Classical music
Subtitle: the great composers and their masterworks
By: by John Stanley ; forwords by Nigel Kennedy and Sir Georg Solti
Contributors: Kennedy, Nigel; Solti, Georg
Edition: Rev. and updated.
Publisher: Octopus Press
Published: 2007
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 280
ISBN-13: 9781857329919
Subjects: Music appreciation; Composers; History and criticism; Music
Description: I have watched with close interest the development of this book from its very early stages of planning, as I was extremely sympathetic to John Stanley's intention to set the lives of great composers in the broadest possible context. All too often we read about them with reference only to their fellow musicians and to their own world of music. How much more interesting it is, therefore, to see the effect upon them of the other arts and disciplines of their times.
Virtually all great composers have left us evidence, in letters and writings, of their interest in and often passion for these other art forms. Many of them have written works specifically influenced by great buildings, wonderful paintings or works of literature, political actions, or religious celebrations. Events of history as well as changes in fashion and thinking can all be witnessed in music, once it is examined in the context of the world at large at the time it was written.
In this way, classical music can be seen as an integral part of our history and I am sure that this book will arouse the interest of music and art lovers everywhere. -Greg Solti
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: The Middle Ages and the Renaissance; title: The Baroque Era; title: The Classical era; title: The Romantic era; title: The Romantic legacy; title: The early Twentieth Centuury; title: The Modern Age.