New Publications,
New Music Book Publications - 25th July 2022
Welcome to our latest selection of new music books. Our picks this time round include the 2023 edition of Boosey & Hawkes's best-selling music diary; a biography of Minna Wagner; a reappraisal of twentieth-century music through the lens of ten figures who altered the course of music history; the cultural and musical story of the American national anthem; a lavishly-illustrated guide to opera; a biography of choreographer Bronislava Nijinska; a celebration of the seventy-fifth birthday of conductor Philippe Herreweghe; the life and music of Bruno Maderna; new editions of texts on post-tonal theory and the enjoyment of music; a look at Spanish stage adaptations of West Side Story; and a study of the connections between music theatre and the Holy Roman Empire.
When Richard Wagner first met Minna Planer in 1834, he was an unknown conductor, she a popular actress. Their marriage was ultimately destroyed by Wagner's passion for Mathilde Wesendonck. In 1858, he and Minna separated, although they remained married until Minna's death in 1866. This acclaimed biography, translated into English by Chris Walton, reveals Minna as a self-assured woman and artist who played a crucial role in the creative life of her husband.
Available Format: Book
O Say Can You Hear?: A Cultural Biography of The Star-Spangled Banner
Mark Clague; WW Norton & Co; Hardback
In 1814 Francis Scott Key witnessed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry and the heroism of America's defenders: seeing the American flag still flying at first light inspired him to pen his famous lyric. What many people don't know is how the ballad rose to become the nation's anthem. This book weaves together the stories of the song and nation it represents, examining the origins of both words and music, alternate lyrics and translations and its use in sports, at times of war, and for political protest.
Available Format: Book
Opera: The Definitive Illustrated Story
Alan Riding & Leslie Dunton-Downer; Dorling Kindersley; Hardback
Immerse yourself in more than 400 years of the world's most celebrated operas and discover the fascinating stories behind them. Explore the lives of singers such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, and Jonas Kaufmann. Meet composers like Mozart, Wagner, and Britten, and the librettists with whom they collaborated. Filled with photographs of key figures and performances, this book revels in the sets and costumes that make up the grand spectacle of opera. It also explores the great opera houses of the world, such as La Scala, Milan, the Met in New York, and the Sydney Opera House.
Available Format: Book
This is the first biography of twentieth-century ballet's premiere female choreographer. Overshadowed in life and legend by her brother Vaslav Nijinsky, Bronislava Nijinska had a far longer and more productive career, experiencing the transformative power of the Russian Revolution and creating her greatest work - Les Noces - under the influence of its avant-garde. Her career sheds new light on the history of ballet, revealing the sexism pervasive in the upper echelons of the early and mid-twentieth-century ballet world, barriers that women choreographers still confront.
Available Format: Book
It was in 1970 that Philippe Herreweghe founded Collegium Vocale Gent, dedicated among other things to German Baroque music. Herreweghe marks his seventy-fifth birthday with this look back at his life and career. Photographer Stephan Vanfleteren has produced a set of masterful images, whilst the book includes text in English and Dutch plus a personal contribution from Philippe Herreweghe on Bach and death.
Available Format: Book
Bruno Maderna was the oldest of a group of Italian composers born in the 1920s who began their career shortly before the Second World War and were able to exploit the opportunities offered by the new world that emerged in the post-war years. Many of the biographical details given here are taken from his correspondence and from reports of his travels and engagements across the world, which took him as far as the United States, but also to Persia, South America and Japan.
Available Format: Book
The Enjoyment of Music (14th Edition)
Kristine Forney, Andrew Dell'Antonio, & Joseph Machlis; WW Norton & Co; Paperback
For nearly seventy years, The Enjoyment of Music has led the way in preparing students for a lifetime of listening to great music and understanding its cultural and historical context. This fourteenth edition expands on this foundation with new chapters and features that add many voices to its already rich repertoire.
Available Format: Book
This book has been thoroughly updated to reflect the latest developments in the field, with additional coverage of transformational theory and voice leading. This fourth edition helps students to identify key theoretical points and guides them through the process of analysis, while also offering new recently-composed musical examples.
Available Format: Book
West Side Story in Spain: The Transcultural Adaptation of an Iconic American Show
Paul R. Laird & Gonzalo Fernández Monte; Cambridge University Press; Paperback
West Side Story first became famous in Spain when the Robert Wise film opened there in 1962, a movie which exerted a major influence on the country's first stage adaptation of the show in 1996. A subsequent production in 2018, directed and choreographed by Federico Barrios, was the first Spanish stage version based on the original 1957 staging. This book compares the adaptations of the 1996 and 2018 versions, illuminating issues encountered when translating a musical for another culture.
Available Format: Book
Music Theatre and the Holy Roman Empire: The German Musical Stage at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century
Austin Glatthorn; Cambridge University Press; Hardback
Packed full of new archival evidence that reveals the interconnected world of music theatre during the Classical era, this interdisciplinary study investigates key locations, genres, music, and musicians, exploring the extent to which the Holy Roman Empire delineated and networked a cultural entity that found expression through music for the German stage.
Available Format: Book
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