Classical Opera category: 1804 books

A series of biographies of the great composers which present the subjects against the social background of their times. This volume focuses on Grieg and draws on personal letters and recollections, engravings, paintings and - where they exist - photographs, to build up a complete picture of the composer’s life.

The life and work of the greatest of all Italian composers, Giuseppe Verdi, including the much-loved anecdotes, which the author firmly believes reflect both historical and mythic truths about their subject. Covers all Verdi operas, from the early works in the bel canto tradition to the late masterpieces Otello and Falstaff.

An exuberant, uniquely accessible, beautifully illustrated look inside the enigmatic art and craft of conducting, from a celebrated conductor whose international career has spanned half a century. John Mauceri brings a lifetime of experience to bear in an unprecedented, hugely informative,...

This, the second and final volume of Stephen Walsh’s magisterial biography of Igor Stravinsky, begins in 1934, when Stravinsky is fifty-two and living in France. Already regarded by many as the most important composer of his generation, Stravinsky is nevertheless at this point a fairly unhappy expatriate,...

The Love Affairs of Great Musicians, Volume 1 by Rupert Hughes, an American novelist, film director, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, military officer, and music composer.He was the brother of Howard R. Hughes, Sr. and uncle of billionaire Howard R. Hughes, Jr. His three volume scholarly biography of...

This new biography is a fascinating account of the period in which Chopin lived, and the way in which the political scene helped shape his music. The important people and places in the composer's life are brought vividly to life by the use of contemporary engraving, paintings and lithographs. The...

This book is the most authoritative and up-to-date source of quick reference on the Baroque composer and theorist Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), covering every significant area of his life and creative activity. In particular, the dictionary and work-list provide the reader with easy access to...

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From the Author's Preface: "I believe that in his greatest music Beethoven was primarily concerned to express his personal vision of life. This vision was, of course, the product of his character and his experience. Beethoven the man and Beethoven the composer are not two unconnected entities,...

This series of biographies presents the great composers against the background of their times. Each draws on personal letters and recollections, engravings, paintings and, when they exist, photographs, to present a complete picture of the composer's life.

Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994), who claimed that 'talking was not his speciality', emerges during a series of conversations with the music critic Tadeusz Kaczynski as a most lucid and articulate commentator, not only on his own compositions, but on every aspect of twentieth-century music and musicianship. This...

How music provided hope in one of the world's darkest times—the inspirational life story of Alice Herz-Sommer, the oldest living Holocaust survivor Alice Herz-Sommer was born in Prague in 1903. A talented pianist from a very early age, she became famous throughout Europe; but, as the Nazis...

A selection of Mozart's letters, translated into English, complete with notes, linking commentary and chronology.

Alain Lefèvre est un pianiste-compositeur que la carrière conduit sur les plus prestigieuses scènes du monde. « L’amour indéfectible du public rendait aussi naturelle qu’inévitable la parution d’un portrait consacré à l’artiste à la mi-temps de sa vie, alors qu’il atteint le jeune...