In this biography, Robert Walker skilfully blends the fascinating story of Rachmaninoff's life with the historical background of his times. The author shows, too, how outside influences- the 1905 and 1917 revolutions, the Great War, the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression- very much affected Rachmaninoff as an artist. As well as the use of contemporary accounts, letters and reminiscences, the author has obtained recollections first-hand from distinguished musicians who knew the comp...

In this biography, Robert Walker skilfully blends the fascinating story of Rachmaninoff's life with the historical background of his times. The author shows, too, how outside influences- the 1905 and 1917 revolutions, the Great War, the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression- very much affected Rachmaninoff as an artist. As well as the use of contemporary accounts, letters and reminiscences, the author has obtained recollections first-hand from distinguished musicians who knew the comp...

Biography of the composer. According to Wikipedia: "George Frederic Handel (23 February 1685 14 April 1759) was an English Baroque composer of German birth who is famous for his operas, oratorios, and concerti grossi. Born as Georg Friedrich Händel in Halle, the native German spent most of his adult life in England, becoming a naturalized subject of the British crown on 22 January 1727.[3] Perhaps the single word that best describes his life and music is "cosmopolitan": he was a German com...

Welcome to The Independent's new ebook series The Great Composers, covering fourteen of the giants of Western classical music.Extracted from Michael Steen's book The Lives and Times of the Great Composers, these concise guides, selected by The Independent's editorial team, explore the lives of composers as diverse as Mozart and Puccini, reaching from Bach to Brahms, set against the social, historical and political forces which affected them, to give a rounded portrait of what it was...

Chopin is one of the great originals of musical history and among the most universally beloved of all composers. Every one of his compositions involves the piano and his contribution to the development of the instruments potential cannot be underestimated. This biography offers a clear perspective on Chopins complex character, whose innermost feelings were only fully expressed in his music. It draws widely on contemporary sources, with detailed commentary on all Chopins works, making it bo...

Brigid Brophy first published her passionate, profoundly original Mozart the Dramatist in 1964, revisiting it subsequently in 1988. Organised by theme, the text offers brilliant readings of Mozart's five most famous operas - Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, and Die Zauberflöte - while a 1988 preface reconsiders Idomeneo and La Clemenza di Tito. Brophy's analysis is richly...

18 November, 1741. George Frideric Handel, one of the world's greatest composers, arrives in Dublin – the second city of the Empire – to prepare his masterpiece, Messiah, for its maiden performance the following spring …In Hallelujah, Jonathan Bardon, one of Ireland's leading historians, explores the remarkable circumstances surrounding the first performance of Handel's now iconic oratorio in Dublin, providing a panoramic view of a city in flux – at once struggling to contain the chaos unl...

Beethoven bestrides the history of music like no other. Without him it would have been a very different story. This biographical portrait reveals a titanic personality, both vulnerable and belligerent, comic and tragic, and above all heroic, as he comes to grips with perhaps the greatest disability a musician can suffer. No mans music is more universal; few mens lives are more inspiring. Yet almost every work was the result of passionate struggle. In every sense but one his modest height he...

Lavishly illustrated throughout, this fascinating biography sets Debussy's musical revolution in the context of his times. It will be invaluable to musicians and concert-goers alike.

Edward Elgar occupies a pivotal place in the British cultural imagination. His music has been heard as emblematic of Empire and the English landscape. The recent success of Anthony Payne's elaboration of the sketches for Elgar's Third Symphony has prompted a critical revaluation of his music. This Companion provides an accessible and vivid account of Elgar's work in its historical and cultural context. Established authorities on British music and scholars new in the field examine Elgar's m...

An introduction to classical music, featuring the life and work of composer Gustav Mahler. "I recommend this book wholeheartedly to new music lovers" (Sir Charles Groves, CBE, former conductor of Royal Philharmonic Orchestra).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 c...

Witold Lutosławski is widely regarded as one of the foremost composers of the post-war era and one of the truly great musicians of the 20th century. Charles Bodman Rae's examination of Lutosławski 's life and work draws on wide-ranging and meticulous research, including hours of recorded conversation with the composer himself. Now expanded for this third edition to include an additional chapter and many more photographs, The Music Of Lutosławski is an absorbing study of the man and his mus...