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Foreground Music: A Life in Fifteen Gigs (Strange Attractor Press Ser.)
by Graham DuffA chronicle of a lifetime's passion for gig-going, by one of British television's most respected writers.“Foreground Music is an absolute gem. Charming, very funny and often achingly melancholy, Graham Duff's memoir is suffused with a genuine passion for live music and its (occasionally eccentric) power.—Mark GatissThe result of a lifetime's passion for gig-going by one of British television's most respected writers, Foreground Music is at once enthusiastically detailed and tremendously illuminating—of both the concert moment and its place in popular culture. It is an engaging memoir of a life lived to the fullest, and a vivid, insightful, and humorous exploration of what music writing might be.Foreground Music describes music performances that range from a Cliff Richard gospel concert, attended by Duff at the age of ten, to the fourteen-year-old Duff's first rock show, where the Jam played so loudly he blacks out, to a Joy Division gig that erupted into a full-scale riot. Duff goes on pub crawls with Mark E. Smith of the Fall, convinces Paul Weller to undertake his first acting role, and attempts to interview Genesis P. Orridge of Throbbing Gristle while tripping on LSD.Foreground Music captures the energy and power of life-changing gigs, while tracing the evolution of forty years of musical movements and subcultures. But more than that, it's an honest, touching, and very funny story of friendship, love, creativity, and mortality, and a testimony to music's ability to inspire and heal. Illustrated with photographs and ephemera from the author's private collection.
Forever Truffle
by Fanny BrittFanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault are back with a new graphic novel, this time featuring Truffle, younger brother, best friend, aspiring rockstar … Meet Truffle in three linked stories: In “Truffle the Rockstar,” Truffle wants to form a band with his best friends Flo and Riad. They can already picture themselves on stage, wowing the crowd with epic songs. They still have to learn how to play instruments … but that’s just a minor detail! Ever since Truffle asked Nina to be his girlfriend, they have been shy around each other. In “Truffle Loves Nina,” Truffle asks his parents, his friend Riad, his big brother, Louis, and the man who works at the library, for advice on how to let his heart do the talking. In “Truffle Tackles Existence,” Truffle attends his great-grandmother’s funeral, which gets him thinking about the world around him. Are grandparents young once, too? Does Rocket, the dog that his family had to give up, still think about him sometimes? Do people stop loving each other if they don’t see each other anymore? Fans of Louis Undercover will be delighted that Truffle — Louis’s funny, music-loving little brother — now has his own book! Key Text Features comic comic strips illustrations Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.9 Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series) CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.5 Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7 Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).
Forever Words: The Unknown Poems
by Johnny CashA collection of never-before-published poems by Johnny Cash, edited and introduced by Pulitzer-prize winning poet Paul Muldoon with a foreword by John Carter Cash. Illustrated with facsimile reproductions of Cash's own handwritten pages.Since his first recordings in 1955, Johnny Cash was an icon in the music world. In this collection of poems and song lyrics that have never been published before, we see the world through his eyes and view his reflection on his own interior reality, his frailties and his strengths alike. In his hallmark voice, he pens verses about love, pain, freedom, and mortality, and expresses insights on culture, his family, his fame, even Christmas. Forever Words confirms Johnny Cash as a brilliant and singular American literary figure. His music is a part of our collective history, and here the depth of his artistry and talent become even more evident.From the Hardcover edition.
Forever Young: Photographs of Bob Dylan
by Dave Marsh Douglas R. GilbertIn 1964, Douglas Gilbert was hired by Look magazine to photograph a young up-and-coming musician named Bob Dylan. Gilbert snapped over 900 of the most candid shots ever taken of Dylan, less than a year before he became completely inaccessible to the public. The photos, beautifully composed, capture the 23-year-old Dylan in rare private moments hanging out with friends (including Allen Ginsberg, Phil Ochs, and John Sebastian, among others) and family in Woodstock, at concerts, and in New York City's classic dive bar -- the Kettle of Fish. Look magazine never ran the story and the photos sat unseen for forty years, until now. With an intimate and revealing text by acclaimed Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh, Forever Young is an irresistible compendium of nearly 100 of the best images from this fascinating, pivotal time in Bob Dylan's career.
Forever Yours, Faithfully: My Love Story
by Lorrie MorganBy turns passionate and desperate, tragic and triumphant--the life of Lorrie Morgan could easily have been lifted from the lyrics of a classic country song. Now, in Forever Yours, Faithfully, Lorrie shares all the pleasure and the pain of her remarkable career and her turbulent, consuming love for doomed, brilliant blue-grass star, Keith Whitely. Lorrie Morgan was born to be a country music star. Thanks to a father who was also a Grand Ole Opry legend, Lorrie grew up in the shadows of such country greats as Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff. Inspired by such talent and nurtured in a stable home, she sang at the Opry when she was only thirteen years old. In a voice all her own, Lorrie takes us inside the country music world where she would rise to become Nashville gold. Over the next several years, Lorrie's home life was to become a lot less stable. When Lorrie was twenty-two years old, she heard a voice on the radio--and fell under its seductive spell. That voice belonged to singer Keith Whitely. They soon met, left their respective marriages, and started a life that Lorrie hoped would be "happily ever after." Yet it was a relationship marred by dark moods, drinking, and drugs, as Lorrie, blinded by devotion, refused to see that she was hopelessly in love with a chronic alcoholic. She stayed by his side until his untimely death in 1989--only to be hit with a second blow: the shocking news of Keith's infidelities. With amazing insight and candor, Lorrie opens her heart, answering such personal questions as Who was with Keith when he died? What actually killed him? How does one reconcile the "man of your dreams" with the man in real life? And perhaps most important: Can he be forgiven? Fortunately, Lorrie's life did not end after Keith's death. Her star went on to shine even brighter. She rose to superstar status as a singer and, eventually, true love came calling again. Beloved, betrayed, and ultimately resilient, Lorrie Morgan has written a painfully honest memoir about rising above and moving on. Forever Yours, Faithfully resonates with emotion and the power of the human spirit.
Forever and Ever, Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith, and Braving the Storms of Life
by Randy TravisThe long-awaited, deeply personal story of one of American music's greatest icons, a remarkable tale of the utmost heights of fame and success, the deepest lows of life's sorrows, and a miraculous return from the brink of death—told as only Randy Travis can.Beloved around the world, Randy Travis has sold more than 25 million albums in both country and gospel and is considered one of the finest performers of his generation, admired by superstars across the musical landscape, from Garth Brooks to Mick Jagger.From a working-class background in North Carolina to a job as a cook and club singer in Nashville to his "overnight success" with his smash 1986 album Storms of Life--which launched the neotraditional movement in country music--Randy’s first three decades are a true rags-to-riches story.But in 2009, this seemingly charmed life began a downward spiral. His marriage dissolved, he discovered that his finances had unraveled, and his struggles with anger led to alcohol abuse, public embarrassment, and even police arrest in 2012.Then, just as he was putting his life back together, Randy suffered a devastating viral cardiomyopathy that led to a massive stroke which he was not expected to survive. Yet he not only survived but also learned to walk again and in 2016 accepted his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame by singing the hymn that explains his life today: "Amazing Grace."Filled with never-before-told stories, Forever and Ever, Amen is a riveting tale of unfathomable success, great joy, deep pain, and redemption that can come only from above.
Forged In The Fiery Furnace: African-american Spirituality (Traditions Of Christian Spirituality Ser.)
by Diana Hayes"This book is an introduction to African American spirituality that provides a broad overview of developments in both Protestant and Catholic traditions. Today's vibrant African American spiritual traditions have their roots in the Africans who arrived as slaves in North America, bringing with them the richness and texture of their cultures and faith. In the words of the author, "The world view, traditions, stories, musicality, and religious beliefs of their African ancestors were preserved, built upon, syncretized with new understandings and ideas, and passed down from generation to generation, mother to son, father to daughter." In this book the author describes the origins of African American spirituality, developments during slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the periods of Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement; the manifestations of this spirituality in music and in the Black churches; the particular contributions of Black women; and the spirituality of key Black leaders"--OCLC
Forging Pathways to Improvise Music: For Classical, Jazz, Comedic, and Church Musicians
by Joseph MontelioneA step-by-step resource on forging one’s own pathway to improvise music, this book guides the musician through a clear and simple method that will easily translate to the reader’s genre of choice. Many musicians struggle with improvisation. Coincidentally, educators also find it challenging to integrate improvisation into curriculum. This book breaks down the barriers most performers and educators combat in the learning and teaching of improvisation, and is a helpful approach to demystify the complicated sphere of music improvisation. Divided into three sections, the first part of the book helps the reader develop an improvisatorial mindset to mentally conceive musical ideas, regardless of genre. The second portion then connects the improviser’s mindset to translating those ideas into a compelling musical performance in real time. The book’s final third assists the reader with discovering how to apply this method of improvisation to the nuanced liturgical, comedic, jazz, and classical styles. Forging Pathways to Improvise Music offers a practical introduction to improvisational methods essential for educators, students, and musicians of diverse educational backgrounds and musical genres.
Forging Pathways to Improvise Music: For Classical, Jazz, Comedic, and Church Musicians
by Joseph MontelioneA step-by-step resource on forging one’s own pathway to improvise music, this book guides the musician through a clear and simple method that will easily translate to the reader’s genre of choice. Many musicians struggle with improvisation. Coincidentally, educators also find it challenging to integrate improvisation into curriculum. This book breaks down the barriers most performers and educators combat in the learning and teaching of improvisation, and is a helpful approach to demystify the complicated sphere of music improvisation. Divided into three sections, the first part of the book helps the reader develop an improvisatorial mindset to mentally conceive musical ideas, regardless of genre. The second portion then connects the improviser’s mindset to translating those ideas into a compelling musical performance in real time. The book’s final third assists the reader with discovering how to apply this method of improvisation to the nuanced liturgical, comedic, jazz, and classical styles. Forging Pathways to Improvise Music offers a practical introduction to improvisational methods essential for educators, students, and musicians of diverse educational backgrounds and musical genres.
Form and Method: The Rothschild Essays (Contemporary Music Studies)
by Roger Reynolds Stephen McAdamsFirst Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Formas frágiles: Improvisación, indeterminación y azar en la música
by Pablo GianeraLa vida de un hombre no alcanza para explicar su música, pero en algunasmúsicas puede cifrarse una vida. Hay en el arte ciertas obras que adquieren su forma y se explicanmientras se hacen. En la música, esas obras suelen ser el resultado dela improvisación, de la interpretación indeterminada y del azarcompositivo. Los problemas estéticos de estas tres prácticas, y losdilemas vitales de quienes las ejercen, constituyen el asunto de «Formasfrágiles». La vida de un hombre no alcanza para explicar su música, peroen algunas músicas puede cifrarse una vida. Es lo que ocurre con losnombres propios de este libro, que abarcan un arco que va desde elbarroco y el romanticismo hasta el jazz y la llamada músicacontemporánea. La política, la voluntad mística, el éxtasis, la amnesia,la reclusión y la inminencia de la muerte son algunas de las pasionesque agitan las vidas de John Cage, Johann Sebastian Bach, LennieTristano, Franz Schubert, John Coltrane, Karlheinz Stockhausen,Cornelius Cardew y Anthony Braxton. Todos ellos coinciden en laincertidumbre de una obra, en la fragilidad de una forma en la que seinscribe una biografía.
Format Friction: Perspectives on the Shellac Disc (New Material Histories of Music)
by Gavin WilliamsThe first book to consider the shellac disc as a global format. With the rise of the gramophone around 1900, the shellac disc traveled the world and eventually became the dominant sound format in the first half of the twentieth century. Format Friction brings together a set of local encounters with the shellac disc, beginning with its preconditions in South Asian knowledge and labor, to offer a global portrait of this format. Spun at seventy-eight revolutions per minute, the shellac disc rapidly became an industrial standard even while the gramophone itself remained a novelty. The very basis of this early sound reproduction technology was friction, an elemental materiality of sound shaped through cultural practice. Using friction as a lens, Gavin Williams illuminates the environments plundered, the materials seized, and the ears entangled in the making of a sound format. Bringing together material, political, and music history, Format Friction decenters the story of a beloved medium, and so explores new ways of understanding listening in technological culture more broadly.
Formula 50: A 6-Week Workout and Nutrition Plan That Will Transform Your Life
by 50 Cent Jeff O'ConnellGet fit like 50 Cent: The phenomenally fit superstar rapper reveals his strategic six-week workout plan for achieving a ripped body--and developing the mental toughness to stay in shape for a lifetime. Survival is a recurring theme of 50 Cent's lyrics, and his life. That's why, with obesity rates soaring and fitness levels declining, he wants to give everyone an all-access pass to his premium plan for lifelong fitness. In Formula 50, the mega-successful entertainer and entrepreneur unleashes the power of metabolic resistance training (MRT), the key ingredient that has helped him achieve the famously buff physique that makes his music videos sizzle. Through MRT, 50 Cent's fitness plan breaks down the barriers between traditional weight training and cardio workouts, accelerating fat loss while building muscle and improving overall fitness. Designed for a six-week rollout for total mind-body transformation, the Formula 50 regimen builds willpower while it builds physical power. This fitness book also focuses on nutrition-- readers will discover the unique dietary combinations that fuel 50 Cent's workouts. Coauthored with Jeff O'Connell, health journalist and editor-in-chief at Bodybuilding.com (the world's largest fitness website), the book delivers a payoff that goes beyond six-pack abs and flab-free pecs: This is a fitness plan that boosts energy, endurance, flexibility, and mobility. The result is a body you've always dreamed of--and the mindset to attain the rest of your dreams.
Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music
by John FogertyThe long-awaited memoir from John Fogerty, the legendary singer-songwriter and creative force behind Creedence Clearwater Revival.Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of the most important and beloved bands in the history of rock, and John Fogerty wrote, sang, and produced their instantly recognizable classics: "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising," "Born on the Bayou," and more. Now he reveals how he brought CCR to number one in the world, eclipsing even the Beatles in 1969. By the next year, though, Creedence was falling apart; their amazing, enduring success exploded and faded in just a few short years. FORTUNATE SON takes readers from Fogerty's Northern California roots, through Creedence's success and the retreat from music and public life, to his hard-won revival as a solo artist who finally found love.
Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley
by Charles L. Ponce de LeonElvis Presley was celebrity's perfect storm. His sole but substantial contribution was talent, a fact Charles L. Ponce de Leon is careful to demonstrate throughout his wonderfully contextual Fortunate Son. Even as the moments of lucidity necessary to exercise that talent grew rarer and rarer, Elvis proved his musical gifts right up to the end of his life. Beyond that, however, he was fortune's child. Fortunate Son succinctly traces out the larger shifts that repeatedly redefined the cultural landscape during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, using Elvis's life to present a brief history of American popular culture during these tumultuous decades.
Fortune's Fool
by Fred GoodmanIn 1999, when Napster made music available free online, the music industry found itself in a fight for its life. A decade later, the most important and misunderstood story--and the one with the greatest implications for both music lovers and media companies--is how the music industry has failed to remake itself. In Fortune's Fool, Fred Goodman, the author of The Mansion on the Hill, shows how this happened by presenting the singular history of Edgar M. Bronfman Jr., the controversial heir to Seagram's, who, after dismantling his family's empire and fortune, made a high-stakes gamble to remake both the music industry and his own reputation. Napster had successfully blown the industry off its commercial foundations because all that the old school label heads knew how to do was record and market hits. So when Bronfman took over the Warner Music Group in 2004, his challenge was to create a new kind of record executive. Goodman finds the source of the crisis in the dissolution of the old Warner Music Group, the brilliant conglomerate of Atlantic, Elektra, and Warner Bros. Records. He shows how Doug Morris, the head of Atlantic Records, rose through the ranks and rode the CD bonanza of the 1990s to enormous corporate and personal profit before becoming embroiled in an ego-driven corporate turf war, and how all of Warner's record executives were blindsided when AOL/Time-Warner announced in 2003 that it wanted nothing more to do with the record industry. When the music group was finally sold to Bronfman, it was a ghost of itself. Bronfman built an aggressive, streamlined team headed by Lyor Cohen, whose relentless ambition and discipline had helped build Def Jam Records. They instituted a series of daring initiatives intended to give customers legitimate online music choices and took market share from Warner's competitors. But despite these efforts, illegal downloads still outnumber legitimate ones 19-1. Most of the talk of a new world of music and media has proven empty; despite the success of iTunes, even wildly popular sites like YouTube and MySpace have not found a way to make money with music. Instead, Warner and the other labels are diversifying and forcing young artists to give them a cut of their income from touring, publishing, and merchandising. Meanwhile, the average downloader isn't even meeting forward-thinking musicians halfway. Each time a young band finds a following through music websites, it's a unique story; no formula has emerged. If one does, Warner is probably in a better position than anyone to exploit it. But at the end of the day, If is the one-word verdict on Bronfman's big bet.
Forward Motion: From Bach To Bebop - A Corrective Approach To Jazz Phrasing
by Sher Music Hal GalperThe same notes can sound square or swinging, depending on how the music is phrased. This revolutionary book shows how many people misunderstand jazz phrasing and shows how to replace stiff phrasing with fluid lines that have the right jazz feeling. In this book, master pianist Hal Galper also shows how get that feeling of forward motion and also how to use melody guide tones correctly, how to line up the strong beat in a bar with the strongest chord notes, and much more!
Forward: My Life With and Without Boney M.
by Marcia BarrettComing to London aged thirteen from desperate poverty in Jamaica; pregnant at fifteen; fifteen years later singing in Boney M, one of the biggest international groups of the late-1970s; a messy group split during the 1980s; a 1990s solo career interrupted by six bouts of cancer - ovarian, breast, lymph node (twice), spine and oesophagus - and having to learn to walk again. Yet throughout Marcia Barrett has remained totally cheerful, relentlessly optimistic and a shining inspiration, looking on every obstacle as a mere inconvenience rather than anything insurmountable. Now, she is ready to tell her fantastic story, which is much more than just a pop star autobiography. It is a charming, candid, laugh-out-loud story of survival, triumph, indomitable spirit and total upfullness, often driven by sheer force of will. It is a feelgood story which will resonate amongst all.
Forward: My Life With and Without Boney M.
by Marcia BarrettComing to London aged thirteen from desperate poverty in Jamaica; pregnant at fifteen; fifteen years later singing in Boney M, one of the biggest international groups of the late-1970s; a messy group split during the 1980s; a 1990s solo career interrupted by six bouts of cancer - ovarian, breast, lymph node (twice), spine and oesophagus - and having to learn to walk again. Yet throughout Marcia Barrett has remained totally cheerful, relentlessly optimistic and a shining inspiration, looking on every obstacle as a mere inconvenience rather than anything insurmountable. Now, she is ready to tell her fantastic story, which is much more than just a pop star autobiography. It is a charming, candid, laugh-out-loud story of survival, triumph, indomitable spirit and total upfullness, often driven by sheer force of will. It is a feelgood story which will resonate amongst all.
Foundations in Music Bibliography
by Richard D GreenAs more and more music literature is published each year, librarians, scholars, and bibliographers are turning to music bibliography to retain control over the flood of information. Based on the Conference of Music Bibliography, this timely book provides vital information on the most important aspects of the scholarly practice of music bibliography. Foundations in Music Bibliography provides librarians with great insight into bibliographic issues they face every day including bibliographic control of primary and secondary sources, the emergence of enumerative and analytical bibliography, bibliographic instruction, and bibliographic lacunae.Foundations in Music Bibliography features the perspectives of prominent scholars and music librarians on contemporary issues in music bibliography often encountered by music librarians. It offers practical insights and includes chapters on teaching students how to use microcomputer programs to search music bibliographies, organizing a graduate course in music bibliography, and researching film music bibliography. The book also provides a supplement to Steven D. Westcott’s A Comprehensive Bibliography of Music for Film and Television. This insightful volume demonstrates the many ways that bibliography relates music publications to each other and endows grander meaning to individual scholarly observations. Some of the fascinating topics covered by Foundations in Music Bibliography include: the history of thematic catalogs indexing Gregorian chant manuscripts general principles of bibliographic instruction analyses of Debussy discographies musical ephemera and their importance in various types of musicological research bibliographical lacunae (i.e. lack of access to visual sources, failure to control primary sources, and lack of communication with the rest of the performing arts)Foundations in Music Bibliography shows librarians how bibliography can be used to help music students and researchers find the information they need among the innumerable available sources. It is an indispensable asset to the shelves of all music reference libraries that wish to provide their patrons with the latest bibliographic tools.
Foundations in Music Psychology: Theory and Research (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Daniel J. Levitin Peter Jason RentfrowA state-of-the-art overview of the latest theory and research in music psychology, written by leaders in the field.This authoritative, landmark volume offers a comprehensive state-of-the-art overview of the latest theory and research in music perception and cognition. Eminent scholars from a range of disciplines, employing a variety of methodologies, describe important findings from core areas of the field, including music cognition, the neuroscience of music, musical performance, and music therapy. The book can be used as a textbook for courses in music cognition, auditory perception, science of music, psychology of music, philosophy of music, and music therapy, and as a reference for researchers, teachers, and musicians. The book's sections cover music perception; music cognition; music, neurobiology, and evolution; musical training, ability, and performance; and musical experience in everyday life. Chapters treat such topics as pitch, rhythm, and timbre; musical expectancy, musicality, musical disorders, and absolute pitch; brain processes involved in music perception, cross-species studies of music cognition, and music across cultures; improvisation, the assessment of musical ability, and singing; and music and emotions, musical preferences, and music therapy.ContributorsFleur Bouwer, Peter Cariani, Laura K. Cirelli, Annabel J. Cohen, Lola L. Cuddy, Shannon de L'Etoile, Jessica A. Grahn, David M. Greenberg, Bruno Gingras, Henkjan Honing, Lorna S. Jakobson, Ji Chul Kim, Stefan Koelsch, Edward W. Large, Miriam Lense, Daniel Levitin, Charles J. Limb, Psyche Loui, Stephen McAdams, Lucy M. McGarry, Malinda J. McPherson, Andrew J. Oxenham, Caroline Palmer, Aniruddh Patel, Eve-Marie Quintin, Peter Jason Rentfrow, Edward Roth, Frank A. Russo, Rebecca Scheurich, Kai Siedenburg, Avital Sternin, Yanan Sun, William F. Thompson, Renee Timmers, Mark Jude Tramo, Sandra E. Trehub, Michael W. Weiss, Marcel Zentner
Foundations of Music Technology
by V. J. ManzoMany people believe that technology alone can transform them into creative musicians. This myth is spread through advertisements for the latest gadgets, software, and gear. The strange reality is that we probably have more music technology, music software, and music controllers and instruments than we need, and certainly more than we realistically know what to do with. Honestly, technology makes it really easy for anyone to create uninteresting music. However, music technology can offer accessibility with regard to music-making activities that traditional acoustic instruments and methods cannot. Coupled with an education in traditional aspects of music theory, counterpoint, and ear-training, an understanding of the functions and inner workings of various technologies can help facilitate a multitude of creative musical objectives. In this book, the author will discuss technology and its uses as a mechanism to facilitate musicianship as well as a muse to spark creativity.
Four Last Songs: Aging and Creativity in Verdi, Strauss, Messiaen, and Britten
by Linda Hutcheon Michael HutcheonAging and creativity can seem a particularly fraught relationship for artists, who often face age-related difficulties as their audience s expectations are at a peak. In"Four Last Songs," Linda and Michael Hutcheon explore this issue via the late works of some of the world s greatest composers. Giuseppe Verdi (1813 1901), Richard Strauss (1864 1949), Olivier Messiaen (1908 92), and Benjamin Britten (1913 76) all wrote operas late in life, pieces that reveal unique responses to the challenges of growing older. Verdi s"Falstaff," his only comedic success, combated Richard Wagner s influence by introducing young Italian composers to a new model of national music. Strauss, on the other hand, struggling with personal and political problems in Nazi Germany, composed the self-reflexive"Capriccio," a life review of opera and his own legacy. Though it exhausted him physically and emotionally, Messiaen at the age of seventy-five finishedhis only opera, "Saint Francois d Assise," which marked the pinnacle of his career. Britten, meanwhile, suffering from heart problems, refused surgery until he had completed his masterpiece, "Death in Venice. " For all four composers, age, far from sapping their creative power, provided impetus for some of their best accomplishments. With its deft treatment of these composers final years and works, "Four Last Songs" provides a valuable look at the challenges and opportunities that present themselves as artists grow older. "
Four Seasons
by Jane Breskin ZalbenAllegra Katz has been playing piano since she was four. But these aren't just any piano lessons. She studies at the Julliard School in New York, where careers are being formed-or not. Between strict practice schedules, music classes, and regular school, Ally doesn't have time for much else. Sometimes she wishes she could break free, but she's never known any other way. Her parents-a professional violinist and a singer-would kill her if they knew she was thinking about quitting piano, especially her mother. So she keeps on going, but as the months go by, she begins to ask herself, does she even love the piano? Why does she play? And how much longer can she stand the pressure before she breaks? From the Hardcover edition.
Four Symphonies: In Full Score
by Franz SchubertIn 1978 the music world commemorated the 150th anniversary of Schubert's death, and his great symphonies were widely played and recorded. In this one volume are Schubert's four most popular and most often played symphonies in full score, including the Symphony No. 9, which, according to Grove's Dictionary, is "universally admitted to be his greatest masterpiece." The symphonies are reproduced complete and unabridged from the famous and scholarly Breitkopf & Härtel series, a large and eminently readable edition, and are edited by Brahms. No other single-volume edition of these works is currently available.Included in this book are:Symphony No. 4 ("Tragic") in C MinorSymphony No. 5 in B-flat Major (also known as "Symphony without Trumpets and Drums")Symphony No. 8 ("Unfinished) in B MinorSymphony No. 9 ("Great) in C MajorThe music has been reproduced in a size large enough to be read easily, with large noteheads, wide margins (for notes, annotations, etc.), and on opaque paper with sturdy, sewn bindings. Pages lie flat and will not fall out. The edition is practical for almost any use, whether as a study guide, a reference, or simply a companion for your greater musical enjoyment.