Why do so many of us listen to classical music, and how can you get the most from listening to it? In this unpretentious and instructive book, internationally celebrated conductor and teacher John Mauceri brings to bear his lifetime of experience and profound knowledge. A protege of Leonard Bernstein and an artist who has performed and recorded all over the world, Mauceri is the guide par excellence to the joys of classical music. Mauceri illuminates our understanding of what it is we hear when we listen; how each piece bears the traces of its history; and how the concert experience allows us constantly to discover music anew. 'Wonderful' Marilyn Horne 'This delightful book is not so much the opening of a door as an affectionate hand on the arm, guiding the reader with enthusiasm and intelligence into a world of beauty' Stephen Hough

Both a defence of research aiming to recover how music sounded in the past and an argument for the application of such historical research to performance. The legitimacy of applying historical research to musical performance has been much argued about in recent years. Those advocating historical authenticity have been attacked on philosophical, aesthetic, and even practical grounds.This book both defends the practical value of trying to determine how music sounded in the past and develops an intellectual and musical justification for relating historical research to performance. From the outset Peter Walls stresses the need for research driven by curiosity rather than by the desire to justify a particular approach. Arguing that a performance determined entirely by historical rules is an impossibility, he asserts that the imaginationis inevitably involved. His book envisages a relationship between historical knowledge and imagination that is dynamic and stimulating. Case studies range from printing formats and performance in seventeenth-century violin music,to tracking composer intention through the rehearsal and production phases of nineteenth and twentieth century operas. PETER WALLS is professor of music at Victoria University of Wellington, and chief executive of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

This comprehensive guide is a must-have for the legions of fans of the beloved and perennially popular music known as soul and rhythm & blues. The latest in the definitive All Music Guide series, the All Music Guide to Soul offers entertaining and informative reviews that lead readers to the best recordings by their favorite artists and help them find new music to explore. Informative biographies, essays, and "music maps" trace R&B's growth from its roots in blues and gospel and its flowering in Memphis and Motown, to its many branches today. Complete discographies note bootlegs, important out-of-print albums, and import-only releases.

The Castrato is a nuanced exploration of why innumerable boys were castrated for singing between the mid-sixteenth and late-nineteenth centuries. It shows that the entire foundation of Western classical singing, culminating in bel canto, was birthed from an unlikely and historically unique set of desires, public and private, aesthetic, economic, and political. In Italy, castration for singing was understood through the lens of Catholic blood sacrifice as expressed in idioms of offering and renunciation and, paradoxically, in satire, verbal abuse, and even the symbolism of the castrato's comic cousin Pulcinella. Sacrifice in turn was inseparable from the system of patriarchy - involving teachers, patrons, colleagues, and relatives - whereby castrated males were produced not as nonmen, as often thought nowadays, but as idealized males. Yet what captivated audiences and composers - from Cavalli and Pergolesi to Handel, Mozart, and Rossini - were the extraordinary capacities of castrato voices, a phenomenon ultimately unsettled by Enlightenment morality. Although the castrati failed to survive, their musicality and vocality have persisted long past their literal demise.

Expression and truth are traditional opposites in Western thought: expression supposedly refers to states of mind, truth to states of affairs. "Expression and Truth" rejects this opposition and proposes fluid new models of expression, truth, and knowledge with broad application to the humanities. These models derive from five theses that connect expression to description, cognition, the presence and absence of speech, and the conjunction of address and reply. The theses are linked by a concentration on musical expression, regarded as the ideal case of expression in general, and by fresh readings of Ludwig WittgensteinOCOs scattered but important remarks about music. The result is a new conception of expression as a primary means of knowing, acting on, and forming the world.Recent years have seen the return of the claim that musicOCOs power resides in its ineffability. In "Expression and Truth," Lawrence Kramer presents his most elaborate response to this claim. Drawing on philosophers such as Wittgenstein and on close analyses of nineteenth-century compositions, Kramer demonstrates how music operates as a medium for articulating cultural meanings and that music matters too profoundly to be cordoned off from the kinds of critical readings typically brought to the other arts. A tour-de-force by one of musicologyOCOs most influential thinkers.OCoSusan McClary, "Desire and Pleasure in Seventeenth-Century Music."

**Finalist in the Outstanding Music Education Resource Category for the 2023 Music & Drama Education Awards** HerStory: The Piano Collection presents invaluable repertoire by remarkable female composers across the ages. This important collection is progressively graded, suitable for intermediate to advanced level players (approximately Grade 4 to Grade 8) and also features a piano duet and an ensemble piece for piano, clarinet, viola and cello. Written and compiled by award-winning author and piano pedagogue Karen Marshall, each piece is accompanied by a fascinating 'snapshot' of the 29 composers, providing invaluable insights into how they lived and composed, alongside quotes from them or about them. In addition there are suggestions of other pieces to try, personal observations from Karen Marshall and pedagogical activities and ideas. "This vibrant collection of wonderful music from literally every musical period promises to enrich the musical lives of everyone. Female composers have suffered shocking neglect over the centuries, but society is now beginning to make amends. Karen Marshall's extraordinary anthology brings neglected jewels out of obscurity and into the limelight, where they will be loved and cherished." Kathryn Page, pianist, adjudicator, teacher and co-founder of Chetham's International Piano Summer School 'Marshall's book is much more than a practical text - it is a library of forgotten treasures that we should bring back to life on pianos across the world. This is proof that the uniting force of music can transcend patriarchal barriers and has the power to inspire the next generation to start a new cycle of creativity.' Hattie Fisk, Music Teacher Online, 1st May 2022 HerStory is more than the sum of its parts, a singular and significant achievement, lifting the lid on a terrific range of superb music that is long-overdue its day in the sun. Not only so, but Karen Marshall has also done a huge service in further elevating the music with such a wealth of historical research, personal detail, and pedagogic insight, all delivered with her wonderfully personable expertise and infectious enthusiasm. As a fresh and varied collection of 30 intermediate to advanced pieces, the book offers rich pickings for concerts, piano clubs, festivals and examination syllabi alike, and will surely come to be regarded as a significant sourcebook of musical inspiration. These are winsome, highly likeable works which audiences will surely warm to, and which students and players of all ages will undoubtedly find deeply rewarding to play. Andrew Eales, pianodao.com, March 2022 Over the past few months, I've enjoyed exploring HerStory. It is a unique collection, and one which should be seen as an iconic milestone in music publishing. It is rare for me to say it, but I enjoyed every piece, and it's a collection I shall enjoy playing from as much as I enjoy teaching. David Barton, davidbartonmusic.co.uk, May 2022