New Publications,
New Music Book Publications - 26th September 2022
Welcome to our latest selection of new music books. Our picks this time round include an exploration of the impact which The Beatles and James Bond had on British culture and constructions of masculinity; the story of the 1957 musical The Music Man and its creator Meredith Willson; the sequel to broadcaster, journalist and violinist Clemency Burton-Hill's enormously popular Year of Wonder; a comprehensive handbook on transcribing, editing, and arranging early music; an analysis of more than a century's worth of recorded performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni, and a brief history of time-keeping devices in music.
Oscar Hammerstein II virtually invented the modern American musical, first with Show Boat and then in his collaborations with Richard Rodgers such as Oklahoma!, Carousel, and The King and I. But there were many more sides to Hammerstein: he was also a canny businessman, a successful producer, a mentor to Stephen Sondheim, and a social activist. This rich collection features hundreds of previously unpublished letters, including correspondence with major figures like Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Kern.
Available Format: Book
Another Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day
Clemency Burton-Hill; Headline Home; Paperback
In this follow-up to her much-loved Year of Wonder, award-winning broadcaster, journalist and violinist Clemency Burton-Hill continues her mission to demystify and open up the world of classical music to everyone, offering up one extraordinary piece of music to listen to every day of the year. Another Year of Wonder shows that, whoever you are and wherever you come from, classical music can be a soundtrack for your everyday life and offers a reminder that finding a space to sit and listen to a piece of music each day can be a singular gift. Burton-Hill writes: 'There is no algorithm to this book: it is a thoughtfully curated selection given from one human to another'.
Available Format: Book
Miracle of The Music Man: The Classic American Story of Meredith Willson
Mark Cabaniss; Rowman & Littlefield; Hardback
The Music Man stands as one of the greatest achievements in American musical theatre, but few know about its rocky beginnings and the against-all-odds success story of its creator Meredith Willson. No one initially believed in Willson's 'Valentine to Iowa', seeing it as nothing but a corny flop or, worse, a recipe for disaster - but when the curtain fell on opening night, a star called The Music Man was born. Interweaving behind-the-scenes accounts of people who worked with Willson, Mark Cabaniss brings to life the origins of this classic show, examining Willson's long and unusual career as a composer, conductor, radio personality, and flutist, which reached its pinnacle in The Music Man.
Available Format: Book
Mozart's opera Don Giovanni has long inspired myths about Eros and masculinity. Over time, its performance history has revealed an increasing effort on the part of performers and directors to highlight the violence and predatoriness of the libertine central character, alongside the suffering and resilience of his female victims. Richard Will sets out to analyse more than a century's worth of recorded performances of the opera (from wax cylinders and 78s to streaming videos), tracing the ways it has changed from one generation to the next and arguing that recordings and other media shape our experience of opera as much as live performance does. By choosing a work with such a complex tradition of interpretation, Will helps us see Don Giovanni as a standard-bearer for evolving ideas about desire and power.
Available Format: Book
A Performer's Guide to Transcribing, Editing, and Arranging Early Music
Alon Schab; Oxford University Press; Paperback
This guide provides instruction on three important tasks that early music performers often undertake: i) using early sources - manuscripts, prints, and treatises - in score, parts, or tablature ii) determining what constitutes a "version" of a musical piece, and choosing the source for the preferred version iii) arranging both early and new music for early instruments, exploiting the unique characteristics of period instruments and producing convincing textures of accompaniment. Schab pays tribute to the ideas and ideals promoted by the pioneers of the early music revival and examines how these could be implemented in an age revolutionised by technology.
Available Format: Book
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries witnessed the development of a diverse array of musical time-keeping devices, yet it was not until the nineteenth century that a single device combined the critical elements of accuracy, functionality and affordability. Enter the metronome: portable and affordable, a triumph of innovation that enabled musicians to establish and faithfully reproduce musical time with accuracy and ease. From Beethoven to Ligeti, Moskovitz looks to a number of distinguished composers who used or refused this revolutionary machine and explores the complicated relationship that unfolded between the metronome, the musical world and practitioners in other disciplines who sought to exploit its potential. Engagingly written, Measure: In Pursuit of Musical Time will appeal to professionals and amateurs alike.
Available Format: Book
Love and Let Die: Bond, The Beatles and the British Psyche
John Higgs; Laurence King Publishing; Hardback
The Beatles are the biggest band there has ever been; James Bond is the single most successful movie character of all time. They are also twins. Dr No, the first Bond film, and 'Love Me Do', the first Beatles record, were both released on Friday 5th October 1962. For Britain to produce two worldwide phenomena on the same windy October afternoon is unprecedented. Bond and the Beatles present us with opposing values, visions of Britain and ideas about male identity; told over a period of sixty dramatic years, this is an account of how two outsized cultural monsters continue to define our aspirations and fantasies. Looking at these touchstones in this new context will forever change how you see the Beatles, the James Bond films and six decades of British culture.
Available Format: Book
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