There are many biographies and articles about Frederick Delius's life (1862-1934), but there has never been a comprehensive book about his music until now. Everything he wrote, from his earliest compositions right up to his finalworks, is analysed here; the history and background of each work and its critical reception are all examined, set against events in Delius's life and the wider musical world. The book contains numerous music examples and quotations from many contemporary newspapers...

Have you ever been carried away by a piece of classical music? In this funny, evocative, personal eBook, previously published as ‘Music for the People: The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Classical Music’, Gareth takes us on a journey of musical discovery that explains and entertains in equal measure.Have you ever been carried away by a piece of classical music? The sad song of a single violin might make us cry, but the idea of finding out more about classical music can often be intimida...

INDEPENDENT BOOKS OF THE YEARThis completely new edition of the Penguin Guide reviews the 1000 best classical albums issued and reissued over the past five decades, many of which dominate the catalogue because of their sheer excellence, irrespective of recording dates. More comprehensive than ever before, it indicates key recordings on CD, DVD and enhanced SACD, including those in surround sound. If you want the finest available version of any major classi...

This superbly authoratitive new work provides a comprehensive A-Z guide to some 1000 years of Western music. It explores in detail the lives and achievements of a vast range of composers, as well as looking at such key topics as music history (from medieval plainchant to contemporary minimalism), performers, theory and jargon. Throught Griffiths skilfully blends lightly worn scholarship with personal insight, whether examining the emotional colouring that different musical keys achieve or ...

'This book distils what, at my advanced age, I feel able to say about music, musicians, and matters of my pianistic profession.'Ever since Alfred Brendel bid farewell to the concert stage after six decades of performing, he has been passing on his insight and experience in the form of lectures, readings and master-classes. This reader for lovers of the piano distils his musical and linguistic eloquence and vast knowledge, and will prove invaluable to anyone with an interest in the ...

Published to mark the beginning of the Britten centenary year in 2013, Paul Kildea's Benjamin Britten: A Life in the Twentieth Century is the definitive biography of Britain's greatest modern composer.In the eyes of many, Benjamin Britten was our finest composer since Purcell (a figure who often inspired him) three hundred years earlier. He broke decisively with the romantic, nationalist school of figures such as Parry, Elgar and Vaughan Williams and recre...

The first English paperback edition of the unique collection of documents which reveal Chopin as teacher and interpreter of his own music. From the accounts of his pupils, acquaintances and contemporaries, together with his own writing, we gain valuable insight into Chopin's pianistic and stylistic practice, his teaching methods and his aesthetic beliefs. The documents are divided into two categories: those concerning technique and style, two notions inseparable in Chopin's mind, and those...

Alfred Brendel, one of the greatest pianists of our time, is renowned for his masterly interpretations of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt, and has been credited with rescuing from oblivion the piano music of Schubert's last years. Far from having merely one string to his bow, however, Brendel is also one of the world's most remarkable writers on music - possessed of the rare ability to bring the clarity and originality of expression that characterised his performances to the p...

A unique Companion to J S Bach's iconic Cello Suites from internationally-renowned cellist Steven Isserlis.'Isserlis is the master of the material, yet always able to make it accessible . . . It is an absolute treat to be led to this sublime music by such an ethusiastic expert.'MICHAEL PALIN'The book I've always wanted: an accessible, eloquent guide to the world's greatest - and maybe most elusive - pieces of music. And writ...

A newbie's comprehensive guide to the joys of classical music, including introductions to forty of its greatest composers.Musical tastes may change, but the great classical composers maintain a devoted fan base—for centuries. For anyone who's interested in classical music but finds it a bit intimidating or confusing, passionate fan and former music-industry executive Ian Christians has developed a unique approach to the genre, designed to make it as easy as possibl...

Listen. What do you hear?We are surrounded by sounds all the time, but we tend not to hear them; our brains are very good at editing what our ears pick up. If we stop for a moment to listen, there they are: the ticking clock, traffic noise, fragments of conversation, a passing plane. These are examples of what the American composer John Cage called “illegal harmony”.In response to the noisiest century in history, modern composers have consistently flown in ...

For Gustav Mahler, there was nothing abstract or escapist about music. The symphony must be like the world, he insisted. It must embrace everything. He lived up to that ideal spectacularly, creating works of such emotional range and imaginative power that each feels like a world in itself. Uniquely, Mahler made himself the prism through which that wealth of experience is refracted. This book follows Mahlers development as man and composer, and sets out the experiences the personal joys and...