In Chamber Music: An Extensive Guide for Listeners, Lucy Miller Murray transforms her decades of program notes for some of the world's most distinguished artists and presenters into the go-to guide for the chamber music novice and enthusiast. Offering practical information on the broad array of chamber music works from the Classical, Romantic, and Modern periods-and an artful selection from the Baroque period of Johann Sebastian Bach's works-Chamber Music: An Extensive Guide for Listeners is both the perfect reference resource and chamber music primer for listeners. Covering over 500 works, Murray surveys in clear and simple language the historical and musical impact of some 130 composers-20 of them living. Notably, Chamber Music includes the complete string quartets of Beethoven, Bartok, and Shostakovich, as well as 35 piano trios of Haydn. It also provides critical information and assessments of works by composers not nearly so well known, both past and present. Entries appear in alphabetical order by composer, and, in every instance, give a brief introduction to the composer's life and work. Of particular interest are the brief spotlight contributions, from well-known figures in the chamber music world, who focus on the performance experience or offer special knowledge of the works. This work is an ideal introduction and reference for students and scholars, new listeners, and enthusiasts of the chamber music tradition in Western music. Special contributors include: * Charles Abramovic * James Bonn * Michael Brown * Eugene Drucker * James Dunham * Daniel Epstein * Ralph Evans * Jeremy Gill * Jake Heggie * Paul Katz * Bert Lucarelli * Stuart Malina * Robert Martin * Peter Orth * Jann Pasler * Susan Salm * David Shifrin * Peter Sirotin/Ya-Ting Chang * Arnold Steinhardt * Kenneth Woods * David Yang * Phillip Ying

'They are not for you but for a later age!' Ludwig van Beethoven, on the Opus 59 quartets Beethoven's sixteen string quartets are some of the most extraordinary and challenging pieces of music ever written. They have inspired artists of all kinds - not only musicians - and have been subject to endless reinterpretation. What does it feel like to be a musician taking on these iconic works? And how do the four string players who make up a quartet interact, both musically and personally? The Takács is one of the world's pre-eminent string quartets. Performances of Beethoven have shaped their work together for over forty years. Using the history of both the Takács Quartet and the Beethoven quartets as the backbone to his story, Edward Dusinberre, first violinist of the Takács since 1993, recounts the exhilarating challenge of tackling these pieces. Beethoven for a Later Age takes the reader inside the daily life of a quartet, vividly showing the necessary creative tension between individual and group expression and how four people can enjoy making music together over a long period of time. The key, the author argues, is in balancing continuity with change and experimentation - a theme that lies at the heart of Beethoven's remarkable compositions. No other composer has posed so many questions about the form and emotional content of a string quartet, and come up with so many different answers. In an accessible style, suitable for novices and chamber music enthusiasts alike, Dusinberre illuminates the variety and inherent contradictions of Beethoven's quartets, composed against the turbulent backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars and their aftermath, and shows that engaging with this radical music continues to be as invigorating now as it was for its first performers and audiences.

for SATB and four-piece ensemble (flute, oboe, harp, organ) Four-piece chamber ensemble accompaniment to Rutter's arrangement in B major. Pack includes full score and set of parts. Not compatible with the John Rutter Anniversary Edition D-flat major arrangement, also found in the carol collection Joy to the World, or the D major upper voices version in Carols for Choirs 4.

for SATB and four-piece ensemble (flute, oboe, harp, piano) Four-piece chamber ensemble accompaniment to Rutter's lively arrangement of the Spanish carol. Pack includes full score and set of parts.

Danny Elfman's Piano Quartet comprises thematic variations for piano and string trio cast in five movements: Ein Ding, Kinderspott, Duett fur Vier, Ruhig and Die Wolfsjungen. The idea behind the work stems from a familiar children's playground taunt which can be heard in the second movement. The work playfully cycles through a variety of moods and textures, from the agitated intensity of the first movement so reminiscent of the composer's iconic film music, through to the delicate Adagio, all culminating in Elfman's energetic and impassioned finale.

A thorough examination of Shostakovich's string quartets is long overdue. Although they can justifiably lay claim to being the most significant and frequently performed twentieth-century oeuvre for that ensemble, there has been no systematic English-language study of the entire cycle. Judith Kuhn's book begins such a study, undertaken with the belief that, despite a growing awareness of the universality of Shostakovich's music, much remains to be learned from the historical context and an examination of the music's language. Much of the controversy about Shostakovich's music has been related to questions of meaning. The conflicting interpretations put forth by scholars during the musicological 'Shostakovich wars' have shown the impossibility of fixing a single meaning in the composer's music. Commentators have often heard the quartets as political in nature, although there have been contradictory views as to whether Shostakovich was a loyal communist or a dissident. The works are also often described as vivid narratives, perhaps a confessional autobiography or a chronicle of the composer's times. The cycle has also been heard to examine major philosophical issues posed by the composer's life and times, including war, death, love, the conflict of good and evil, the nature of subjectivity, the power of creativity and the place of the individual - and particularly the artist - in society. Soviet commentaries on the quartets typically describe the works through the lens of Socialist-Realist mythological master narratives. Recent Western commentaries see Shostakovich's quartets as expressions of broader twentieth-century subjectivity, filled with ruptures and uncertainty. What musical features enable these diverse interpretations? Kuhn examines each quartet in turn, looking first at its historical and biographical context, with special attention to the cultural questions being discussed at the time of its writing. She then surveys the work's reception history, and follows with a critical discussion of the quartet's architectural and harmonic features. Using the new tools of Sonata Theory, Kuhn provides a fresh analytical approach to Shostakovich's music, giving valuable and detailed insights into the quartets, showing how the composer's mastery of form has enabled these works to be heard as active participants in the Soviet and Western cultural discourses of their time, while remaining compelling and relevant to twenty-first-century listeners.

Chamber Music: A Research and Information Guide is a reference tool for anyone interested in chamber music. It is not a history or an encyclopedia but a guide to where to find answers to questions about chamber music. The third edition adds nearly 600 new entries to cover new research since publication of the previous edition in 2002. Most of the literature is books, articles in journals and magazines, dissertations and theses, and essays or chapters in Festschriften, treatises, and biographies. In addition to the core literature obscure citations are also included when they are the only studies in a particular field. In addition to being printed, this volume is also for the first time available online. The online environment allows for information to be updated as new research is introduced. This database of information is a "live" resource, fully searchable, and with active links. Users will have unlimited access, annual revisions will be made and a limited number of pages can be downloaded for printing.

Thomas Schuttenhelm provides a detailed account of the events leading up to and throughout the compositional process associated with Michael Tippett's Fifth String Quartet and a comprehensive analysis of the entire quartet. The commentary discusses this work in the context of Tippett's creative development and places it within the historical context of the genre of the string quartet. The commentary includes interviews with the members of the Lindsay String Quartet, who premiered the work, as well as previously unpublished letters from the composer and interviews with Tippett in which he discusses the quartet in detail. Special attention is given to Tippett's preliminary attempts, which were only recently discovered (2011) and to the evidence that suggests he altered the original ending. Included are images from the composer's sketchbooks and manuscripts, as well as the original beginning and the altered ending.

Series Information:
Routledge Studies in Musical Genres

Twentieth Century Chamber Music combines a chronological overview of 20th-century chamber music and the major composers in the style, with information on a wide selection of chamber works, including program music; vocal chamber music; works for new ensembles; the modern sonata; and contemporary string quartets. The book covers composers from Schoenberg and Bartók to Toru Takemitsu and George Crumb.

The second half of the eighteenth century witnessed a flourishing of the string quartet, often represented as a smooth and logical progression from first violin-dominated homophony to a more equal conversation between the four voices. Yet this progression was neither as smooth nor as linear as previously thought, as Mara Parker illustrates in her examination of the string quartet during this period. Looking at a wide variety of string quartets by composers such as Pleyel, Distler and Filtz, in addition to Haydn and Mozart, the book proposes a new way of describing the relationships between the four instruments in different works. Broadly speaking, these relationships follow one of four patterns: the 'lecture', the 'polite conversation', the 'debate', and the 'conversation'. In focusing on these musical discourses, it becomes apparent that each work is the product of its composer's stylistic choices, location, intended performers and intended audience. Instead of evolving in a strict and universal sequence, the string quartet in the latter half of the eighteenth century was a complex genre with composers mixing and matching musical discourses as circumstances and their own creative impulses required.

In Chamber Orchestra and Ensemble Repertoire, Dirk Meyer provides conductors, musicians, and librarians with all the information needed to plan their performances of modern chamber music. Meyer lists almost 4,000 works written during the 20th and 21st centuries, representing more than 1,100 composers. Entries are divided into three categories: Chamber Orchestra, String Orchestra, and Ensemble. Presented alphabetically by composer, each entry fully describes the composition, including its duration, year of composition, availability and publisher, and complete instrumentation. The comprehensive appendix allows users to search for repertoire based on a variety of criteria, including instrumentation, duration, solo instruments, and solo voices. As a catalog of modern music, the appendix also provides categories for 21st-century repertoire as well as compositions that require the use of electronics. Finally, an additional appendix offers arrangements for chamber orchestra or ensemble that were made by the "Verein fur musikalische Privatauffuhrungen" (Society for Private Musical Performances), a group of composers active in the early 20th century under the guidance of Arnold Schonberg. This valuable resource is complete with a list of publishers and bibliography.

for SATB and four-piece ensemble Four-piece chamber ensemble accompaniment to Rutter's classic anthem. Pack includes full score and set of parts. Compatible with the SA, SATB, and TTBB vocal scores.

for chamber orchestra The instrumentation for this work is the same as Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.5. The Suite is made up of six movements ranging from a 'Bach-like Aria' to a 'Richard Rodgers-style Waltz'. Rutter's own style comes through most strongly in the final Rondeau with its characteristically forward-driving rhythms and beautiful melodic lines. Evoking an 'antique' spirit, each movement is based on a Baroque or Classical style.

for SATB and four-piece ensemble (flute, oboe, harp, organ) Four-piece chamber ensemble accompaniment to Rutter's lively harvest anthem. Pack includes full score and set of parts. Compatible with both the English-only and dual-language vocal score.

for SATB and four-piece ensemble (flute, oboe, harp, organ) John Rutter's much-loved setting of the Aaronic Blessing (Numbers 6: 24). Compatible with SATB and SAB versions.

The piano trio has been a favorite medium for composers since its inception with Franz Joseph Haydn's compositions for violin, cello, and piano. There have been numerous compositions by many composers since that time, and the piano trio continues to interest composers today. In the United States composers began writing for this combination in the nineteenth century, following European traditions. In the twentieth century, the number of composers and compositions has seen a phenomenal increase. American Piano Trios: A Resource Guide provides information about works for piano trios (violin, cello, and piano) by American composers, including naturalized United States citizens. The information includes a brief biographical sketch of each composer, occasional comments by the composer, and notable information that might lead to a further exploration of his or her work and possible performance. Two appendixes provide contact information about active performers of piano trios and a list of classical music websites.

`Valentin Berlinsky (1925-2008) was a founding member of the Borodin Quartet and its cellist and mainstay for more than six decades. A proud Russian but also a man of compromise, his was a life lived for and through the Borodin Quartet. This book tells his story in his own words, lovingly compiled and edited by his grand-daughter, Maria Matalaev, from his diaries, correspondence and interviews, and his accounts of his close friendships with the likes of Shostakovich and Richter, Rostropovich and Oistrakh. Supplemented by tributes from family and friends, as well as an impressive annexure giving every performance, broadcast and recording made by the Borodin Quartet, this book constitutes one of the most revealing chronicles of Soviet and post-Soviet Russian musical life. In 2005, at the celebrations for both his 80th birthday and the 60th anniversary of the Borodin Quartet, Valentin Berlinsky sat down at a table with his students and said: `My dears, please, keep going: never leave Russia!'

Comprehensive database of original works written for the standard string quartet during the twentieth century. The sources of information include publishers' list, music reference materials, data from national music information centers, programmes, composers' correspondence and other publicity materials. Lawrence lists countries that have produced string quartets throughout the century, as well as the context of a composer's string-quartet output within the wider range of his/her work. Lawrence's book is a solid, comprehensive basis for investigation, welcome in universities and conservatories, as well as in any music enthusiast's library.

Oxford's highly successful listener's guides--The Symphony, The Concerto, and Choral Masterworks--have been widely praised for their blend of captivating biography, crystal clear musical analysis, and delightful humor. Now James Keller follows these greatly admired volumes with Chamber Music. Approaching the tradition of chamber music with knowledge and passion, Keller here serves as the often-opinionated but always genial guide to 192 essential works by 56 composers, providing illuminating essays on what makes each piece distinctive and admirable. Keller spans the history of this intimate genre of music, from key works of the Baroque through the emotionally stirring "golden age" of the Classical and Romantic composers, to modern masterpieces rich in political, psychological, and sometimes comical overtones. For each piece, from Bach through to contemporary figures like George Crumb and Steve Reich, the author includes an astute musical analysis that casual music lovers can easily appreciate yet that more experienced listeners will find enriching. Keller shares the colorful, often surprising stories behind the compositions while revealing the delights of an art form once described by Goethe as the musical equivalent of "thoughtful people conversing."

This is a performing edition of Walton's String Quartet in A minor, based on the edition published in the Walton Edition Chamber Music volume. The work was first performed in 1947 and later revised as the Sonata for String Orchestra.

A monumental accomplishment from the age of Enlightenment, the string quartets of Joseph Haydn hold a central place not only in the composer's oeuvre, but also in our modern conception of form, style, and expression in the instrumental music of his day. Here, renowned music historians Floyd and Margaret Grave present a fresh perspective on a comprehensive survey of the works. This thorough and unique analysis offers new insights into the creation of the quartets, the wealth of musical customs and conventions on which they draw, the scope of their innovations, and their significance as reflections of Haydn's artistic personality. Each set of quartets is characterized in terms of its particular mix of structural conventions and novelties, stylistic allusions, and its special points of connection with other opus groups in the series. Throughout the book, the authors draw attention to the boundless supply of compositional strategies by which Haydn appears to be continually rethinking, reevaluating, and refining the quartet's potentials. They also lucidly describe Haydn's famous penchant for wit, humor, and compositional artifice, illuminating the unexpected connections he draws between seemingly unrelated ideas, his irony, and his lightning bolts of surprise and thwarted expectation. Approaching the quartets from a variety of vantage points, the authors correct many prevailing assumptions about convention, innovation, and developing compositional technique in the music of Haydn and his contemporaries.
Going beyond traditional modes of study, The String Quartets of Joseph Haydn blends historical analysis and factual information with critical appraisal in a way that will engage all Haydn enthusiasts.

Detailed survey of Vivaldi's unjustly neglected chamber cantatas, showing them to stand comparison with his more famous works. Vivaldi's chamber cantatas for solo voice, some forty in total, are steadily gaining in popularity: but because of their relatively small place in the oeuvre of a composer famed for his productivity, and also on account of the general scholarly neglect of their genre, they are little discussed in the literature. This book comprehensively explores their literary and musical background, their relation to the composer's biography, the chronology of their composition, and their musical qualities. Each cantata is discussed individually, but there is also a broader consideration of aspects concerning them collectively, such as performance practice, topical allusion, and the conventions of Italian verse. The author argues that while Vivalid's cantatas are not as innovative as his concertos and operas, he produced several masterpieces in the genre that rank with his best music. MICHAEL TALBOT is Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Liverpool.

Witty and practical, this book is for amateur string instrument players who want to play quartets and other forms of chamber music. It covers everything. The long chapter discussing the ?literature? is exceptionally valuable.

This book examines two notable forms of chamber music involving piano and strings. Smallman surveys the development of these genres from their origins in the mid-eighteenth century to the present day.