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Books > Music > Composers & musicians

The Lives of George Frideric Handel (Hardcover): David Hunter The Lives of George Frideric Handel (Hardcover)
David Hunter
R1,156 Discovery Miles 11 560 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

How have Handel's 'lives' in biographies and histories moulded our understanding of the musician, the man and the icon? To evaluate the familiar, even over-familiar, story of Handel's life could be seen as a quixotic endeavour. How can there be anything new to say? This book seeks to distinguish fact from fiction, not only to produce a new biography but also to explore the concepts of biography and dissemination by using Handel's life and lives as a case study. By examining the images of Handel to be found in biographies and music histories - the genius, the religious profound, the master of musical styles, the distiller into music of English sentiment, the glorifier of the Hanoverians, the hymner of the middle class, the independent, the prodigious, the generous, the sexless, the successful, the wealthy, the bankrupt, the pious, the crude, the heroic, the devious, the battler of ill-fortune, the moral exemplar - and by adding new factual information, David Hunter shows how events are manipulated into stories and tropes. Onesuch trope has been employed to portray numerous persons as Handel's enemies regardless of whether Handel considered them as such. Picking apart the writing of Handel's biographers and other reporters, Hunter exposes the narrative underpinnings - the lies, confusions, presumptions, and conclusions, whether direct and inferred or assumed - to show how Handel's 'lives' in biographies and histories have moulded our understanding of the musician, the man andthe icon. DAVID HUNTER is Music Librarian at the University of Texas at Austin.

Easy Action - The Original Alice Cooper Band (Paperback): Martin Popoff Easy Action - The Original Alice Cooper Band (Paperback)
Martin Popoff
R517 R433 Discovery Miles 4 330 Save R84 (16%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

The astonishing run of albums unleashed upon an unsuspecting public within the span of five years created the legend of Alice Cooper that lives on to this day. But we're talking about the original Alice Cooper group here, a band called that with a lead singer also going by that name. In other words, the legend was built by Vincent "Alice Cooper" Furnier, Michael Bruce, Glen Buxton, Dennis Dunaway and "platinum god" Neal Smith. It is all of them working together - along with producer Bob Ezrin - that created the mystique of songs like "I'm Eighteen," "Is It My Body," "Desperado," "Under My Wheels," "Be My Lover," "Elected" and "No More Mr. Nice Guy." And it is all of them working together - along with crack management in Shep Gordon and Joe Greenberg-that created the shock rock buzz that kept the newspapers full of indignation about this band set out to destroy human civilization. Easy Action: The Original Alice Cooper Group tells the story in meticulous chronological detail, from the band's early days in Phoenix as The Spiders, through being broke on the Sunset Strip, followed by a career-reviving relocation to a notorious party house on the outskirts of Pontiac, Michigan. Corroborating the improbable sequence of events is a plethora of stories from the band themselves, who explain how the original Alice Cooper group went from politely ignored pariahs in Los Angeles to international Public Enemies No. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Listen to the guys and their good-natured explanations behind the mayhem, and it soon becomes apparent that the ghoulish makeup around the singer's eyes and the boa constrictor around his neck - not to mention the head-choppings, the hangings and the hard rock - were all served up in good fun. Now it's time for you, dear reader, to join in the fun and see why Alice Cooper was, for a golden moment in time fully 50 years ago now, the most feared and revered act in all of rock 'n' roll.

David Bowie: Icon - The Definitive Photographic Collection (Hardcover): Iconic Images David Bowie: Icon - The Definitive Photographic Collection (Hardcover)
Iconic Images; Introduction by George Underwood
R1,519 Discovery Miles 15 190 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

"All the photos of David Bowie you could possibly ever need. The most noteworthy collection of David Bowie images ever accumulated. Whether you want to own the book as a collector's item or display it on your coffee table, this definitive work is a tribute fit for an icon." - Interview magazine David Bowie: Icon gathers the greatest photographs of one of the greatest stars in history, into a single, luxurious volume. The result is the most important anthology of David Bowie images that has ever been compiled. With work by many of the most eminent names in photography, this book showcases a stunning portfolio of imagery, featuring the iconic, the awe inspiring, the candid and the surprising. An astonishing 25 photographers from around the world have contributed to this celebration. Their images are accompanied by personal essays and reflections about working with this astonishing artist. From memories of the earliest days at the Arts Lab in Beckenham to what it was like touring the world with Bowie, each contributor shares their experiences of working with - and knowing - this most extraordinary figure. From portraits and album covers, performances and rehearsals, to rarely seen private moments and candid snapshots, this collection is at once powerful, sentimental and inspiring. The thoughts and reminiscences of the photographers, many sharing their memories for the first time, give us an insight into this artist unlike any other. Photography and text by: Fernando Aceves, Brian Aris, Philippe Auliac, Alec Byrne, Kevin Cummins, Chalkie Davies, Justin de Villeneuve, Vernon Dewhurst, Gavin Evans, Gerald Fearnley, Lynn Goldsmith, Greg Gorman, Andrew Kent, Markus Klinko, Geoff MacCormack, Janet Macoska, Terry O'Neill, Denis O'Regan, Norman Parkinson, Mick Rock, John Scarisbrick, Steve Schapiro, Barry Schultz, Masayoshi Sukita and Ray Stevenson. Features an introduction by Bowie's life-long friend, the artist George Underwood. When David Bowie passed away on 10 January 2016, the world lost a musical hero. But his legacy lives on. While his sound and style evolved throughout his career - from Ziggy to the Thin White Duke - two facts never changed: he was an innovator; and photographers adored him. This book pays homage to this ultimate icon.

The Road to Riverdance PB (Paperback): Bill Whelan The Road to Riverdance PB (Paperback)
Bill Whelan
R663 R614 Discovery Miles 6 140 Save R49 (7%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Riverdance exploded across the stage at Dublin's Point Theatre one spring evening in 1994 during a seven-minute interval of the Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Ireland. It was a watershed moment in the cultural history of a country embracing the future, a confident leap into world music grounded in the footfall of the choreographed kick-line. It was a moment forty-five years in the making for its composer. In this tenderly unfurled memoir Bill Whelan rehearses a lifetime of unconscious preparation as step by step he revisits his past, from with his Barrington Street home in 1950s Limerick, to the forcing ground of University College Dublin and the Law Library during the 1960s, to his attic studio in Ranelagh. Along the way the reader is introduced to people and places in the immersive world of fellow musicians, artists and producers, friends and collaborators, embracing the spectrum of Irish music as it broke boundaries, entering the global slipstream of the 1980s and 1990s. As art and commerce fused, dramas and contending personalities come to view behind the arras of stage, screen and recording desk. Whelan pays tribute to a parade of those who formed his world. He describes the warmth and sustenance of his Limerick childhood, his parents and Denise Quinn, won through assiduous courtship; the McCourts and Jesuit fathers of his early days, the breakthrough with a tempestuous Richard Harris who summoned him to London; Danny Doyle, Shay Healy, Dickie Rock, Planxty, The Dubliners and Stockton's Wing, Noel Pearson, Sean O Riada; working with Jimmy Webb, Leon Uris, The Corrs, Paul McGuinness, Moya Doherty, John McColgan, Jean Butler and Michael Flatley. Written with wry, inimitable Irish humour and insight, Bill Whelan's self deprecation allows us to to see the players in all their glory, vulnerability and idiosyncracy. This fascinating work reveals the nuts, bolts, sheer effort and serendipities that formed the road to Riverdance in his reinvention of the Irish tradition for a modern age. As the show went on to perform to millions worldwide, Whelan was honoured with a 1997 Grammy Award when Riverdance was named the 'Best Musical Show Album.' Richly detailed and illustrated, The Road to Riverdance forms an enduring repository of memory for all concerned with the performing arts.

Liszt's Transcultural Modernism and the Hungarian-Gypsy Tradition (Hardcover): Shay Loya Liszt's Transcultural Modernism and the Hungarian-Gypsy Tradition (Hardcover)
Shay Loya
R3,653 Discovery Miles 36 530 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The first thorough study of Liszt's use of the musical style associated with the Hungarian Roma ["Gypsies"] in his renowned Hungarian Rhapsodies and less overtly Hungarian works. Some of Franz Liszt's most renowned pieces -- most famously his Hungarian Rhapsodies -- are written in a nineteenth-century Hungarian style known as verbunkos. Closely associated with the virtuosic playing tradition of theHungarian-Gypsy band, the meaning and uses of this style in Liszt's music have been widely taken for granted and presented as straightforward. Taking a novel transcultural approach to nineteenth-century modernism, Shay Loya presents a series of critiques and sensitive music analyses that demonstrate how the verbunkos idiom, rich and artful in itself, interacted in myriad ways with Liszt's multiple cultural identities, compositional techniques, and modernist aesthetics. Even supposedly familiar works such as the Rhapsodies emerge in a new light, and more startlingly, we find out how the idiom inhabits and shapes works that bear no outward marks of nationality or ethnicity. Particularly surprising is its role in the famously enigmatic compositions of Liszt's old age, such as Nuages gris and Bagatelle sans tonalite. We are pleased to announce that Liszt's Transcultural Modernism and the Hungarian-Gypsy Tradition is one of two winners of the 2014 Alan Walker Book Award, given by the American Liszt Society. Shay Loya is a Lecturer at City University London and is a board member of the Societyfor Music Analysis (UK).

Mudhoney - The Sound and The Fury from Seattle (Updated Edition) (Paperback): Keith Cameron Mudhoney - The Sound and The Fury from Seattle (Updated Edition) (Paperback)
Keith Cameron
R523 R440 Discovery Miles 4 400 Save R83 (16%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

'...probably the best book written about grunge' Paul Brannigan, Classic Rock 'Mudhoney are the jewel of Seattle.' Thurston Moore, Sonic Youth If rock fans associate Seattle primarily with Nirvana and Pearl Jam, time has shown that the city's most influential grunge band may well have been Mudhoney. They're still going strong and this is their story. Formed in early 1988 Mudhoney originally comprised Mark Arm, Matt Lukin, Dan Peters and Steve Turner and their debut single, 'Touch Me I'm Sick', was the catalytic force behind Nirvana and Pearl Jam who took grunge global. Mudhoney's would have been another story of half-forgotten pioneers paving the way for others who grabbed the prize... except they not only survived all the classic rock band excesses, but they also kept on producing great music. Bolstered by new member Guy Maddison, they celebrated their quarter-century with a superb 2013 album, Vanishing Point, and showed no signs of slowing down with the release of Digital Garbage in 2018 and Morning In America in 2019. Updated with a new chapter drawing on fresh interviews with the group, this book tells an unconventional tale of rock heroism about a band that missed out on superstardom but kept control of the music and triumphantly outlived their more famous disciples.

Satan Is Real - The Ballad of the Louvin Brothers (Paperback): Charlie Louvin, Benjamin Whitmer Satan Is Real - The Ballad of the Louvin Brothers (Paperback)
Charlie Louvin, Benjamin Whitmer
R533 R457 Discovery Miles 4 570 Save R76 (14%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The beautiful and tragic saga of the Louvin Brothers - one of the most legendary country duos of all time - is one of America's great untold stories. Charlie Louvin was a good, god-fearing, churchgoing singer, but his brother Ira had the devil in him and was known for smashing his mandolin to splinters onstage, cussing out Elvis Presley, and trying to strangle his third wife with a telephone cord. "Satan is Real" is the incredible tale of Charlie Louvin's sixty-five-year career, the timeless murder ballads of the Louvin Brothers, and the epic tale of two brothers bound together by love, hate, alcohol, blood, and music.

The Correspondence of Alan Bush and John Ireland - 1927-1961 (Hardcover, New edition): Rachel O'higgins The Correspondence of Alan Bush and John Ireland - 1927-1961 (Hardcover, New edition)
Rachel O'higgins; Rachel O'higgins
R4,396 Discovery Miles 43 960 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

John Ireland (1879-1962) had a long and close friendship with Alan Bush (1900-1995) which lasted forty years, from 1922, when John Ireland was already fifty years old, until Ireland's death in 1962. It was the relationship of master and pupil and this was clearly reflected in their letters. The two men came to know each other well once Bush had left the Royal Academy of Music in 1922 and became a student of composition with Ireland until 1927. 160 letters are published here for the first time and they provide not only a compelling and engaging narrative, but also a unique insight into the musical and day-to-day lives of the two men. The letters were written during a most interesting and turbulent period in British history: the inter-war period of the 1920s and 30s, the situation during the Second World War and the post-war era. The volume will therefore appeal to those interested in wider aspects of British musical life and social and political history, as well as followers of Ireland and Bush.

Vaughan Williams - Composer, Radical, Patriot - a Biography (Paperback): Keith Alldritt Vaughan Williams - Composer, Radical, Patriot - a Biography (Paperback)
Keith Alldritt
R553 R514 Discovery Miles 5 140 Save R39 (7%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The ground-breaking biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams reveals more than any other the man behind the music. In this new paperback edition, the author examines the considerable range of Vaughan Williams's work, from the English pastoral tradition to Modernism, and shows how Vaughan Williams was influenced by the Boer War, the economic depression after the First World War, the deprivations of the Blitz, and the austerity of the Cold War. He also reveals how the greatest influence on Vaughan Williams's music and creative development was his personal life, involving his seemingly secure marriage and an equally enduring love affair. The author shows how these reflected both the stability and cutting-edge aspects of his music.Like a great symphony, this book ranges from doubt to inspiration. It is the most complete biography of one of Britain's greatest composers.

Catalog of the Musical Works of William Billings (Hardcover, New): Karl Kroeger Catalog of the Musical Works of William Billings (Hardcover, New)
Karl Kroeger
R1,381 Discovery Miles 13 810 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

William Billings (1746-1800) was the most important native-born composer of the American colonial and Federal eras. He wrote hundreds of choral compositions, which were set to sacred or devotional texts for use by church choirs, singing schools, and musical societies. Extremely popular in his own time, Billings's music was denigrated during the nineteenth century when European styles governed American musical tastes. In the twentieth century his genius was recognized, and his music is widely sung and studied. Originally published in six tunebooks, the 338 extant pieces were issued in a scholarly edition by the American Musicological Society and The Colonial Society of Massachusetts as The Complete Works of William Billings (4 vols., 1977-1990). The present catalog complements the Complete Works by serving as a guide to its contents and providing a wealth of additional data. Included for each composition are exact title; text source; first line; technical information on length, meter, key, and melody; manuscript sources and contemporaneous reprints; bibliography and modern recordings. An extensive list of works cited is followed by five indexes providing access to the material in the catalog by first line of text, Billings's anthem titles, text sources, musical form (tune types), and musical incipits. The catalog provides for Billings's music information similar to that found in Schmeider's listings for Bach and Koechel's listings for Mozart.

Roger Miller - Dang Him! (Hardcover): Don Cusic Roger Miller - Dang Him! (Hardcover)
Don Cusic
R778 R676 Discovery Miles 6 760 Save R102 (13%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Mozart's Women - His Family, His Friends, His Music (Paperback, Unabridged edition): Jane Glover Mozart's Women - His Family, His Friends, His Music (Paperback, Unabridged edition)
Jane Glover 2
R502 R403 Discovery Miles 4 030 Save R99 (20%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Mozart was fascinated, amused, aroused, hurt, and betrayed by women. He loved and respected them, composed for them, performed with them. This unique biography looks at his interaction with each, starting with his family (his mother, Maria Anna and beloved and talented sister, Nannerl), and his marriage (which brought his 'other family', the Weber sisters). His relationships with his artists are examined, in particular those of his operas, through whose characters Mozart gave voice to the emotions of women who were, like his entire female acquaintance, restrained by the conventions and structures of eighteenth-century society. This is their story as well as his -- and shows once again that a great part of the composer's genius was in his understanding and musical expression of human nature. Evocative and beautifully written, Mozart's Women illuminates the music, the man, and above all the women who inspired him. 'Jane Glover has pulled off a coup des livres with her fresh take on Mozart's life and work' Sunday Telegraph 'Readable, informative and moving...Her passion for the music shines through this touching, vividly told story' Sunday Times

Bob Dylan in London - Troubadour Tales (Paperback): Jackie Lees, K G Miles Bob Dylan in London - Troubadour Tales (Paperback)
Jackie Lees, K G Miles
R353 R293 Discovery Miles 2 930 Save R60 (17%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

This is both a guide and history on the impact of London on Dylan, and the lasting legacy of Bob Dylan on the London music scene. Bob Dylan In London celebrates this journey, and allows readers to experience Dylan's London and follow in his footsteps to places such as the King and Queen pub (the first venue that Dylan performed at in London), the Savoy hotel and Camden Town. This book explores the key London places and times that helped to create one of the greatest of all popular musicians, Bob Dylan.

Once in a Blue Moon - The Unforgettable Frank Sinatra (Hardcover): Michael O'Neill Once in a Blue Moon - The Unforgettable Frank Sinatra (Hardcover)
Michael O'Neill; Designed by Darren Grice; Edited by (editors-in-chief) Tom O'Neill
R382 R257 Discovery Miles 2 570 Save R125 (33%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This lavishly illustrated hard back book tells the incredible story of Francis Albert Frank Sinatra and begins in Hoboken New Jersey on December 12th 1915 where Frank is born the only child of Italian immigrants. Beginning his musical career in the swing era as a boy singer with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra found success as a solo artist from the early 1940s after being signed by Columbia Records in 1943. Sinatra became one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide including the hits New York New York, My Way and Strangers in the Night. He was a founding member of the Rat Pack with Sammy Davis Junior and Dean Martin. Sinatra won an Academy Award for his performance in From Here to Eternity. He starred in a number of musicals including On the Town, Guys and Dolls and High Society. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. One of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century, Sinatra had a popularity that was later matched only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Michael Jackson. He has been called the greatest singer of the 20th Century.

Stories I Might Regret Telling You (Hardcover): Martha Wainwright Stories I Might Regret Telling You (Hardcover)
Martha Wainwright
R411 Discovery Miles 4 110 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This is Martha Wainwright's heartfelt memoir about growing up in a bohemian musical family and her experiences with love, loss, motherhood, divorce, the music industry and more. Born into music royalty, the daughter of folk legends Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III and sister to the highly-acclaimed singer Rufus Wainwright, Martha grew up in a world filled with such incomparable folk legends as Leonard Cohen, Anna McGarrigle, Richard and Linda Thompson, Pete Townsend and Emmylou Harris. It was within this loud, boisterous, musical milieu that Martha came of age, struggling to find her voice until she exploded onto the music scene with her 2005 debut and critically acclaimed album, Martha Wainwright, which contained the blistering hit, 'Bloody Mother F*cking Asshole', which the Sunday Times called one of the best songs of that year. Her successful debut album and the ones that followed such as Come Home to Mama, I Know You're Married but I've Got Feelings Too and Goodnight City came to define Martha's searing songwriting style and established her as a powerful voice to be reckoned with. 'With disarming candour and courage, Martha tells us of finding her own voice and peace as a working artist and mother. Her story is made more unique because of the remarkably gifted musical family she was born into.' EMMYLOU HARRIS In Stories I Might Regret Telling You, Martha digs into the deep recesses of herself with the same emotional honesty that has come to define her music. She describes her tumultuous public-facing journey from awkward, earnest and ultimately rebellious daughter, through her intense competition and ultimate alliance with her brother, Rufus, to the heart-breaking loss of their mother, Kate, and then, finally, discovering her voice as an artist. With candour and grace, Martha writes of becoming a mother herself and making peace with her past struggles with Kate and her younger self. Ultimately, this book offers a thoughtful and deeply personal look into the extraordinary life of one of the most talented singer-songwriters in music today.

The Words and Music of Billy Joel (Hardcover): Ken Bielen The Words and Music of Billy Joel (Hardcover)
Ken Bielen
R1,681 Discovery Miles 16 810 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This detailed exploration looks at the musical works of recording artist Billy Joel and his impact on popular culture. Billy Joel skyrocketed to popularity in 1977 with his fifth album, The Stranger, and he has been a major American artist ever since. His songs are timeless and appreciated by generations of fans. The Words and Music of Billy Joel examines this influential musician's songs in detail, exploring the meaning of the lyrics and placing Joel's artistry in a regional and cultural context. Covering work that ranges from Joel's recordings with the Lost Souls to his classical compositions, the book focuses on the dozen studio albums of popular music released between 1971 and 1993. A bibliographic essay is included, as are both a discography and a filmography. There is also a special focus on the interpretation of Joel's songs by other recording artists. Photographs A discography of Joel's recordings including albums and singles A selected discography of cover versions of Joel's songs by other recording artists A filmography A bibliography of significant books and articles about Billy Joel and his work A bibliographic essay

Gregory Haimovsky - A Pianist's Odyssey to Freedom (Hardcover): Marissa Marissa Silverman Gregory Haimovsky - A Pianist's Odyssey to Freedom (Hardcover)
Marissa Marissa Silverman
R2,283 Discovery Miles 22 830 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

In the bleak cage of the Soviet Union, a brilliant pianist, inspired by the music of Olivier Messiaen, survived and triumphed. This is his story, told partly in his own words. Interlacing material from previously unknown Russian archives, original recordings, photographs, and essays, Gregory Haimovsky: A Pianist's Odyssey to Freedom is the story of an extraordinary Russian concert pianist who, fighting the cultural prohibitions of the USSR, eventually succeeded in performing and recording major works by the prominent French composer Olivier Messiaen. At the lowest point of his life, expelled from Moscow and exiled to a small provincial city, Haimovsky discovered Messiaen's oeuvre uncatalogued and hidden in the library of the Union of Soviet Composers. Haimovsky's intense studies and Soviet premieres of these banned compositions healed and liberated his mind, spirit, and artistic imagination. Messiaen's music also deepened and fueled Haimovsky's fierce personal and musical opposition to Soviet political and cultural doctrines. Told partly in Haimovsky's own words and supplemented by interviews with several performers who worked with him between 1960 and 1972 as well as stories from his correspondence with major Russian artists, writers, and musicians of the time, Marissa Silverman's vivid narrative sheds new light on relationships between twentieth-century Russian music, Soviet politics, and the culture wars that raged during and after Stalin's barbaric rule. Marissa Silverman is Associate Professor of Music at the John J. Cali School of Music, Montclair State University.

International Who's Who in Classical Music/Popular Music 2006 Set (Hardcover, 5th Revised edition): Europa Publications International Who's Who in Classical Music/Popular Music 2006 Set (Hardcover, 5th Revised edition)
Europa Publications
R11,079 Discovery Miles 110 790 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Combining the "International Who's Who in Classical Music" and the "International Who's Who in Popular Music," this two-volume set provides a complete view of the whole of the music world.
The individual volumes in the set are:
International Who's Who in Classical Music 2006
22nd Edition
May 2006: 8-2/3 x 11-1/4: 1,350 pp
Hb: 1-85743-368-8: (individual price: $345.00)
International Who's Who in Popular Music 2006
8th Edition
May 2006: 8-2/3 x 11-1/4: 750 pp
Hb: 1-85743-367-X: (individual price: $335.00/U)

Fryderyk Chopin - A Life and Times (Paperback): Alan Walker Fryderyk Chopin - A Life and Times (Paperback)
Alan Walker 2
R562 R521 Discovery Miles 5 210 Save R41 (7%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Sunday Times Classical Music Book of the Year A landmark biography of the Polish composer by one of the world's leading authorities on Chopin and his time Based on ten years of research and a vast cache of primary sources located in archives in Warsaw, Paris, London, New York, Washington, D.C., Alan Walker's monumental Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times is the most comprehensive biography of the great Polish composer to appear in English. Walker sets out to dispel the many myths and legends that continue to surround Chopin. Fryderyk Chopin is an intimate look into a dramatic life; of particular focus are Chopin's childhood and youth in Poland, which are brought into line with Walker's latest scholarly findings, and Chopin's romantic life with George Sand, with whom he lived for nine years. Comprehensive and engaging, and written in highly readable prose, the biography wears its scholarship lightly: this is a book suited as much for the professional pianist as it is for the casual music lover. Just as he did in his definitive biography of Liszt, Walker illuminates Chopin and his music with unprecedented clarity in this magisterial biography, bringing to life one of the nineteenth century's most confounding, beloved, and legendary artists.

The Cultural and Artistic Legacy of Oliver Mtukudzi - Using Language for Social Justice (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2022): Munyaradzi... The Cultural and Artistic Legacy of Oliver Mtukudzi - Using Language for Social Justice (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2022)
Munyaradzi Nyakudya, Bridget Chinouriri, Pauline Mateveke, Ezra Chitando
R2,937 Discovery Miles 29 370 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This book delves into a critical and comprehensive analysis of Mtukudzi's legacy, as an outstanding musician who anchored his music on cultural identity specifically through the artistic manipulation of language. As a cultural worker, his remit extended beyond performance. This raised his stature to the levels of such African music icons as Fela Kuti of Nigeria, Salif Keita of Mali and Miriam Makeba/Hugh Masekela of South Africa, all towering giants in African musical performance. This volume examines how Mtukudzi artistically manipulated language to convey a timeless message of cultural identity, fighting for the respect of rights for women, children and all. It unpacks how Mtukudzi subtly uses language to put across political views that speak truth to power, harnessing Zimbabwean language to articulate and promote the nation's cultural heritage and to advocate for societal development and the promotion of rights of vulnerable groups. The chapters in this volume are a mix of interdisciplinary Zimbabwean scholars of linguistics, performance studies, religion, history, communication and media studies, unravelling Mtukudzi as a fighter for human rights and justice who subtly critiqued political systems and practices. It concludes that Mtukudzi strove to be a cultural worker who used the power of language through music to contribute towards the rehabilitation of a battered African identity.

Handel in London - The Making of a Genius (Hardcover): Jane Glover Handel in London - The Making of a Genius (Hardcover)
Jane Glover 1
R762 R639 Discovery Miles 6 390 Save R123 (16%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

'How refreshing, to read a book about music written for a music lover and not a musicologist. In clear, lucid, entertaining prose, Jane Glover makes those of us who lack musical literacy better understand and appreciate Handel's divinity.' - Donna Leon, author of Handel's Bestiary and the Inspector Brunetti mysteries Handel in London tells the story of a young German composer who in 1712, followed his princely master to London and would remain there for the rest of his life. That master would become King George II and the composer was George Frideric Handel. Handel, then still only twenty-seven and largely self-taught, would be at the heart of musical activity in London for the next four decades, composing masterpiece after masterpiece, whether the glorious coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest, operas such as Giulio Cesare, Rinaldo and Alcina or the great oratorios, culminating, of course, in Messiah. Here, Jane Glover, who has conducted Handel's work in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world, draws on her profound understanding of music and musicians to tell Handel's story. It is a story of music-making and musicianship, of practices and practicalities, but also of courts and cabals, of theatrical rivalries and of eighteenth-century society. It is also, of course, the story of some of the most remarkable music ever written, music that has been played and sung, and loved, in this country - and throughout the world - for three hundred years.

While Spring and Summer Sang: Thomas Beecham and the Music of Frederick Delius (Hardcover, New edition): Lyndon Jenkins While Spring and Summer Sang: Thomas Beecham and the Music of Frederick Delius (Hardcover, New edition)
Lyndon Jenkins
R4,076 Discovery Miles 40 760 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Sir Thomas Beecham is often described as having 'championed' the music of Frederick Delius, and this is no exaggeration. From the moment he heard Delius's music as a young man, Beecham was captivated by its strange, romantic beauty, and its hold on him remained firm. During the next 50 years, he promoted Delius's music through a series of unrivalled performances, unearthing early pieces, arranging others and recording most of them, sometimes more than once. Lyndon Jenkins provides the first in-depth study of this extraordinary creative relationship. Starting with the first meeting of the composer and conductor in 1907, Jenkins charts Beecham's gradual introduction of Delius's compositions to British and foreign audiences, the operatic premieres and revivals, the Delius festivals that he organized in 1929 and 1946, and the formation of the Delius Trust upon the composer's death in 1934. Also described is Beecham's continuing crusade for Delius's music up to his own death in 1961, which included a model edition of the scores, a biography and an internationally celebrated recorded legacy. The book includes a critical discography. Lyndon Jenkins provides a vivid account of an achievement that remains without parallel in the history of British music.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back - My Life In The Music Business (Paperback): Miles Copeland Two Steps Forward, One Step Back - My Life In The Music Business (Paperback)
Miles Copeland
R362 Discovery Miles 3 620 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

My real story starts with a disaster, an unmitigated, pull-the-rug-from-under-you, clean-out-the-bank-account disaster. But had it not happened, The Police would never have risen to become the biggest rock band in the world; Jools Holland would not have ended up on TV; The Bangles, The Go-Go s, R.E.M., and many other music stars might never have made it either. It s strange how a fluke, a disaster, an unlikely event can lead to incredible results. But that is in essence what happened to me . . . Two Steps Forward, One Step Back tells the extraordinary story of a maverick manager, promoter, label owner, and all-round legend of the music industry. It opens in the Middle East, where Miles grew up with his father, a CIA agent who was stationed in Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon. It then shifts to London in the late 60s and the beginnings of a career managing bands like Wishbone Ash and Curved Air only for Miles s life and work to be turned upside down by a pioneering yet disastrous European tour. From the ashes of near bankruptcy, Miles enters the world of punk, sharing office space with Malcolm McLaren and Sniffin Glue, before shifting gears again as manager of The Police, featuring his brother, Stewart, on drums. Then, after founding IRS Records, he launches the careers of some of the most potent musical acts of the new wave scene and beyond, from Squeeze and The Go-Go s to The Bangles and R.E.M. Finally, the story comes full circle as Miles finds himself advising the Pentagon on how to win over hearts and minds in the Middle East and introducing Arabic music to the United States. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, his father would tell him. Sometimes, though, the truth is all you need.

The Musical Work of Nadia Boulanger - Performing Past and Future Between the Wars (Hardcover, New): Jeanice Brooks The Musical Work of Nadia Boulanger - Performing Past and Future Between the Wars (Hardcover, New)
Jeanice Brooks
R2,300 Discovery Miles 23 000 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Nadia Boulanger - composer, critic, impresario and the most famous composition teacher of the twentieth century - was also a performer of international repute. Her concerts and recordings with her vocal ensemble introduced audiences on both sides of the Atlantic to unfamiliar historical works and new compositions. This book considers how gender shaped the possibilities that marked Boulanger's performing career, tracing her meteoric rise as a conductor in the 1930s to origins in the classroom and the salon. Brooks investigates Boulanger's promotion of structurally motivated performance styles, showing how her ideas on performance of historical repertory and new music relate to her teaching of music analysis and music history. The book explores the way in which Boulanger's musical practice relied upon her understanding of the historically transcendent masterwork, in which musical form and meaning are ideally joined, and shows how her ideas relate to broader currents in French aesthetics and culture.

Iggy & the Stooges - One Night at the Whisky 1970 (Hardcover): Ed Caraeff Iggy & the Stooges - One Night at the Whisky 1970 (Hardcover)
Ed Caraeff 1
R791 R645 Discovery Miles 6 450 Save R146 (18%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

"Ed's photos take us behind the scenes and in the middle of the action. I always felt like I was being transported to the location of the shot, and was experiencing it all first hand. The Stooges Funhouse sessions are my favorite rock photos of all time. I wanted to be those guys. Those images have stayed with me my entire life and continue to inspire me to this day !!!!!" - John Varvatos In May 1970, The Stooges were in the middle of recording their celebrated album, Fun House at Elektra Records Recording Studio in Los Angeles. That same month, they appeared at the Whisky a Go-Go on Sunset Boulevard for two incredible nights. Ed Caraeff, a new rock photographer who had burst onto the scene three years prior with his now-iconic image of Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar onstage at Monterey, happened to be in that crowd, and took a plethora of wonderful pictures. Only a few stills from that phenomenal gig were ever reproduced. Most famously, one was used on the cover of Fun House. The rest were filed away. Until now. Ed Caraeff's coverage of this monumental moment is reprinted here for the first time in book form. He not only captures the energy, madness and raw power of Iggy Pop's performance, but also the preceding minutes before the band stepped onto stage and made history. Along with images and contact sheets, original interviews shed new light on that unforgettable night. Interviewed by pop-culture historian Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, names include Jac Holzman, Head of Elektra Records during the recording of Fun House; Mikael Maglieri, son of Mario Maglieri, owner of the Whisky a Go-Go when The Stooges played in 1970; Danny Fields, a DJ/publicist credited for signing MC5 and The Stooges; and Jeff Gold, music historian and noted Iggy Pop biographer. A tribute to the band that rocked the world, Iggy & The Stooges: One Night at the Whisky, 1970 will revolutionise your view of music.

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