‘Love cannot express the idea of music, while music may give an idea of love.’ Romantic composer Hector Berlioz

Berlioz should know. He didn’t just hear the symphony when he fell in love with an Irish actress back in 1827, he wrote it.

What was love like for the people who could really feel that song coming on? Symphony of Seduction tells of the romantic misadventures, tragedies and occasional triumphs of some of classical music’s great composers, and traces the music that emerged as a result.

For the eccentric Erik Satie, love came just once – and even then, not for long. Robert Schumann had to take his future father-in-law to court to win the right to marry. Hector Berlioz planned to murder a two-timing fiancée while dressed in drag, and Richard Wagner turned the temptation of adultery into a stage work that changed the course of music while rupturing his own marriage. Debussy’s love triangle, Brahms’ love for the wife of his insane mentor – all find expression in works we now consider to be some of the summits of creative achievement.

Christopher Lawrence takes what we know about these love-crazed geniuses and adds a garnish of imagined pillow talk to recreate stories that are ultimately stranger than fiction – and come with a great soundtrack.

A new look at the life, times, and music of Polish composer and piano virtuoso Fryderyk Chopin Fryderyk Chopin (1810-49), although the most beloved of piano composers, remains a contradictory figure, an artist of virtually universal appeal who preferred the company of only a few sympathetic friends and listeners. Chopin and His World reexamines Chopin and his music in light of the cultural narratives formed during his lifetime. These include the romanticism of the ailing spirit, tragically singing its death-song as life ebbs; the Polish expatriate, helpless witness to the martyrdom of his beloved homeland, exiled among friendly but uncomprehending strangers; the sorcerer-bard of dream, memory, and Gothic terror; and the pianist's pianist, shunning the appreciative crowds yet composing and improvising idealized operas, scenes, dances, and narratives in the shadow of virtuoso-idol Franz Liszt. The international Chopin scholars gathered here demonstrate the ways in which Chopin responded to and was understood to exemplify these narratives, as an artist of his own time and one who transcended it. This collection also offers recently rediscovered artistic representations of his hands (with analysis), and--for the first time in English--an extended tribute to Chopin published in Poland upon his death and contemporary Polish writings contextualizing Chopin's compositional strategies. The contributors are Jonathan D. Bellman, Leon Botstein, Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger, Halina Goldberg, Jeffrey Kallberg, David Kasunic, Anatole Leikin, Eric McKee, James Parakilas, John Rink, and Sandra P. Rosenblum. Contemporary documents by Karol Kurpi?ski, Adam Mickiewicz, and Jozef Sikorski are included.

Over the past 30 years, musicologists have produced a remarkable new body of research literature focusing on the lives and careers of women composers in their socio-historical contexts. But detailed analysis and discussion of the works created by these composers are still extremely rare. This is particularly true in the domain of music theory, where scholarly work continues to focus almost exclusively on male composers. Moreover, while the number of performances, broadcasts, and recordings of music by women has unquestionably grown, these works remain significantly underrepresented in comparison to music by male composers. Addressing these deficits is not simply a matter of rectifying a scholarly gender imbalance: the lack of knowledge surrounding the music of female composers means that scholars, performers, and the general public remain unfamiliar with a large body of exciting repertoire. Analytical Essays on Music by Women Composers: Concert Music, 1960-2000 is the first to appear in a groundbreaking four-volume series devoted to compositions by women across Western art music history. Each chapter opens with a brief biographical sketch of the composer before presenting an in-depth critical-analytic exploration of a single representative composition, linking analytical observations with questions of meaning and sociohistorical context. Chapters are grouped thematically by analytical approach into three sections, each of which places the analytical methods used in the essays that follow into the context of late twentieth-century ideas and trends. Featuring rich analyses and critical discussions, many by leading music theorists in the field, this collection brings to the fore repertoire from a range of important composers, thereby enabling further exploration by scholars, teachers, performers, and listeners.

The collection includes exclusive, one-on-one interviews conducted over the past six years with 27 of today's best-known violinists (plus one conductor/composer): Hilary Hahn, Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, David Garrett, Anne Akiko Meyers, Ruggiero Ricci, Maxim Vengerov, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony, Rachel Barton Pine, Nicola Benedetti, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Zachary DePue, James Ehnes, Simon Fischer, Augustin Hadelich, Janine Jansen, Leila Josefowicz and Esa-Pekka Salonen, Philippe Quint, Tasmin Little, Elmar Oliveira, Stanley Ritchie, Lara St. John, Philip Setzer, Clara-Jumi Kang and Judy Kang. It's a celebration of one of the world's most enduring instruments, and the people who are helping carry forth the violin's legacy into a new generation. "The Violinist.com Interviews: Volume 1" includes a foreword by Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn, who writes, "Laurie addresses topics that are comfortable but all-consuming, such as current projects, and delves into the delicate nuances of creativity. She captures specific moments in time. I love that. In this collection, you can observe her at work, but you will also travel along with her interview subjects."

Music examples and charts illustrate the analyses, and each essay is fully annotated by the editor. in some cases, the results of the original research by the editor or by others working in the field are published here for the first time. Much of the material has never before appeared in English. A score embodying the best available musical text. Historical background what is known of the circumstances surrounding the origin of the work, including (where relevant) original source material. A detailed analysis of the music, by the editor of the volume or another well-known scholar. Other significant analytic essays and critical comments, exposing the student to a variety of opinions about the music."

This book is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

Practical Method for Beginners, Op. 599. Czerny's piano exercises have been revered since they were created. Together with Hanon's The Virtuoso Pianist and Czerny's own The School of Velocity, Czerny's Practical Method for Beginners on the Pianoforte is among the most widely practiced set of exercises in the piano repertoire.

'It will take more than an earthquake to keep me from doing my work...'
Music changed Romel Joseph's life. But on Jan. 12, 2010, it also saved it.
That's when the blind musician and educator became trapped under three stories of rubble-the remains of the music school he founded in Port-au-Prince, Haiti-following the earthquake that devastated his country. But Romel, filled with faith in God and a desire to realize his dreams, remained alert. He survived, he says, by performing a different violin concerto or sonata every hour until the moment of his rescue.
The Miracle of Music captures his remarkable ordeal, which has captivated audiences around the world. His story has been featured in The Miami Herald, The Washington Post, the London Times, the CBS News with Katie Couric, the BBC, and others. But the narrative has been incomplete-until now.
This inspiring story is about how a blind Haitian boy became a Juilliard-trained violinist, a world-renowned musician, and used the music in his soul to overcome his life's obstacles and help those around him. It is about the successful struggle to keep open the New Victorian School, a premiere music education institution, despite untold obstacles. It is about the hopes and dreams and perseverance of a country. And it is about love and empathy that keeps us going even when the ground is shaking under our feet.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Mozart's Marriage of Figaro was one of his most successful works after its premiere in 1786. While the opera continues to be widely performed, the overture to the opera is performed even more often as a concert piece. This is a Pocket Score of the opera, designed for study and reference for performers.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) is likely the most recognized (and most widely played) piece of classical music in the string quartet repertoire. This is a Performer's Edition pocket score designed for study and reference in a compact book. Material is from the Performer's Edition release of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

This wonderful collection by Erik Satie contains scores for the solo piano. It is a fine example of the composer s work and a fantastic addition to any classical musician s repertoire. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Mozart's own words, edited by Friedrich Kerst and Henry Edward Krehbiel

Mozart's Serenade No. 12 in C minor (K 388), often referred to as Nacht Musique, is a work for Woodwind Octet that has become widely played. The work consists of four movements, with a canon in the Minuet movement. This work was also transcribed by Mozart for String Quintet and survives as K 406 in that form.

Written by a young Mozart in 1772, the three divertimenti commonly known as the Salzburg Symphonies are works that bridge two common forms - the divertimento of the time and the Italian symphony of the time. While the true divertimento of the time was 5 movements, these works are each three movements in length, as was the Italian symphony of the time. These works are light-hearted and less demanding on the players than many of Mozart's later works. Today, the are performed either by string orchestra or by string quartet.