Of the few composers who possessed an intrinsic mastery of the string quartet, Haydn was the first and, Hans Keller argues, the greatest. This seminal study of forty-five quartets by one of the leading music critics of his day provides an extraordinarily deep understanding of Haydn's methods and genius.

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.

This comprehensive survey shows how the larger scale works relate to Beethoven's chamber music and how the composer evolved an increasing freedom of form. Beethoven's Chamber Music in Context provides professional and amateur musicians, and music lovers generally, with a complete survey of Beethoven's chamber music and the background to each individual work - the loyalty of patrons, musicians and friends on the one hand; increasing deafness and uncertain health on the other. Attention is paid to the influence of such large-scale compositions as the Eroica Symphony and Fidelio on the chamber music of his middle years and the Missa Solemnis and the Ninth Symphony on his late quartets. The author also lays stress on Beethoven's ever-increasing freedom of form - largely a result of his mastery of improvisationand a powerful symbol of the fusion of classical discipline with the subversive spirit of romantic adventure which characterises his mature music. Beethoven's friends were not shy about asking him what his music meant, orwhat inspired him, and it is clear that he attached the greatest importance to the words he used when describing the character of his compositions. 'The tempo is more like the body,' he wrote when commending Malzel's invention ofthe metronome, 'but these indications of character certainly refer to the spirit.' Angus Watson, a violinist and conductor, has been Director of Music at Stowe School, Winchester College and Wells Cathedral School, one of Britain's specialist music schools. From 1984-1989 he was Dean of Music at the newly founded Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

for SATB and four-piece ensemble (piccolo, oboe, harp, organ) Four-piece chamber ensemble accompaniment to Rutter's popular carol. Pack includes full score and set of parts. Compatible with the versions in Carols for Choirs 3, 100 Carols for Choirs, John Rutter Carols, and John Rutter Carols for SA & Men. Compatible with the Kenneth Pont arrangement for unison voices with a small adjustment to the introduction, available separately or in Carols for Choirs 4.

This companion volume to The Courtly Consort Suite in German-Speaking Europe surveys an area of music neglected by modern scholars: the consort suites and dance music by musicians working in the seventeenth-century German towns. Conditions of work in the German towns are examined in detail, as are the problems posed by the many untrained travelling players who were often little more than beggars. The central part of the book explores the organisation, content and assembly of town suites into carefully ordered printed collections, which refutes the concept of the so-called 'classical' suite. The differences between court and town suites are dealt with alongside the often-ignored variation suite from the later decades of the seventeenth century and the separate suite-writing traditions of Leipzig and Hamburg. While the seventeenth-century keyboard suite has received a good deal of attention from modern scholars, its often symbiotic relationship with the consort suite has been ignored. This book aims to redress the balance and to deal with one very important but often ignored aspect of seventeenth-century notation: the use of blackened notes, which are rarely notated in a meaningful way in modern editions, with important implications for performance.

Dance music at the courts of seventeenth-century Germany is a genre that is still largely unknown. Dr Michael Robertson sets out to redress the balance and study the ensemble dance suites that were played at the German courts between the end of the Thirty Years War and the early years of the eighteenth century. At many German courts during this time, it was fashionable to emulate everything that was French. As part of this process, German musicians visited Paris throughout the second half of the seventeenth century, and brought French courtly music back with them on their return. For the last two decades of the century, this meant the works of Jean-Baptiste Lully, and his music and its influence spread rapidly through the courts of Europe. Extracts from Lully's dramatic stage works were circulated in both published editions and manuscript. These extracts are considered in some detail, especially in terms of their relationship to the suite. The nobility also played their part in this process: French musicians and German players with specialist knowledge were often hired to coach their German colleagues in the art of playing in the French manner, the franzAsischer Art. The book examines the dissemination of dance music, instrumentation and performance practice, and the differences between the French and Italian styles. It also studies the courtly suites before the advent of Lullism and the differences between the suites of court composers and town musicians. With the possible exception of Georg Muffat's two Florilegium collections of suites, much of the dance music of the German Lullists is largely unknown; court composers such as Cousser, Erlebach, Johann Fischer and Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer all wrote fine collections of ensemble suites, and these are examined in detail. Examples from these suites, some published for the first time, are given throughout the book in order to demonstrate the music's quality and show that its neglect is completely unjustified.

More String Time Joggers is an exciting collection from the authors of the award-winning Fiddle Time series. It provides enjoyable and inventive ensemble material for all string groups, in flexible scoring (for violin, viola, cello, and double bass with piano or CD accompaniment) from two parts to large string ensemble. There are pupil books with lively illustrations for violin, viola, cello, and double bass.

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.

In the early seventeenth century, enthusiasm for the violin swept across Europe-this was an instrument capable of bewitching virtuosity, with the power to express emotions in a way only before achieved with the human voice. With this new guide to the Baroque violin, and its close cousin, the Baroque viola, distinguished performer and pedagogue Walter Reiter puts this power into the hands of today's players. Through fifty lessons based on the Reiter's own highly-renowned course at The Royal Conservatory of the Hague, The Baroque Violin & Viola, Volume I provides a comprehensive exploration of the period's rich and varied repertoire. Volume I covers the basics of choosing a violin, techniques to produce an ideal sound, and sonatas by Vivaldi and Corelli. Practical exercises are integrated into each lesson, and accompanied by rich video demonstrations on the book's companion website. Brought to life by Reiter's deep insight into key repertoire based on a lifetime of playing and teaching, The Baroque Violin & Viola, Volume I: A Fifty-Lesson Course will enhance performances of professional and amateur musicians alike.

for SATB and chamber ensemble Magnificat is a joyous celebration of the Virgin Mary, inspired by feast-day festivities in countries such as Spain, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Following the example set by Bach, the Magnificat text is extended, incorporating the fifteenth-century English poem 'Of a Rose', the prayers 'Sancta Maria', and the 'Sanctus' (set to the Gregorian chant of the Missa cum jubilo). The full scores, for orchestra or chamber ensemble, are now available on sale for the first time in handsome, cloth-bound editions, and the newly set orchestral parts are available on hire.

Walton's Violin Sonata was commissioned by Yehudi Menuhin after a chance encounter in Lucerne, Switzerland in September 1947. The work was completed in 1949 and first performed by Menuhin and Louis Kentner that year. This edition is based on the score published in the Walton Edition Chamber Music volume.

for SATB and three-piece ensemble (oboe, harp, organ) Three-piece chamber ensemble accompaniment to Rutter's arrangement of Psalm 23. Pack includes full score and set of parts.

These books are to be used with the corresponding volumes of the Suzuki Piano School to produce duet or duo versions of the pieces in the original series. Volume 1 titles include: Allegro * Chant Arabe * Christmas Day Secrets * Clair de Lune * French Children's Song * Go Tell Aunt Rhody * Goodbye to Winter * The Honeybee * London Bridge * Long, Long Ago * Lightly Row (Alberti Bass) * Little Playmates * Mary Had a Little Lamb * Musette * Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Variations and more.

for string orchestra with optional bass
This suite includes four movements in varying moods, both lyrical and gentle as well as vibrant.

for chamber ensemble This volume presents new editions of all Walton's mature chamber music, including the first publication on sale of the Toccata for Violin and Piano, String Quartet (1920-2), and Tema (per Variazioni) per 'Cello Solo.

In the early seventeenth century, enthusiasm for the violin swept across Europe-this was an instrument capable of bewitching virtuosity, with the power to express emotions in a way only before achieved with the human voice. With this new guide to the Baroque violin, and its close cousin, the Baroque viola, distinguished performer and pedagogue Walter Reiter puts this power into the hands of today's players. Through fifty lessons based on the Reiter's own highly-renowned course at The Royal Conservatory of the Hague, The Baroque Violin & Viola, Volume II provides a comprehensive exploration of the period's rich and varied repertoire. The lessons in Volume II cover the early seventeenth-century Italian sonata, music of the French Baroque, the Galant style, and the sonatas of composers like Schmelzer, Biber, and Bach. Practical exercises are integrated into each lesson, and accompanied by rich video demonstrations on the book's companion website. Brought to life by Reiter's deep insight into key repertoire based on a lifetime of playing and teaching, The Baroque Violin & Viola, Volume II: A Fifty-Lesson Course will enhance performances of professional and amateur musicians alike.

"This book is a substantial and timely contribution to Brahms studies. Its strategy is to focus on a single critical work, the C-Minor Piano Quartet, analyzing and interpreting it in great detail, but also using it as a stepping-stone to connect it to other central Brahms works in order to reach a new understanding of the composer s technical language and expressive intent. It is an original and worthy contribution on the music of a major composer." Patrick McCreless

Expressive Forms in Brahms s Instrumental Music integrates a wide variety of analytical methods into a broader study of theoretical approaches, using a single work by Brahms as a case study. On the basis of his findings, Smith considers how Brahms s approach in this piano quartet informs analyses of similar works by Brahms as well as by Beethoven and Mozart.

Musical Meaning and Interpretation Robert S. Hatten, editor"

We knew from her recordings that Susan Tomes is a superb chamber player; now we know that she's a superb writer too. Michael Church, INDEPENDENT In this widely acclaimed volume, Susan Tomes, a rare example of a leading musicianwho writes about the craft of performance, describes her experience of twenty years of rehearsal, concerts and recording. We knew from her recordings that Susan Tomes is a superb chamber player; now we know that she's a superb writer too. Michael Church, INDEPENDENT She is as sensitive an observer and as subtle a writer as she is one of our finest chamber musicians...This is a book that should be read by practising musicians and music-lovers alike: here's one performer who really can communicate in words as well as music. JAMES JOLLY, GRAMOPHONE Susan Tomes's bookgives you an intensely illuminating picture of the life of a pianist...she is a brilliant writer...Just as she magnetises with her playing, so too with her words. EDWARD GREENFIELD, GUARDIAN In this widely acclaimed volume, Susan Tomes, a rare example of a leading musician who writes about the craft of performance, describes her experience of twenty years of rehearsal, concerts and recording. Her performing life has been centred on chamber music and the need to communicate it fully to an audience hungry for meaningful musical experience. She was a founder member and the pianist of both Domus and the Florestan Trio, award-winning groups at the top of their field. Part One is a series of diaries describing their travels and performances: Domus in the 1980s with its own portable concert hall, struggling to create the conditions for informal but intense concert performances, and the Florestan Trio, currently one of the world's finest piano trios. Part Two is a collection of thought-provoking essays about teachers, making records, practising and rehearsing, audiences, earning a living, and the particular challenges of being a concert pianist. Beyond the Notes gives an unusually candid view of the complexities of a life in music. SUSAN TOMES, alongside her packed concert schedule, is a frequent contributor, on music and other subjects, to a number of publications.

With this revised and enlarged edition of "The String Player's Guide to Chamber Music, " music lovers learn to play well-known works by Mozart, and Beethoven, among others. The book evaluates each piece, identifying problems performers may face and letting them know the amount of work involved in learning it. Meant chiefly for string quartets, piano trios, and similar ensembles, the assortment also includes a few pieces for more unusual combinations.

This is a performing edition of Walton's
iano Quartet, first published in 1918 and one of his first compositions to have survived. The work was later revised by Walton in 1974-5, and this edition is based on the score published in the Walton Edition Chamber Music volume for string quartet.

Piano duets, whether on one piano or two, are great fun to play. Their technical demands range from the very simple to the extremely difficult; every pianist, whether amateur or professional, will always find in the vast repertoire something to suit his or her capabilities. Keyboard Duets describes the chronology of the piano duet and music for two pianos, from their earliest beginnings to the present day, investigates various technical problems, and also provides a selective list of original duets with genuine musical or historical interest.