Music : History & Criticism

In Balkan Fascination, ethnomusicologist Mirjana Lausevic, a native of the Balkans, investigates why so many Americans actively participate in specific Balkan cultural practices to which they have no family or ethnic connection. Going beyond traditional interpretations, she challenges the notion that participation in Balkan culture in North America is merely a specialized offshoot of the 1960s American folk music scene. Instead, her exploration of the relationship between the stark sounds and lively dances of the Balkan region and the Americans who love them reveals that Balkan dance and music has much deeper roots in America's ideas about itself, its place in the world, and the place of the world's cultures in the melting pot. more...

Price: $40.00

Preface. 1. Young Genius (1770-83). 2. Adolescence (1784-9). 3. Farewell to Bonn (1790-2). 4. The Conquest of Vienna (1792-5). 5. Wider Horizons (1796-8). 6. First Quartets and First Symphony (1799-1800). 7. Hope and Despair (1801-2). 8. After Heiligenstadt (1802-3). 9. L'amour conjugal (1804-6). 10. A Cluster of Masterpieces (1806-8). 11. Financial Security? (1809-10). 12. Immortal Beloved (1811-12). 13. The Political Phase (1813-15). 14. Declining Productivity (1815-17). 15. Gigantism (1818-20). 16. Completion of the Mass (1820-22). 17. Completion of the Ninth (1822-24). 18. End of an Era (1824-27). Appendices:. A. Calendar. B. List of Works. C. Personalia. D. Select Bibliography. Index more...

Price: $34.00

This is the story of the orchestra, from 16th-century string bands to the 'classical' orchestra of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Spitzer and Zaslaw document orchestral organization, instrumentation, social roles, repertories, and performance practices in Europe and the American colonies, concluding around 1800 with the widespread awareness of the orchestra as a central institution in European life. - ;This book traces the emergence of the orchestra from 16th-century string bands to the 'classical' orchestra of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and their contemporaries. Ensembles of bowed stringed instruments, several players per part plus continuo and wind instruments, were organized in France in the mid-17th century and then in Rome at the end of the century. The prestige of these ensembles and of the music and performing styles of their leaders, Jean-Baptiste Lully and Arcangelo. Corelli, caused them to be imitated elsewhere, until by the late 18th century, the orchestra had become a pan-European phenomenon. Spitzer and Zaslaw review previous accounts of these developments, then proceed to a thoroughgoing documentation and discussion of orchestral organization, instrumentation, and social roles in France, Italy, Germany, England, and the American colonies. They also examine the emergence of orchestra musicians, idiomatic music for orchestras, orchestral performance practices, and the awareness of the orchestra as a central institution in European life. - ;This is a most substantial book, with a long detailed text, massive bibliography and references, generous illustrations, copious tables, graphs and backup statistics, interesting music examples in the penultimate chapter, full index, and appendices centering on the second half of the 18th century. It will remain a major work on its subject. - The Musical Times;If you are involved in assembling or conducting period orchestras and can afford this, buy it. It is well written, sensibly arranged and easy to co more...

Price: $275.00

Palmer's extraordinary knowledge and boundless love of music were evident in all his writing. He was an authority on rock & roll, blues, jazz, punk, avant-garde, and world music -- often discovering new artists and trends years (even decades) before they hit the mainstream. more...

Price: $30.00

Stephen C. Meyer details the intricate relationship between the operas Der Freischütz and Euryanthe , and the contemporary discourse about the 'Germany of the imagination' and the new nation itself. In doing so, he presents excerpts from a wide range of philosophical, political, and musical writings, many of which are little known and otherwise unavailable in English. Individual chapters trace the multidimensional concept of German and 'foreign' opera through the 19th century. more...

Price: $31.95