This definitive encyclopaedic work explores the origins of percussion through the development of the early drums and xylophones right up to the wide range of modern instruments and the sounds they make. James Blades covers these early developments globally from China and the Far East, India and Tibet, the early civilisations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia through to mediaeval and renaissance Europe. He continues to examine the role of percussion in the classical and romantic orchestras and finally looks at the ways composers have pushed the boundaries in modern music. Each chapter has its own photographs, illustrations and bibliography and there are comprehensive indices referencing all the composers and works discussed. This extended edition includes two important new chapters. The first covers the rise of the solo percussionist and is written by the world's leading practitioner and one of Blades' former pupils, Dame Evelyn Glennie, who also contributes a new Foreword, while recent developments in orchestral percussion are covered by Neil Percy, Head of Timpani and Percussion at the Royal Academy of Music and Principal Percussionist of the London Symphony Orchestra.

The A Z of String Players surveys the lives, careers and recordings of over 300 string players from the past and present. Many great string players who have made recordings are included, from Accardo to Zukerman. The text covers artists from the earliest recording processes to contemporary, cutting-edge technology. In this clear and straight-forward publication, the artists are listed alphabetically, with a summary of their career, notable recordings, biography and critical appraisal of their recorded legacy. In addition, four compact discs present a selection of recordings from 69 artists. This package will appeal to enthusiast and scholar alike as a readable, informed and fascinating work of reference.

This is a double volume dedicated to two masterpieces by Benjamin Britten. While Peter Grimes established Britten as a composer of international standing, Gloriana, composed for the coronation of Elizabeth II, has never enjoyed a comparable fame. The variety of mood, characterization and pace, in each, illustrates Britten's exceptional gift for theatre. Commentaries on the scores reveal, for instance, how much the popular concert extracts gain from their context in the dramas. The essay by E.M. Forster - the inspiration for Peter Grimes - is reprinted here, and Michael Holroyd discusses Lytton Strachey's controversial Elizabeth and Essex - the source for Gloriana. Contents: Benjamin Britten's Librettos, Peter Porter; George Crabbe: The Poet and the Man, E.M. Forster; 'Peter Grimes': A Musical Commentary, Stephen Walsh; Peter Grimes: Libretto by Montagu Slater; 'Peter Grimes' and 'Gloriana', Joan Cross, Peter Pears and John Evans; Some Reflections on the Operas of Benjamin Britten, Buxton Orr; 'A daring experiment', Michael Holroyd; The Librettist of 'Gloriana', Rupert Hart-Davis; The Music of 'Gloriana', Christopher Palmer; Notes on the Libretto of 'Gloriana', William Plomer; Gloriana: Libretto by William Plomer

Edward Gardner conducts the English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus in this production of Benjamin Britten's final opera based on the novella by Thomas Mann. John Graham-Hall plays Gustav von Aschenbach, an ageing novelist who becomes obsessed with Polish boy Tadzio (Sam Zaldivar). The performance was recorded at The London Coliseum in June 2013.

Director Tony Britten's drama documentary examines the acclaimed composer's lifelong commitment to pacifism. Using a dramatic narrative to explore the development of Britten's pacifist beliefs during the time he spent at the liberally progressive Gresham's School in Norfolk between the years of 1928-1930, the film charts a time which marked a crucial period of the composer's personal and musical development. Interwoven throughout are contemporary performances of the composer's works and contributions from, amongst others, conductor and composer Joseph Horovitz, cellists Anita Lasker Wallfisch and Raphael Wallfisch, and Britten's agent for many years, Sue Phipps. John Hurt narrates.

Andris Nelsons leads the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in this 50th anniversary performance of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. The piece was commissioned to mark the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was built after the original fourteenth-century structure was destroyed in a World War II bombing raid in 1940. 50 years after its premiere it returns to the cathedral to be performed, as it was on its first airing, by the the City of Birmingham Orchegstra, Chorus, and Youth Chorus. The featured vocalists are Erin Wall, Mark Padmore and Hanno Müller-Brachmann.

A collection of films made by Tony Palmer for the long-running ITV culture series The South Bank Show, released to coincide with the programme's demise in 2009 after a lifespan of over 30 years. Films included are: 'Maria Callas: Callas', 'William Walton: At the Haunted End of the Day', 'Margot Fonteyn: Margot', 'Stravinsky: Once at a Border', 'Benjamin Britten: A Time There Was.', 'John Adams: Hail Bop! - A Portrait of John Adams', 'Renee Fleming: Miss Renee Fleming', 'Malcolm Arnold: Toward the Unknown Region', 'Henryk Gorecki: The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs', 'Berlioz: I, Berlioz' and 'Michael Crawford: The Fantastic World of Michael Crawford'.

Benjamin Britten's opera, composed to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. He took as his starting point Lytton Strachey's 'Elizabeth and Essex'. Sarah Walker and Anthony Rolfe Johnson star.