Author: Harvey Sachs
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
ISBN: 1631495194
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
Some pieces of music survive. Most fall into oblivion. What gives the ten masterpieces selected for this book their exceptional vitality? In this penetrating volume, Harvey Sachs, acclaimed biographer and historian of classical music, takes readers into the hearts of ten extraordinary works of classical music in ten different genres, showing both the curious novice and the seasoned listener how to recognize, appreciate, and engage with these masterpieces on a historical and compositional level. Far from what is often thought, classical music is neither dead nor dying. As a genre, it is constantly evolving, its pieces passing through countless permutations and combinations yet always retaining that essential élan vital, or life force. The works collected here, composed in the years between 1784 and 1966, are a testament to this fact. As Sachs skillfully demonstrates, they have endured not because they were exceptionally well-made or interesting but because they were created by composers—Mozart and Beethoven; Schubert, Schumann, Berlioz, Verdi, and Brahms; Sibelius, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky—who had a particular genius for drawing music out of their deepest wellsprings. “Through music,” Sachs writes, “they universalized the intimate.” In describing how music actually sounds, Ten Masterpieces of Music seems to do the impossible, animating the process of composing as well as the coming together of disparate scales and melodies, trills and harmonies. It tells us, too, how particular compositions came to be, often revealing that the pieces we now consider “classic” were never intended to be so. In poignant, exquisite prose, Sachs shows how Mozart, a former child prodigy under constant pressure to produce new music, hastily penned Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, one of his finest piano concertos, for a teenage student, and likewise demonstrates how Goethe’s Faust, Part One, became a springboard for the musical imagination of the French composer Berlioz. As Sachs explains, these pieces are not presented as candidates for a new “Top Ten.” They represent neither the most well-known nor the most often-performed works of each composer. Instead, they were chosen precisely because he had something profound to say about them, about their composers, about how each piece fits into its composer’s life, and about how each of these lives can be contextualized by time and place. In fact, Sachs encourages readers to form their own favorites, and teaches them how to discern special characteristics that will enhance their own listening experiences. With Ten Masterpieces of Music, it becomes evident that Sachs has lived with these pieces for a veritable lifetime. His often-soaring descriptions of the works and the dramatic lives of the men who composed them bring a heightened dimension to the musical perceptions of all listeners, communicating both the sheer improbability of a work becoming a classic and why certain pieces—these ten among them—survive the perilous test of time.
Author: Harvey Sachs
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1631495186
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Some pieces of music survive. Most fall into oblivion. What gives the ten masterpieces selected for this book their exceptional vitality? In this penetrating volume, Harvey Sachs, acclaimed biographer and historian of classical music, takes readers into the hearts of ten extraordinary works of classical music in ten different genres, showing both the curious novice and the seasoned listener how to recognize, appreciate, and engage with these masterpieces on a historical and compositional level. Far from what is often thought, classical music is neither dead nor dying. As a genre, it is constantly evolving, its pieces passing through countless permutations and combinations yet always retaining that essential élan vital, or life force. The works collected here, composed in the years between 1784 and 1966, are a testament to this fact. As Sachs skillfully demonstrates, they have endured not because they were exceptionally well-made or interesting but because they were created by composers—Mozart and Beethoven; Schubert, Schumann, Berlioz, Verdi, and Brahms; Sibelius, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky—who had a particular genius for drawing music out of their deepest wellsprings. “Through music,” Sachs writes, “they universalized the intimate.” In describing how music actually sounds, Ten Masterpieces of Music seems to do the impossible, animating the process of composing as well as the coming together of disparate scales and melodies, trills and harmonies. It tells us, too, how particular compositions came to be, often revealing that the pieces we now consider “classic” were never intended to be so. In poignant, exquisite prose, Sachs shows how Mozart, a former child prodigy under constant pressure to produce new music, hastily penned Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, one of his finest piano concertos, for a teenage student, and likewise demonstrates how Goethe’s Faust, Part One, became a springboard for the musical imagination of the French composer Berlioz. As Sachs explains, these pieces are not presented as candidates for a new “Top Ten.” They represent neither the most well-known nor the most often-performed works of each composer. Instead, they were chosen precisely because he had something profound to say about them, about their composers, about how each piece fits into its composer’s life, and about how each of these lives can be contextualized by time and place. In fact, Sachs encourages readers to form their own favorites, and teaches them how to discern special characteristics that will enhance their own listening experiences. With Ten Masterpieces of Music, it becomes evident that Sachs has lived with these pieces for a veritable lifetime. His often-soaring descriptions of the works and the dramatic lives of the men who composed them bring a heightened dimension to the musical perceptions of all listeners, communicating both the sheer improbability of a work becoming a classic and why certain pieces—these ten among them—survive the perilous test of time.
Author: Harvey Sachs
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812969073
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 242
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Book Description
The premier of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna on May 7, 1824, was the most significant artistic event of the year—and the work remains one of the most precedent-shattering and influential compositions in the history of music. Described in vibrant detail by eminent musicologist Harvey Sachs, this symbol of freedom and joy was so unorthodox that it amazed and confused listeners at its unveiling—yet it became a standard for subsequent generations of creative artists, and its composer came to embody the Romantic cult of genius. In this unconventional, provocative book, Beethoven’s masterwork becomes a prism through which we may view the politics, aesthetics, and overall climate of the era. Part biography, part history, part memoir, The Ninth brilliantly explores the intricacies of Beethoven’s last symphony—how it brought forth the power of the individual while celebrating the collective spirit of humanity.
Author: Catherine Rollin
Publisher: Alfred Music
ISBN: 1470625059
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 30
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Book Description
In Museum Masterpieces, Book 2, composer Catherine Rollin has created musical expressions of some of the great works of art found in museums throughout the world. The paintings that inspired these pieces are beautifully displayed on a four-page color insert at the center of the book, along with historical notes about each painting. Titles: *Car and Hunting Fox (Umberto Boccioni) *La charmeuse de serpents (The Snake Charmer) (Henri Rousseau) *Cirque (Circus) (Georges Seurat) *The Girl with a Pearl Earring (Johannes Vermeer) *Jeunes filles au piano (Young Girls at the Piano) (Pierre-Auguste Renoir) *Noah's Ark: Genesis (Charles McGee) *Nocturne in Black and Gold---The Falling Rocket (James Abbott McNeill Whistler) *Primavera (Sandro Botticelli) *Sunrise on the Matterhorn (Albert Bierstadt) *Washington Crossing the Delaware (Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze)
Author: DK
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0744036852
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 1059
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Book Description
“The only love affair I have ever had was with music.” Maurice Ravel A compelling celebration of more than 90 of the world’s most influential composers from the medieval period to the present day, Composers reveals the fascinating stories of their lives, loves, and works. Biographical entries – introduced with a stunning portrait of each featured composer – trace the friendships, loves, and rivalries that inspired each musical genius. Profiles offer revealing insights into what drove each individual to create the musical masterpieces – symphonies, concertos, and operatic scores – that changed the direction of classical music and are still celebrated and treasured today. Lavishly illustrated with paintings or photographs of each composer, alongside original musical scores and personal correspondence, images of their homes and where they worked, and personal effects and other important artifacts, the book introduces the key influences, themes, and working methods of each individual, setting their works within a wider historical and cultural context. Charting the development of classical music and music movements across the centuries, Composers provides a compelling glimpse into the personal lives, loves, and influences of the giants of the classical music canon.
Author: Harvey Sachs
Publisher: Grove Press
ISBN: 9780802115799
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 666
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Book Description
Award-winning biographer Harvey Sachs has spent over a decade traveling the world in search of the man behind the legend, the artist behind the myth, and the secret life behind the memoirs. Sachs reveals not only Arthur Rubinstein's many humanitarian efforts but also his lavishly uninhibited love affairs, his fabled rivalry with Horowitz, and his often charged relationships with political leaders, royalty, and high society. Photos.
Author: Joseph Horowitz
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393057171
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 664
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Book Description
An award-winning scholar and leading authority on American symphonic culture argues that classical music in the United States is peculiarly performance-driven, and he traces a musical trajectory rising to its peak at the close of the 19th century and receding after World War I.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 154
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Book Description
LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.
Author: Catherine Rollin
Publisher: Alfred Music
ISBN: 1470625040
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 30
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Book Description
In Museum Masterpieces, Book 1, composer Catherine Rollin has created musical expressions of some of the great works of art found in museums throughout the world. The paintings that inspired these pieces are beautifully displayed on a four-page color insert at the center of the book, along with historical notes about each painting. Titles: *American Gothic (Grant Wood) *Black Square and Red Square (Kazimir Malevich) *Carmencita (William Merritt Chase) *A Dash for the Timber (Frederic Remington) *L'étoile (The Star) (Edgar Degas) *Le fifre (The Fife Player) (Édouard Manet) *Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci) *The Nut Gatherers (William-Adolphe Bouguereau) *Reeds and Cranes (Suzuki Kiitsu) *Senecio (Paul Klee)
Author: Harvey Sachs
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1631492713
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
On the 150th anniversary of his birth comes this monumental biography of Arturo Toscanini, whose dramatic life is unparalleled among twentieth-century musicians. It may be difficult to imagine today, but Arturo Toscanini—recognized widely as the most celebrated conductor of the twentieth century—was once one of the most famous people in the world. Like Einstein in science or Picasso in art, Toscanini (1867–1957) transcended his own field, becoming a figure of such renown that it was often impossible not to see some mention of the maestro in the daily headlines. Acclaimed music historian Harvey Sachs has long been fascinated with Toscanini’s extraordinary story. Drawn not only to his illustrious sixty-eight-year career but also to his countless expressions of political courage in an age of tyrants, and to a private existence torn between love of family and erotic restlessness, Sachs produced a biography of Toscanini in 1978. Yet as archives continued to open and Sachs was able to interview an ever-expanding list of relatives and associates, he came to realize that this remarkable life demanded a completely new work, and the result is Toscanini—an utterly absorbing story of a man who was incapable of separating his spectacular career from the call of his conscience. Famed for his fierce dedication but also for his explosive temper, Toscanini conducted the world premieres of many Italian operas, including Pagliacci, La Boheme, and Turandot, as well as the Italian premieres of works by Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Debussy. In time, as Sachs chronicles, he would dominate not only La Scala in his native Italy but also the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. He also collaborated with dozens of star singers, among them Enrico Caruso and Feodor Chaliapin, as well as the great sopranos Rosina Storchio, Geraldine Farrar, and Lotte Lehmann, with whom he had affairs. While this consuming passion constantly blurred the distinction between professional and personal, it did forge within him a steadfast opposition to totalitarianism and a personal bravery that would make him a model for artists of conscience. As early as 1922, Toscanini refused to allow his La Scala orchestra to play the Fascist anthem, "Giovinezza," even when threatened by Mussolini’s goons. And when tens of thousands of desperate Jewish refugees poured into Palestine in the late 1930s, he journeyed there at his own expense to establish an orchestra comprised of refugee musicians, and his travels were followed like that of a king. Thanks to unprecedented access to family archives, Toscanini becomes not only the definitive biography of the conductor, but a work that soars in its exploration of musical genius and moral conscience, taking its place among the great musical biographies of our time.
