Toccata press gb (118 resultados)

Paperback. Condición: New. Dr Robert Simpson, one of Britain's finest composers and for nearly thirty years a BBC music producer, scrutinises the methods by which the BBC plans the annual Promenade Concerts. Basing his argument on long experience inside theBBC, Dr Simpson argues the only logical way to give the Proms the flair that a single imagination can provide - without those otherwise inevitable long-term imbalances - is to limit the tenure of the Controller to four or five years. Dr Simpson further examines the artistic gains and financial savings to be made from more extensive use of the BBC's own orchestra. He suggests that not only would this measure produce a saving of a staggering 62% of costs; it would also give the Controller almost total control of the repertoire. This would enable the Proms to become more adventurous than ever before, and a true realisation of Sir Henry Wood's original vision. A musician andwriter of scholarly books on Nielsen, Bruckner and Beethoven, for 30 years ROBERT SIMPSON was also a Music Producer with the BBC.…

Paperback. Condición: New. Dr Robert Simpson, one of Britain's finest composers and for nearly thirty years a BBC music producer, scrutinises the methods by which the BBC plans the annual Promenade Concerts. Basing his argument on long experience inside theBBC, Dr Simpson argues the only logical way to give the Proms the flair that a single imagination can provide - without those otherwise inevitable long-term imbalances - is to limit the tenure of the Controller to four or five years. Dr Simpson further examines the artistic gains and financial savings to be made from more extensive use of the BBC's own orchestra. He suggests that not only would this measure produce a saving of a staggering 62% of costs; it would also give the Controller almost total control of the repertoire. This would enable the Proms to become more adventurous than ever before, and a true realisation of Sir Henry Wood's original vision. A musician andwriter of scholarly books on Nielsen, Bruckner and Beethoven, for 30 years ROBERT SIMPSON was also a Music Producer with the BBC.…

Paperback. Condición: New. Here, Holmboe discusses many issues facing the composer, performer and listener, giving especial attention to the most basic questions about musical experience.Vagn Holmboe [1909-96], was one of the most important composers of his era, and arguably the most important Danish composer after Carl Nielsen. A composer for over 60 years, and a teacher for more than 30, he wrote over 300 compositions in nearly every musical genre, music criticism, many other articles and two other books. Here, in a volume intended for the general reader, he discusses the nature of music, from the point of view of the composer, the performer and the listener. Where do musical ideas come from? What are composers' working methods, and how much are they really aware of them? What is the role of performers, and what sort of freedom do they have in interpreting music?What do listeners do in listening to music? What, essentially, is the musical experience? Professor Paul Rapoport contributes a lengthy introduction to this book, although, as he points out, `this is not a book about Vagn Holmboe nor a book addressed solely to musicians . Holmboe's prose, like his music, is addressed to his fellow human beings, whoever and wherever they may be'.…

Paperback. Condición: New. A rich survey of all Beethoven's sonatas for violin and piano.The first in over half a century to be devoted to a detailed analysis of the complete Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano, this book arose from the author's desire to pass on to a younger generation more than sixty years' experience as a practising musician and teacher. Professor Rostal addresses himself to professional and amateur musicians alike, to students and to listeners, all of whom will derive pleasure and enlightenment from his words.Each of the ten Sonatas is carefully discussed, the manuscripts and first and later editions meticulously compared. Musicians will find technical and interpretative problems approached and solved and the music-lover a helpful listener's guide to these ever-popular masterpieces. As the Amadeus Quartet's Preface says of this important book, `It is a "must" for all students and performers, and is a "must" for all lovers of Beethoven.' A renowned violinist and teacher, Professor MAX ROSTAL studied music under Arnold Ros and Carl Flesch. Founder and President of the European String Teachers' Association, he has made many recordings and is the editor of numerous wirks inthe violin repertoire.…

Paperback. Condición: New. The first study of the life and music of the composer George Butterworth [1885-1916], including some of his own writings on music.The career of the composer George Butterworth was cruelly cut short by a sniper's bullet at the Somme. His name is kept alive by the popularity of his orchestral tone-poems, such as The Banks of Green Willow and A Shropshire Lad, and his songs. In this book, the first full-length study of Butterworth, Michael Barlow traces his brief life: from preparatory school through Eton and Oxford, a teaching post at Radley, study at the Royal College ofMusic, a period as a music critic for The Times - and his enlisting in August 1914 which, two years later, led to his heroic death at the Somme. All of Butterworth's surviving compositions are discussed, and important chapters examine his Housman settings and his friendship with Vaughan Williams. Butterworth was also prominent in the folksong revival, and chronicled here for the first time are his extensive activities as a folksong and dance collector. The book also includes some of Butterworth's own writings on music.…

Paperback. Condición: New. The first study of the life and music of the composer George Butterworth [1885-1916], including some of his own writings on music.The career of the composer George Butterworth was cruelly cut short by a sniper's bullet at the Somme. His name is kept alive by the popularity of his orchestral tone-poems, such as The Banks of Green Willow and A Shropshire Lad, and his songs. In this book, the first full-length study of Butterworth, Michael Barlow traces his brief life: from preparatory school through Eton and Oxford, a teaching post at Radley, study at the Royal College ofMusic, a period as a music critic for The Times - and his enlisting in August 1914 which, two years later, led to his heroic death at the Somme. All of Butterworth's surviving compositions are discussed, and important chapters examine his Housman settings and his friendship with Vaughan Williams. Butterworth was also prominent in the folksong revival, and chronicled here for the first time are his extensive activities as a folksong and dance collector. The book also includes some of Butterworth's own writings on music.…

Hardback. Condición: New. Here, Holmboe discusses many issues facing the composer, performer and listener, giving especial attention to the most basic questions about musical experience.Vagn Holmboe [1909-96], was one of the most important composers of his era, and arguably the most important Danish composer after Carl Nielsen. A composer for over 60 years, and a teacher for more than 30, he wrote over 300 compositions in nearly every musical genre, music criticism, many other articles and two other books. Here, in a volume intended for the general reader, he discusses the nature of music, from the point of view of the composer, the performer and the listener. Where do musical ideas come from? What are composers' working methods, and how much are they really aware of them? What is the role of performers, and what sort of freedom do they have in interpreting music?What do listeners do in listening to music? What, essentially, is the musical experience? Professor Paul Rapoport contributes a lengthy introduction to this book, although, as he points out, `this is not a book about Vagn Holmboe nor a book addressed solely to musicians . Holmboe's prose, like his music, is addressed to his fellow human beings, whoever and wherever they may be'.…

Paperback. Condición: New. Best known as a prolific composer of symphonies, this volume pulls together Brian's much less known vast journalistic output and explores personal insights and reminiscence.This first volume of selections of his writings brings together many of Brian's principal writings on the composers and events of the British Musical Renaissance from polemical articles written when actively campaigning for his fellow-composers in the Midlands before World War I to more considered appraisals of the inter-War period. As well as discussing a wide range of composers, from Elgar and Delius to Britten and Billy Mayerl, he can be found here reviewing festivals, adjudicating at brass-band championships at the Crystal Palace [and watching the Palace burn down in 1936], proposing schemes for the encouragement of orchestral music, and casting a critical eye on the burgeoningpower and influence of the B.B.C. Malcolm MacDonald's substantial introduction and annotations make this book both a work of scholarship and an important historical source for an understanding of the British music of the early twentieth century.…

Paperback. Condición: New. A rich survey of all Beethoven's sonatas for violin and piano.The first in over half a century to be devoted to a detailed analysis of the complete Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano, this book arose from the author's desire to pass on to a younger generation more than sixty years' experience as a practising musician and teacher. Professor Rostal addresses himself to professional and amateur musicians alike, to students and to listeners, all of whom will derive pleasure and enlightenment from his words.Each of the ten Sonatas is carefully discussed, the manuscripts and first and later editions meticulously compared. Musicians will find technical and interpretative problems approached and solved and the music-lover a helpful listener's guide to these ever-popular masterpieces. As the Amadeus Quartet's Preface says of this important book, `It is a "must" for all students and performers, and is a "must" for all lovers of Beethoven.' A renowned violinist and teacher, Professor MAX ROSTAL studied music under Arnold Ros and Carl Flesch. Founder and President of the European String Teachers' Association, he has made many recordings and is the editor of numerous wirks inthe violin repertoire.…

Paperback. Condición: New. This first volume of a projected two volume study of the music of John Jenkins concentrates exclusively on his consorts for viols.John Jenkins (1592-1678) was both the most prolific and most esteemed of English composers between the death of Byrd and the rise of Purcell. During his long life he was employed as a resident musician in East Anglian noble households and became a court musician to Charles II in his later years.This is the first in a two-volume study of Jenkins and his music. It presents a biographical introduction to the composer then concerns itself exclusively with the superb consorts for viols which dominate the early part of the composer's career. It is profusely illustrated with music examples and discusses virtually every work in this form. ANDREW ASHBEE is an internationally renowned expert on C17th English instrumental music, has edited a number of volumes of music from the period, and is an author, broadcaster and lecturer. …

Hardback. Condición: New. Brings out Dallapiccola's enduring importance as critic as well as composer.The Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola [1904-75] always characterised himself as a `man of the theatre', and Il Prigioniero [The Prisoner] has been performed more often than any other Italian opera since Puccini. Dallapiccola on Opera, the first collection of his writings to appear in English, proves that he was also an inspired essayist and critic. To the directness and psychological insight of his narrative style, Dallapiccola adds probing observation of details in the critical texts that form the core of this book. Whether writing about familiar masterpieces like Mozart's Don Giovanni and Verdi's Falstaff, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande, or discussing such great but problematic works as Monteverdi's Il Ritorno di Ulisse in patria, Busoni's Doktor Faust and Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, Dallapiccola illuminates fundamental, previously unnoticed dramatic and musical aspects.…

Paperback. Condición: New. First full-length study of the composer George Enescu [1881-1955].The Romanian composer George Enescu (1881-1955] is one of the neglected giants of the twentieth century. Prodigiously gifted, he became best known in America as a conductor (where he was considered as a successor to Toscanini in New York) and in Europe as one of the greatest violinists of the century. But he was first and foremost a composer; and, tragically, his mature works - works of extraordinary emotional depth and intricate beauty - remain almost unknown outside Romania. This, the first full-length study of Enescu and his music to be written in the West, tells the story of his life and development as a composer. All of Enescu's published compositions, and many unpublished works, are discussed, and there is a detailed list of Enescu's compositions and a list of all his known recordings as conductor, violinist and pianist. The book is intended for the non-specialist reader as well as the musicologist. NOEL MALCOLM, the historian, philosopher and journalist, is the leading authority on Enescu.…

Paperback. Condición: New. First full-length study of the composer George Enescu [1881-1955].The Romanian composer George Enescu (1881-1955] is one of the neglected giants of the twentieth century. Prodigiously gifted, he became best known in America as a conductor (where he was considered as a successor to Toscanini in New York) and in Europe as one of the greatest violinists of the century. But he was first and foremost a composer; and, tragically, his mature works - works of extraordinary emotional depth and intricate beauty - remain almost unknown outside Romania. This, the first full-length study of Enescu and his music to be written in the West, tells the story of his life and development as a composer. All of Enescu's published compositions, and many unpublished works, are discussed, and there is a detailed list of Enescu's compositions and a list of all his known recordings as conductor, violinist and pianist. The book is intended for the non-specialist reader as well as the musicologist. NOEL MALCOLM, the historian, philosopher and journalist, is the leading authority on Enescu.…

Paperback. Condición: New. This first volume of a projected two volume study of the music of John Jenkins concentrates exclusively on his consorts for viols.John Jenkins (1592-1678) was both the most prolific and most esteemed of English composers between the death of Byrd and the rise of Purcell. During his long life he was employed as a resident musician in East Anglian noble households and became a court musician to Charles II in his later years.This is the first in a two-volume study of Jenkins and his music. It presents a biographical introduction to the composer then concerns itself exclusively with the superb consorts for viols which dominate the early part of the composer's career. It is profusely illustrated with music examples and discusses virtually every work in this form. ANDREW ASHBEE is an internationally renowned expert on C17th English instrumental music, has edited a number of volumes of music from the period, and is an author, broadcaster and lecturer. …

Hardback. Condición: New. A guide to the origins and music of Szymanowski's exquisitely beautiful opera King Roger.Karol Szymanowski (1881-1937), the most important Polish composer after Chopin, wrote only two operas, the second of which, King Roger, completed in 1924, is a masterpiece. After decades of neglect this magnificent work hasbegun to receive more attention around the world, and this first extended study of King Roger investigates its origins, uncovers its ideology, examines its music and documents its history. The book opens with an outline of the role the theatre played in Szymanowski's career, from his early operetta, Lottery for Husbands, and the rousing ballet panotmime, Harnasie, based on legends from the Polish highlands. Intracing the evolution of King Roger from conception to completion, Alistair Wightman, one of the leading Szymanowki scholars, examines the contribution of the co-librettist, Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz, and serveys the various strands which make up its ideology, from Euripides The Bacchae and Plato Phaedrus and The Symposium to works by Pater, Nietzsche, Merezhkovsky and Micinski. He charts Szymanowski's fascination with the historical background of the opera, the world of the twelfth-century ruler of Norman Sicily, Roger II (1095-1154). Szymanowski's own novel, Efebos, written in 1918-19 and only partially preserved offers intriguing parallels with hisopera. ALISTAIR WIGHTMAN has written extensively about Polish music of the early twentieth century and his translation, Szymanowski on Music was published by Toccata Press in 1999.…

Hardback. Condición: New. A major step in the rediscovery of one of the towering composers of the twentieth century; this brings to Schmidt's music the scholarship it so richly merits.Franz Schmidt is increasingly being recognised as a major composer. His music covers symphonies, quartets, opera and oratorio, and works and organ. In all of these genres he proves himself a master of large-scale symphonic form and one of the most substantial lyric geniuses of all time. Schmidt spent most of his life in Austria [he died in Vienna in 1939] where his importance was universally agreed. Here, Harold Truscott, the outstanding authorityon Schmidt in the English-speaking world, examines the orchestral works, taking the reader and listener through each of these mighty scores. Introduced by the `Personal Recollections' of Hans Keller, who knew Schmidt well in pre-World-War-II Vienna, the book also features the first-ever translation into English of Schmidt's Autobiographical Sketch, where the composer tells of his early childhood in Hungary, his teenage years near Vienna and his life as acellist in the Vienna Philharmonic. HAROLD TRUSCOTT is a composer and writer. He was Principal Lecturer in Music at Huddersfield Polytechnic and has performed widely as a pianist in recital, broadcast and concert work.…

Hardback. Condición: New. A major step in the rediscovery of one of the towering composers of the twentieth century; this brings to Schmidt's music the scholarship it so richly merits.Franz Schmidt is increasingly being recognised as a major composer. His music covers symphonies, quartets, opera and oratorio, and works and organ. In all of these genres he proves himself a master of large-scale symphonic form and one of the most substantial lyric geniuses of all time. Schmidt spent most of his life in Austria [he died in Vienna in 1939] where his importance was universally agreed. Here, Harold Truscott, the outstanding authorityon Schmidt in the English-speaking world, examines the orchestral works, taking the reader and listener through each of these mighty scores. Introduced by the `Personal Recollections' of Hans Keller, who knew Schmidt well in pre-World-War-II Vienna, the book also features the first-ever translation into English of Schmidt's Autobiographical Sketch, where the composer tells of his early childhood in Hungary, his teenage years near Vienna and his life as acellist in the Vienna Philharmonic. HAROLD TRUSCOTT is a composer and writer. He was Principal Lecturer in Music at Huddersfield Polytechnic and has performed widely as a pianist in recital, broadcast and concert work.…

Hardback. Condición: New. A guide to the origins and music of Szymanowski's exquisitely beautiful opera King Roger.Karol Szymanowski (1881-1937), the most important Polish composer after Chopin, wrote only two operas, the second of which, King Roger, completed in 1924, is a masterpiece. After decades of neglect this magnificent work hasbegun to receive more attention around the world, and this first extended study of King Roger investigates its origins, uncovers its ideology, examines its music and documents its history. The book opens with an outline of the role the theatre played in Szymanowski's career, from his early operetta, Lottery for Husbands, and the rousing ballet panotmime, Harnasie, based on legends from the Polish highlands. Intracing the evolution of King Roger from conception to completion, Alistair Wightman, one of the leading Szymanowki scholars, examines the contribution of the co-librettist, Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz, and serveys the various strands which make up its ideology, from Euripides The Bacchae and Plato Phaedrus and The Symposium to works by Pater, Nietzsche, Merezhkovsky and Micinski. He charts Szymanowski's fascination with the historical background of the opera, the world of the twelfth-century ruler of Norman Sicily, Roger II (1095-1154). Szymanowski's own novel, Efebos, written in 1918-19 and only partially preserved offers intriguing parallels with hisopera. ALISTAIR WIGHTMAN has written extensively about Polish music of the early twentieth century and his translation, Szymanowski on Music was published by Toccata Press in 1999.…

Hardback. Condición: New. First full-length study of Schubert's career as a symphonist.Astonishingly, Schubert's symphonies have never received the detailed study that their prominence in the orchestral repertoire would suggest they deserve. In this book Professor Brian Newbould, perhaps the best-known of contemporary Schubert scholars, examines each symphony for its individuality and shows its relationship to Schubert's symphonic ouvre. He gives particular attention to the sketched works that have recently emerged in his own completions andto the two familiar masterpieces of Schubert's maturity, the `Unfinished' and the `Great C major'. He also casts new light on the role of Haydn and Mozart as models for the younger Schubert. Schubert and the Symphony is conceived as a companion to the symphonies for the listener, the professional musician and the student. BRIAN NEWBOULD is Professor of Music at the University of Hull. He has lectured extensively in Europe and North and South Ameica, and occasionally finds time to compose, conduct and perform.…

Hardback. Condición: New. Chronological examination of Moeran's output, from his early piano and chamber music and tone-poems to the late masterpieces of the Cello Concerto and Cello Sonata.E.J. Moeran [1894-1950] is one of the outstanding British composers of his generation, his music championed by Sir Adrian Boult, Vernon Handley, Norman Del Mar and others. His work covers a considerable variety of forms, from thewidely acclaimed Symphony in G minor to exquisite songs and piano miniatures. But hi life and career were far from easy. A grievous shrapnel wound in World War I left him with a tendency towards alcoholism, exacerbated by a riotous four-year sojourn with Peter Warlock, which inhibited his ability to compose. Freed from the weight of Warlock's personality, Moeran went on to complete his Symphony, two concertos, and much else of enduring value and importance. In this first-ever full-length study of his music, Geoffrey Self examines Moeran's output chronologically, from his early piano and chamber music and tone-poems to the late masterpieces of the Cello Concerto and Cello Sonata. GEOFFREY SELF was Head of Music at Cornwall Technical College until 1981. He received a B.Mus. from the University of London and an M.Phil. from Exeter.…

Hardback. Condición: New. First full-length study of Schubert's career as a symphonist.Astonishingly, Schubert's symphonies have never received the detailed study that their prominence in the orchestral repertoire would suggest they deserve. In this book Professor Brian Newbould, perhaps the best-known of contemporary Schubert scholars, examines each symphony for its individuality and shows its relationship to Schubert's symphonic ouvre. He gives particular attention to the sketched works that have recently emerged in his own completions andto the two familiar masterpieces of Schubert's maturity, the `Unfinished' and the `Great C major'. He also casts new light on the role of Haydn and Mozart as models for the younger Schubert. Schubert and the Symphony is conceived as a companion to the symphonies for the listener, the professional musician and the student. BRIAN NEWBOULD is Professor of Music at the University of Hull. He has lectured extensively in Europe and North and South Ameica, and occasionally finds time to compose, conduct and perform.…

Hardback. Condición: New. The first extensive study of the life and music of the Swiss composer, Richard Flury (1896-1967).The late-Romantic composer Richard Flury (1896-1967) was born in Biberist, a tiny town outside the Baroque city of Solothurn in northern Switzerland. He went to school in Solothurn, later taught there, conducted its orchestra, andhad his operas and ballets performed at the local theatre by its semi-professional ensemble. But Flury was more than just another conservative composer stuck in the provinces. His teachers included Ernst Kurth and JosephMarx of Vienna, and his music was performed by conductors such as Felix Weingartner and Hermann Scherchen and star instrumentalists like Wilhelm Backhaus and Georg Kulenkampff. His first opera was conducted by a former student ofBerg and Schoenberg who became his staunch advocate, and during the Second World War Flury worked closely with several Jewish emigré writers and musicians from Germany and Czechoslovakia.In his music of the early 1930s, the influence of Berg and Hindemith became apparent as Flury dabbled in modernism and free tonality before moving back to a more traditionalist stance; but he was also a fine tunesmith who loved writing Viennese waltzes and violin miniatures after the manner of Kreisler. In both his aesthetic and his career, Flury offers a fascinating case of a man negotiating constantly between the centre and the periphery - and composing some very good music in the process.The book includes a 23 track CD of Flury's music. CHRIS WALTON teaches music history at the Basel University of Music in Switzerland. He is the author of Othmar Schoeck: Life and Works (2009) and Richard Wagner's Zurich: The Muse of Place (2007).…

Hardback. Condición: New. The internment diary of Austrian composer Hans Gál (1890-1987) with a biographical study of his life and career. Includes a CD of first recordings of three of his works from the period.The Austrian composer Hans Gál (1890-1987) was one of many Jewish refugees who fled to Britain from Hitler's Third Reich only to find themselves interned in prison camps in Britain as 'enemy aliens' - the result of Churchill's panic decision to 'collar the lot'. Gál thus spent five months over the summer of 1940 in internment camps - first in Donaldson's Hospital in Edinburgh, then at Huyton, near Liverpool, and finally in the Central Promenade Camp on theIsle of Man. Many of Gál's fellow internees went on, like Gál himself, to become shaping forces in the intellectual life of Britain - but in captivity this colourful parade of characters had to put up with bureaucratic inertia and the indifference of their captors to their undeserved fate. The diary Gál kept during his captivity vividly describes the difficulties the internees had to overcome to live as normal a life as possible. Gál's contribution, of course, was music, and the CD with this book presents first recordings of the Huyton Suite he wrote for two violins and flute (the only instruments available to him), the satirical review What a Life! composed on the Isle of Man and the piano suite he drew from it. Introductory chapters by Gál's daughter and by Richard Dove present a biographical survey of Gál's life and career and an examination of British internment policy; the Foreword is bythe distinguished economist Sir Alan Peacock, who studied composition with Gál. Together they throw light on one of the more shameful British responses to the threat of Nazi invasion.…

Hardback. Condición: New. Investigation of unjustly neglected opera.Hans Pfitzner's `musical legend' Palestrina is considered in the German-speaking countries to be one of the supreme masterpieces of music, and yet it is all but unknown elsewhere. The opera, first performed in 1917, tells the story of the composer Palestrina, his struggle to compose following the death of his wife and in the face of anti-musical decrees from the Church, and his eventual composition of the Missa Papae Marcelli, which, it is said, wasdictated to him by angles and reconciled the Church to contrapuntal music. The story, set against the historical background of the Council of Trent, is an allegory of the individual artist in society, as well as a statement of Pfitzner's own beliefs about the musical climate of his time. Toller discusses the music and the dramatic structure, and presents a comprehensive introduction to the background material in the many diverse fields encompassed by the opera. OWEN TOLLER is Head of Mathematics at Merchant Taylor's School; he is a member of the London Symphony Chorus and sings with a number of other groups. His interest in Pfitzner began when he sang in the first British performance of Palestrina, a semi-professional production by Abbey Opera in London in 1979.…

Hardback. Condición: New. The Polish-born, British-based pianist André Tchaikowsky (1935-82) saw himself principally as a composer- one of several conflicting elements in his personality, charted by the diaries he kept between 1974 and 1982.André Tchaikowsky was only 46 when he died, internationally renowned as a pianist - and he made the headlines after his death when he left his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company for use in performances of Hamlet. Yet for all his facility at the keyboard Tchaikowsky's real passion was composition. The internal conflict between pianist and composer compounded an already complex character. A Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor, Tchaikowsky was also a homosexual. The diaries he kept between 1974 and his death chronicle the struggles that ran through his life. Debt kept driving him back to the concert platform when his true wish was to find the time to compose. His spirited writing details the joys and vicissitudes of his life with striking candour. The diaries are introduced and annotated by Anastasia Belina-Johnson, who also provides a chronology of Tchaikowsky's life and a survey of his music. Includes a CDof the pianist in recital.Anastasia Belina-Johnson is Head of Classical Music at the Leeds College of Music.…

Hardback. Condición: New. Investigation of unjustly neglected opera.Hans Pfitzner's `musical legend' Palestrina is considered in the German-speaking countries to be one of the supreme masterpieces of music, and yet it is all but unknown elsewhere. The opera, first performed in 1917, tells the story of the composer Palestrina, his struggle to compose following the death of his wife and in the face of anti-musical decrees from the Church, and his eventual composition of the Missa Papae Marcelli, which, it is said, wasdictated to him by angles and reconciled the Church to contrapuntal music. The story, set against the historical background of the Council of Trent, is an allegory of the individual artist in society, as well as a statement of Pfitzner's own beliefs about the musical climate of his time. Toller discusses the music and the dramatic structure, and presents a comprehensive introduction to the background material in the many diverse fields encompassed by the opera. OWEN TOLLER is Head of Mathematics at Merchant Taylor's School; he is a member of the London Symphony Chorus and sings with a number of other groups. His interest in Pfitzner began when he sang in the first British performance of Palestrina, a semi-professional production by Abbey Opera in London in 1979.…

Hardback. Condición: New. The internment diary of Austrian composer Hans Gál (1890-1987) with a biographical study of his life and career. Includes a CD of first recordings of three of his works from the period.The Austrian composer Hans Gál (1890-1987) was one of many Jewish refugees who fled to Britain from Hitler's Third Reich only to find themselves interned in prison camps in Britain as 'enemy aliens' - the result of Churchill's panic decision to 'collar the lot'. Gál thus spent five months over the summer of 1940 in internment camps - first in Donaldson's Hospital in Edinburgh, then at Huyton, near Liverpool, and finally in the Central Promenade Camp on theIsle of Man. Many of Gál's fellow internees went on, like Gál himself, to become shaping forces in the intellectual life of Britain - but in captivity this colourful parade of characters had to put up with bureaucratic inertia and the indifference of their captors to their undeserved fate. The diary Gál kept during his captivity vividly describes the difficulties the internees had to overcome to live as normal a life as possible. Gál's contribution, of course, was music, and the CD with this book presents first recordings of the Huyton Suite he wrote for two violins and flute (the only instruments available to him), the satirical review What a Life! composed on the Isle of Man and the piano suite he drew from it. Introductory chapters by Gál's daughter and by Richard Dove present a biographical survey of Gál's life and career and an examination of British internment policy; the Foreword is bythe distinguished economist Sir Alan Peacock, who studied composition with Gál. Together they throw light on one of the more shameful British responses to the threat of Nazi invasion.…

Hardback. Condición: New. The first comprehensive selection of Szymanowski's writings to be published in English, containing all the most important of the composer's essays and interviews.Karol Szymanowski [1882-1937] is now widely acknowledged to be the most important Polish composer since Chopin. He was also a considerable thinker on musical topics: the role of music in society, the goal of musical education, thepurpose of criticism, the nature of Romanticism, the hallmarks of national identity - indeed, he was passionately concerned with the emergence of the Polish voice in music, and the role of Chopin in particular. Szymanowski on Music is the first comprehensive selection of his writings to be published in English. It contains all the most important of the composer's essays and interviews, throws light on the trying conditions under which he was obliged to work in the 1920s and '30s, especially in education, and gives perceptive assessments of the work of some of the major composers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries - Wagner, Strauss, Stravinsky, Ravel, Satie and others - and the trends they embodied. A number of pieces of a more biographical nature are also included. Overall it provides, in the words of the translator Alistair Wightman, `abundant evidence of the breadth and depthof Szymanowski's personal culture, and at the same time a telling demonstration of his search for an all-embracing humanistic synthesis'. Dr Wightman faces his pioneering translations from Szymanowski's Polish originals with an extensive introductory essay that places his literary activities in the context of his life and career. This book will be a vital element in the rediscovery of the music of one of the twentieth century's most appealing composers. …

Hardback. Condición: New. The Polish-born, British-based pianist André Tchaikowsky (1935-82) saw himself principally as a composer- one of several conflicting elements in his personality, charted by the diaries he kept between 1974 and 1982.André Tchaikowsky was only 46 when he died, internationally renowned as a pianist - and he made the headlines after his death when he left his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company for use in performances of Hamlet. Yet for all his facility at the keyboard Tchaikowsky's real passion was composition. The internal conflict between pianist and composer compounded an already complex character. A Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor, Tchaikowsky was also a homosexual. The diaries he kept between 1974 and his death chronicle the struggles that ran through his life. Debt kept driving him back to the concert platform when his true wish was to find the time to compose. His spirited writing details the joys and vicissitudes of his life with striking candour. The diaries are introduced and annotated by Anastasia Belina-Johnson, who also provides a chronology of Tchaikowsky's life and a survey of his music. Includes a CDof the pianist in recital.Anastasia Belina-Johnson is Head of Classical Music at the Leeds College of Music.…

Hardback. Condición: New. The first comprehensive selection of Szymanowski's writings to be published in English, containing all the most important of the composer's essays and interviews.Karol Szymanowski [1882-1937] is now widely acknowledged to be the most important Polish composer since Chopin. He was also a considerable thinker on musical topics: the role of music in society, the goal of musical education, thepurpose of criticism, the nature of Romanticism, the hallmarks of national identity - indeed, he was passionately concerned with the emergence of the Polish voice in music, and the role of Chopin in particular. Szymanowski on Music is the first comprehensive selection of his writings to be published in English. It contains all the most important of the composer's essays and interviews, throws light on the trying conditions under which he was obliged to work in the 1920s and '30s, especially in education, and gives perceptive assessments of the work of some of the major composers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries - Wagner, Strauss, Stravinsky, Ravel, Satie and others - and the trends they embodied. A number of pieces of a more biographical nature are also included. Overall it provides, in the words of the translator Alistair Wightman, `abundant evidence of the breadth and depthof Szymanowski's personal culture, and at the same time a telling demonstration of his search for an all-embracing humanistic synthesis'. Dr Wightman faces his pioneering translations from Szymanowski's Polish originals with an extensive introductory essay that places his literary activities in the context of his life and career. This book will be a vital element in the rediscovery of the music of one of the twentieth century's most appealing composers. …