%{search_type} search results

A gem of a book, unlike any other work. The stunningly gifted violinist Alda Dizdari fell in love with Elgar's violin concerto, and decided - against many odds - to introduce it to Albania and Romania. The result is a fascinating book which does three things at once. It tells us about the concerto, from a soloist's point of view; it describes the experiences of a travelling musician, encountering unknown orchestras and unpredictable conductors; and it explores Alda's own feelings and memories as she revisited Albania, the country of her early childhood, and Romania, where she spent some of her formative years. Interspersed with the text are extracts from recordings of the concerts; while they illuminate the book, the experiences she describes give them a richer meaning too. Sir Noel Malcolm, Senior Research Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford; author of George Enescu: His Life and Music.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

Classic FM's Big Book of Classical Music is a fully illustrated book detailing each day of the year in classical music - the perfect coffee table companion for any classical music lover. Entries contain original illustrations, landmark events taking place on that day, profiles of the great composers, recommended listening, and much more. From the birth of Chopin on 22nd February, to the premiere of the Eroica Symphony on April 7th and the death of Mozart on December 5th, every day reveals a fascinating new musical milestone - the perfect excuse to sit back, relax, and listen to your favourite classical music. Each beautifully-illustrated entry pulls together facts, figures and noteworthy events - including biographies of the essential composers, suggesting listening for each day of the year, musical quotations and a host of other material. The perfect Christmas gift for classical music aficionados and a highly accessible introduction for anyone new to the genre, this beautiful book is an indispensible guide to take you through a year in classical music.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• Memoir
• Bach
• Beethoven
• Berlioz
• Liszt
• Wagner
• Tchaikovsky
• Sir Edward Elgar
• Richard Strauss
• Chamber music
• Piano playing
• Violin playing
• Music in the nineteenth century
• Hans Richter
• Nietzsche

• Franz Liszt: Life and Works / Franz Liszt (Jeremy Siepmann, reader).

Documentary. Biography includes dramatizations of scenes from Bach's life which are interspersed with performances of his music by the above named artists.

Kurt Masur, the German conductor, particularly renowned for his interpretations of romantic music, shares his experience in Mahler with young conductors in this exceptional portrait. Kurt Masur, one of the world's greatest Maestros, challenges and teaches the next generation of young musicians and conductors by stretching their limits and transforming their perspectives and abilities. Following masterclasses around the world over the course of one year, the film is a carefully constructed collage, organically interviewing the maestro's teachings and his personal life experiences. The result is a comprehensive emotional portrait of one of the most respected music conductors of our time.

Gustav Mahler's life and music explained by Leonard Bernstein. In this musical essay, Leonard Bernstein recollects and relives his experiences with the music of the great Viennese composer and conductor Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). Bernstein filmed all of Mahler's ten symphonies as well as Das Lied von der Erde and the Songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. The vocal soloists of these productions, Dame Janet Baker, Christa Ludwig, Edith Mathis, Lucia Popp and Walton Groenroos, underscore Leonard Bernstein's elucidations with appropriate music examples. The recordings with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra were made in Tel Aviv, those with the London Symphony Orchestra in the Cathedral of Ely and those with the Wiener Philharmoniker in the Grosser Musikvereinssaal in Vienna, in which Gustav Mahler himself conducted. The Little Drummer Boy illustrates the fundamental concepts of Leonard Bernstein's interpretation of Mahler's works, and exposes not only the building material and framework of Mahler's brilliant structures, but also the tensional pulls within them. Searching for the musical roots and the hidden truths guiding the composer, Leonard Bernstein discovers the key to Mahler's music in the composer's repressed Jewishness. Starting from the song Der Tambourg'sell (from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, written in 1899), Leonard Bernstein spans a broad arch over all the symphonies and concludes with Mahler's last and greatest song, the Lied von der Erde.

"In his 1985 BBC televsion essay examining the roots of Mahler's inspiration, Leonard Bernstein talks, plays, and conducts the London Symphony, Vienna, and Israel Philharmonic orchestras."--Container.

'A captivating mix of memoir and music writing' IRISH TIMES 'A richly textured snapshot survey of artists on art' GUARDIAN ______________________________________ Our favourite albums are our most faithful companions: we listen to them hundreds of times over decades, we know them far better than any novel or film. These records don't just soundtrack our lives but work their way deep inside us, shaping our outlook and identity, forging our friendships and charting our love affairs. They become part of our story. In Long Players, fifty of our finest authors write about the albums that changed their lives, from Deborah Levy on Bowie to Daisy Johnson on Lizzo, Ben Okri on Miles Davis to David Mitchell on Joni Mitchell, Sarah Perry on Rachmaninov to Bernardine Evaristo on Sweet Honey in the Rock. Part meditation on the album form and part candid self-portrait, each of these miniature essays reveals music's power to transport the listener to a particular time and place. REM's Automatic for the People sends Olivia Laing back to first love and heartbreak, Bjork's Post resolves a crisis of faith and sexuality for a young Marlon James, while Fragile by Yes instils in George Saunders the confidence to take his own creative path. This collection is an intoxicating mix of memoir and music writing, spanning the golden age of vinyl and the streaming era, and showing how a single LP can shape a writer's mind. Featuring writing from Ali Smith, Marlon James, Deborah Levy, George Saunders, Bernardine Evaristo, Ian Rankin, Tracey Thorn, Ben Okri, Sarah Perry, Neil Tennant, Rachel Kushner, Clive James, Eimear McBride, Neil Gaiman, Daisy Johnson, David Mitchell, Esi Edugyan, Patricia Lockwood, among many others.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

"The Rough Guide to Classical Music" is the ideal handbook, spanning a thousand years of music from Gregorian chant via Bach and Beethoven to contemporaries such as Thomas Ades and Kaija Saariaho. Both a CD buyer's guide and a who's who, the guide includes concise biographical profiles of more than 200 composers and informative summaries of the major compositions in all genres, from chamber works to operatic epics. For novices and experts alike, the fully updated fifth edition features contemporary composer Helmut Lachenmann and Widor, the 19th century organ composer of 'Toccata' wedding fame, as well as dozens more works added for existing composers. You'll find an new 'Top 10's' section with accessible introductory listings including the Top 10 operas and the Top 10 symphonies plus new essay boxes on topics such as 'Baroque - a style or a period?' and 'The clarinet comes of age'. "The Rough Guide to Classical Music" features fresh and incisive reviews of hundreds of CDs, selecting the very best of the latest recordings and reissues as well as more than 150 illustrations of composers and performers, including a rare archive of photos.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

Musician and humanist... This documentary on the famous conductor and violinist Yehudi Menuhin explores the musician's life as well as his opinions and political, artistic, and humanitarian actions. A virtuoso with an immense repertoire--moving without hesitation from classical music to jazz to Indian music--Yehudi Menuhin performs with orchestras and in celebrated venues around the globe, from Paris' Orchestre Lamoureux to New York's Carnegie Hall to London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, where he became conductor. But he also a citizen of the world, affirming his position in favor of a secular Israeli-Palestinian state and against the Soviet regime of the USSR. He also founded the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, Paris' "Présence de la musique", and was a longtime head of UNESCO's International Music Council.