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"The greatest musical prodigy since Mozart (some would say he was even greater), Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) excelled in everything he did, musical or otherwise, and during his brief life became Europe's most respected and beloved composer. Yet no musician suffered more drastic swings in his posthumous reputation, and as a result Mendelssohn's music was obscured by a host of extra-musical factors: changes in taste, the rise of nationalism, anti-Semitism, and contempt for Victorian culture. This "owner's manual" offers a guide to Mendelssohn's musical output, major and minor, providing points of entry into a large body of work, much of which remains far too little known. There's much more to Mendelssohn than the "Italian" Symphony and the "Midsummer Night's Dream" Overture, and a whole creative world of vivid, expressive, and fantastical music is ready for exploration."--

Bach's Operas of the Soul is the first introduction for the general music lover to Bach's sacred cantatas to appear in nearly half a century. In clear and accessible language, Mark Ringer examines this vast output of masterpieces as the great musical dramatic creations that they are in order to open these works to a wider audience.

Victor Lederer surveys the music of Hector Berlioz, one of the most pioneering orchestrators in history, and introduces the general music lover to both his masterpieces such as Les Troyens and lesser known gems.A bold innovator in the 19th century, Berlioz was a musical dramatist with an output that is less familiar than it should be and often misunderstood. His most famous and popular pieces are the thrilling programmatic symphonies, the Symphonie fantastique and Harold en Italie. The "dramatic symphonies" Roméo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust are both driven by conflict and excitement, which contrast his piercing, long-limbed melodies and startling harmonic shifts. Berlioz''s strongly profiled musical style possesses high rhythmic energy, and manic outbursts that are instantly identifiable as his, and he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and effective orchestrators in history. The book is accompanied by online audio tracks to select Berlioz works from the Naxos library.

Veteran music critic David Hurwitz provides an accessible, comprehensive, and fresh survey of Beethoven''s symphonies, overtures, concertos, theatrical music, his single ballet and other music for the dance, and several short pieces worth getting to know.Beethoven''s orchestral works include some of the most iconic and popular pieces of classical music ever written. This book offers chapters on Beethoven''s handling of the symphony orchestra and his contributions to its evolution, as well as his approach to musical form in creating large, multi-movement works. The musical descriptions provide helpful strategies for listening that invite both beginners and experienced enthusiasts to treat even the best known pieces as something fresh, new and relevant.In addition, Hurwitz provides extensive lists of recommended recordings of all of the music surveyed, highlighting the wide range of issues in Beethoven interpretation and performance, as well as the history of his music. He encourages readers to listen actively and critically, as they build their own Beethoven discographies according to their personal tastes and preferences. The book is accompanied by online audio tracks of Beethoven works selected by Hurwitz.

Of all the biggest-name composers Handel probably wrote the most truly great music that no one knows about. This book takes the curious listener through his entire output from his earliest works in Italy through his more than 40 operas and including the famous English oratorios on which his reputation largely rests. Along the way it examines his orchestral music the pieces he wrote for England''s lavish royal ceremonies and his surprisingly limited production of sacred music. Just as important the book surveys and recommends recordings of all of the music discussed so that listeners can acquire a music collection of whatever depth suits them best while the included CD features top-notch recordings from the Harmonia Mundi label of a wide range of Handel''s music in all of the major media in which he worked both vocal and instrumental. Few composers cared more than Handel about pleasing his listeners and creating a body of work that was both entertaining and fun. It''s time to blow away the Victorian cobwebs that have dogged his reputation and discover just how much there is to enjoy.

The music of Antonin Dvorák defies fashion. He is one of the very few composers whose works entered the international mainstream during his own lifetime, and some of them have remained there ever since. The pieces that historically define his international reputation, however, represent only a small fraction of what he actually composed. They comprise just one facet of his complex and remarkably rich artistic personality. This book invites readers to celebrate his extraordinary achievement and experience the pleasure of getting to know more than 90 of his most important works.

From Mozart to Debussy to Olivier Messiaen the works of 50 composers are closely examined in ÊThe Great Instrumental WorksÊ. It is a book for anyone who enjoys the lively arts of opera drama film literature and popular song and who wants to find out what is really going on in the symphonies of Mozart the string quartets of Beethoven the orchestral works of Debussy and Ravel and the contemporary pieces of Olivier Messiaen and Arvo P¢rt. The author Father Owen Lee is an internationally known commentator on music and the arts and writes with a style that has been called rich dense and profound (Citizen''s Weekly) highly readable (Choice) and often irreverently amusing (Opera News). With Father Lee as a guide the intricacies of classical forms and key relationships are rendered not only intelligible but meaningful the music itself becomes life-enhancing and its great composers come vividly to life.