Author: Andreï Makine
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 162872210X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 75
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Book Description
A brief but extraordinarily powerful novel by the author of Dreams of My Russian Summers and Requiem for a Lost Empire, Music of a Life is set in the period just before, and two decades after, World War II. Alexeï Berg’s father is a well-known dramatist, his mother a famous opera singer. But during Stalin’s reign of terror in the 1930s they, like millions of other Russians, come under attack for their presumed lack of political purity. Harassed and proscribed, they have nonetheless, on the eve of Hitler’s war, not yet been arrested. And young Alexeï himself, a budding classical pianist, has been allowed to continue his musical studies. His first solo concert is scheduled for May 24, 1941. Two days before the concert, on his way home from his final rehearsal, he sees his parents being arrested, taken from their Moscow apartment. Knowing his own arrest will not be far behind, Alexeï flees to the country house of his fiancée, where again betrayal awaits him. He flees, one step ahead of the dreaded secret police until, taking on the identity of a dead soldier, he enlists in the Soviet army. Thus begins his seemingly endless journey, through war and peace, until he lands, two decades later, in a snowbound train station in the Urals, where he relates his harrowing saga to the novel’s narrator. An international bestseller, Music of a Life is, in the words of Le Monde, “extremely powerful . . . a gem.”
Author: Michael Charry
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252093100
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 466
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Book Description
This book is the first full biography of George Szell, one of the greatest orchestra and opera conductors of the twentieth century. From child prodigy pianist and composer to world-renowned conductor, Szell's career spanned seven decades, and he led most of the great orchestras and opera companies of the world, including the New York Philharmonic, the NBC and Chicago Symphonies, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and Opera, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra. A protégé of composer-conductor Richard Strauss at the Berlin State Opera, his crowning achievement was his twenty-four-year tenure as musical director of the Cleveland Orchestra, transforming it into one of the world's greatest ensembles, touring triumphantly in the United States, Europe, the Soviet Union, South Korea, and Japan. Michael Charry, a conductor who worked with Szell and interviewed him, his family, and his associates over several decades, draws on this first-hand material and correspondence, orchestra records, reviews, and other archival sources to construct a lively and balanced portrait of Szell's life and work from his birth in 1897 in Budapest to his death in 1970 in Cleveland. Readers will follow Szell from his career in Europe, Great Britain, and Australia to his guest conducting at the New York Philharmonic and his distinguished tenure at the Metropolitan Opera and Cleveland Orchestra. Charry details Szell's personal and musical qualities, his recordings and broadcast concerts, his approach to the great works of the orchestral repertoire, and his famous orchestrational changes and interpretation of the symphonies of Robert Schumann. The book also lists Szell's conducting repertoire and includes a comprehensive discography. In highlighting Szell's legacy as a teacher and mentor as well as his contributions to orchestral and opera history, this biography will be of lasting interest to concert-goers, music lovers, conductors, musicians inspired by Szell's many great performances, and new generations who will come to know those performances through Szell's recorded legacy.
Author: Artur Schnabel
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486255719
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 306
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Book Description
"A clear picture of a musician of rare integrity." — The Musical Times. Highly readable reminiscences, musical philosophy of great pianist: his experiences as a child prodigy in turn-of-the-century Vienna, concert career, thoughts on great conductors and composers of the day, preferences in the repertoire, much more. Also includes "Reflections on Music," address delivered at University of Manchester, 1933. Introduction by Edward Crankshaw. 20 illustrations. Index.
Author: Elizabeth Rusch
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1481444840
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 48
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Book Description
Presents the life of the inventor of the piano, explaining why, how, and when he created the musical instrument.
Author: Don Saliers
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 1506454720
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 209
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Book Description
Celebrating the spirit of song In A Song to Sing, a Life to Live, Don and Emily Saliers help readers see the connections between Saturday night music and Sunday morning music by exploring the spiritual dimensions of music itself. They tell the stories of their own lives in music, and they share what they have learned and observed about the power of music in human life. They help us appreciate the joy of music and also how music carries us into places of sorrow, where we must go if we are to live with honesty about ourselves and compassion for others. This book is for churchgoers and spiritual seekers alike. Music is described in terms of spiritual practice; it has the power to embrace those who are deeply immersed in the life of Christian faith and speak to those who are spiritual but may question formal religion. The book explores a wide variety of musical traditions and offers an invitation to embrace a broader and deeper vision of the power of music and the spiritual dimensions of attentive listening. "This is a beautiful expression of music as many things--healer, gift, symbol of freedom and community, and agent of change" (Mary Chapin Carpenter).
Author: R. Larry Todd
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195179889
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 737
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Book Description
A portrait of the distinguished composer, musician, and artist draws on his correspondence, diaries, and creative works to analyze his most distinctive achievements as well as his lesser-known pieces, exploring his religious heritage, role as a Jewish performer, and complex relationship with his sister. (Biography)
Author: Louis Thomas
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
ISBN: 125077733X
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 40
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Book Description
Full of joy and discovery, Louis Thomas' The Music of Life is a simple, melodious picture book about finding big inspiration and beauty in the smallest of details. At night when everyone else is asleep, one artist sits awake--pencil in hand, stuck. Lenny is a composer, but this evening, no music floats from his head. Then as night breaks into dawn, Lenny's cat, Pipo, begins lapping milk. Lick lick lick. Birds yawn awake, singing in the trees. Tweet tweet! A bike bell tings on the street below. Suddenly, Lenny notices a rhythm to the world around him. He pulls on his coat and walks through the city to write down every sound he can find. Lenny listens to a gardener, a jogger, a dogwalker, and more neighborhood characters. Finally, the morning's sounds culminate in a sun-dappled symphony that Lenny conducts in the center of the park.
Author: Fiona Maddocks
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 057132939X
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 227
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Book Description
How does music reflect the key moments in our lives? How do we choose the works that inspire, delight, comfort or console? Fiona Maddocks selects 100 classical works from across nine centuries, arguing passionately, persuasively and at times obstinately for their inclusion, putting each work in its cultural and musical context, discussing omissions, suggesting alternatives and always putting the music first.
Author: Alec Wightman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781951568122
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 350
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Book Description
Rock & roll first spoke to Alec Wightman as a ten-year-old boy when he heard Dion sing "The Wanderer" on his transistor radio. Over the next sixty years, Wightman would listen to countless records, chase live shows from coast to coast, promote singer-songwriter acts through his own concert production company, and work with leaders in the music industry as a member and chair of the board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-all while maintaining his day job as a successful corporate lawyer. In MUSIC IN MY LIFE: Notes From a Longtime Fan, Wightman chronicles his musical evolution from the great rock & roll of the 1960s to numerous Neil Young concerts in the '70s and on to decades discovering singer-songwriter favorites like John Stewart, Jesse Winchester, Tom Russell, Rosie Flores, and Dave Alvin. The constant throughout Wightman's life, as one reviewer puts it, has been his "ear for great songs and his admiration for those who craft them." In MUSIC IN MY LIFE, this admiration is genuine and palpable, regardless of whether the talent springs from the lesser-known (Chuck Prophet, John Fullbright) or the renowned (Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Webb). With his tireless advocacy for live music, Wightman has forged special connections with scores of musicians over his lifetime, using his passion to bring artists and fans together. And his engagement with the Rock Hall is the cherry on top, giving him a unique perspective into the world of rock & roll-the music of our lives. MUSIC IN MY LIFE, says another reviewer, "is written proof that musical fandom can be a form of artistic expression."
Author: Geoff Brown
Publisher: Omnibus Press
ISBN: 0857122576
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 64
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Book Description
Not just a complete fan's guide to the music of Michael Jackson, this book is the definitive overview of the unforgettable King of Pop's unique career. Album by album, track by track, it examines every song released by The Jackson 5, as well as Michael's complete solo output from Off The Wall in 1979 to his last album of original material, Invincible, in 2001. Features include: A brand new chronology A detailed album by album, track by track analysis A separate section on compilation albums A song index for easy reference. Eight page colour timeline Dozens of quotes from Michael himself Geoff Brown is production editor of Mojo Magazine and has written extensively on soul and R&B in the UK media during a 25 year career in music journalism. He has also written books on Diana Ross and James Brown.
