Elaine Keillor offers an unprecedented history of Canadian musical expressions and their relationship to Canada's great cultural and geographic diversity. A survey of "m...

"I recommend this book wholeheartedly to new music lovers" Sir Charles Groves CBE Thanks to Nigel Kennedy and Pavarotti, millions of people have recently discovered that classical music is a highly enjoyable experience, perhaps contrary to their expectations. But the world of classical music can be highly intimidating and confusing. Ian Christians, for many years a passionate believer in broadening the interest in classical music, has developed a unique approach, designed to make it as eas...

"I recommend this book wholeheartedly to new music lovers" Sir Charles Groves CBE Thanks to Nigel Kennedy and Pavarotti, millions of people have recently discovered that classical music is a highly enjoyable experience, perhaps contrary to their expectations. But the world of classical music can be highly intimidating and confusing. Ian Christians, for many years a passionate believer in broadening the interest in classical music, has developed a unique approach, designed to make it as eas...