This book, originally published in Italian, is a leading biographical study of the greatest composer of late Renaissance and early Baroque Italy. Monteverdi's contribution to secular, sacred and theatrical music in the period was unparalleled: his madrigals, church music and operas remain very much alive today. A large number of contemporary documents, including some 130 of his own letters, offer rich insights into the composer and his times, also illuminating the many and varied contexts for music making in the most important musical centres in Italy. Fabbri uses these documents and other sources to present a rich narrative focusing on a composer who has perhaps rightly been called the 'father of modern music'. This translation brings an indispensable text to a much broader readership, providing a vivid picture of a fascinating period in music history.

Paolo Fabbri's Monteverdi, first published in Italian, is the leading study of the greatest composer of late Renaissance and early Baroque Italy, rightly called the "father of modern music." A large number of contemporary documents, including some 130 of his own letters, offer rich insights into the composer and his times, also illuminating the many and varied contexts for music-making in the most important musical centers in Italy. This newly revised translation brings an indispensable text to a much broader readership.

A characteristic of 20th- and 21st-century artistic production is that casual acquaintances and close intimates, friends, lovers, or sometimes even rivals come together to work collaboratively on the realization of a single work of art. Amitie et creativites collectives is focused on the genesis of these works and explores the conditions that contributed to the concentration and liberation of these creative energies. Beginning with the groundbreaking socio-cultural upheaval of the 19th century, the publication examines for the first time a variety of works of diverse genres and techniques from different time periods. Featuring works by Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel, Francis Picabia and Rene Clair, Jean Tinguely and Yves Klein, William Burroughs and Brion Gysin, Jenny Holzer and Lady Pink; and many more, this publication. brings together more than one hundred works.