Latest stories
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New Music Book Publications - September 2025
15th Sep 2025
The first biography of celebrated composer John Williams, a guide to movie music from noted film critic Mark Kermode, a paperback version of John Suchet's latest book exploring the life and music of Beethoven, a new edition of neurologist Oliver Sacks's examination of the power of music on the brain, diaries and memoirs from baritone Christian Gerhaher and oboist Albrecht Mayer, and the Boosey & Hawkes music diaries for 2026.
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New Music Book Publications - August 2025
12th Aug 2025
An examination of the film scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, a companion to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, a collection of letters by Broadway composer Frank Loesser, volumes dedicated to composers including Arnold Schoenberg, Bohuslav Martinů, and Pierre Boulez, essays by musicologist Susan McClary, a paperback edition of the memoir by composer and Master of the King's Music Errollyn Wallen, an exploration of the art of orchestration in musical theatre, an analysis of Dolly Parton's Jolene, and the debut novel by Harriet Constable.
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New Music Book Publications - July 2025
14th Jul 2025
Biographies of French composer Maurice Ravel and Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad, a cultural history of the baritone voice through the centuries, an analysis of musical forgeries, the story of pianist Stephen de Bastion as told by his granddaughter Roxanne, an examination of ruralness and national identity in Czech opera, a collection of interviews with composers of movie music, and a picture-book biography of cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
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New Music Book Publications - June 2025
17th Jun 2025
A selection of Hector Berlioz's music criticism, a paperback edition of a book exploring Rachmaninoff's life after moving to the USA, books on composers including Brahms, Purcell, Manuel de Falla and Margaret Bonds, an examination of the musicals of Cole Porter, a survey of the classical concert scene in Nazi Germany, plus a selection of recent music fiction books by Martha Jean Johnson, Michael Ball, and Will Fraser.
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New Music Book Publications - May 2025
15th May 2025
The official guide to this summer's BBC Proms season, two books by cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, a memoir by Sheku's mother Kadiatu about what it means to grow up as a Black artist today, paperback reissues of Harvey Sachs's book on Schoenberg and Susan Tomes's exploration of women at the piano, a collection of essays on Wagner, a book telling the story of Polish music during and after the Holocaust, and a limited edition volume reproducing issues of the 1960s Californian rock music newspaper, World Countdown.
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New Music Book Publications - April 2025
15th Apr 2025
Biographies of composer Gustav Mahler and choreographer Martha Graham, a book telling the story of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz, a new paperback edition of Robert Philip's A Little History of Music, a guide to JS Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, an analysis of Beethoven's violin sonatas, two books on medieval music, a new edition of Kofi Agawu's classic text on musical semiotics, and an exploration of the music of Duke Ellington.
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New Music Book Publications - March 2025
18th Mar 2025
An exploration of the relationship between Edward Elgar and Adrian Boult, a biography of pianist Myra Hess, a memoir from Thomas W. Morris, former chief executive of major American orchestras, a primer on the liturgical traditions of early medieval Spain, a cultural history of the violin and its importance in nineteenth-century London, an examination of the impact of artificial intelligence on music, and books on jazz artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis.
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New Music Book Publications - February 2025
19th Feb 2025
An analysis of Mahler's symphonies, a paperback reissue of a biography of Sibelius, an exploration of the role of music in the Third Reich, a limited edition book collecting press releases of records from the 1960s and 70s, a guide to cello repertoire, an introduction to the orchestra for young children, a collection of writings by Hungarian musician Ernst von Dohnányi, an exploration of how David Lynch's films engaged with musical traditions, and the history and aesthetics of the musical avant-garde.
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New Music Book Publications - January 2025
22nd Jan 2025
A biography of John Dowland, a companion to Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, an exploration of the history of Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw on stage and screen, a guide to the 2016 film musical La La Land, the reception history of Bach's Goldberg Variations, and an examination of the importance of the therapeutic power of music as medicine.
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New Music Book Publications - 11th December 2024
11th Dec 2024
A biography of lyricist Ira Gershwin, an exploration of the relationship of Wagner's music dramas to the philosophical and cultural ideas of his time, a companion to music in Australia, a study of Robert Schumann's chamber music, and a collection of essays questioning the concept of the composer in the middle ages.
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Music Book Publications of the Year - Winners 2024
6th Dec 2024
After our awards ceremony in Leamington Spa last night, we are delighted to announce the five winners of our music book publications of 2024.
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Give Back Friday 2024
28th Nov 2024
For four days we will be donating 5% of all the revenue we receive to three incredible charities that align with our passion for music and its power to transform lives: Making Music, London Youth Choirs and Orchestra of the Swan.
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Music Book Publications of the Year - Finalists 2024
25th Nov 2024
In anticipation of our upcoming Presto Music Awards on 5th December, we have released our shortlist of ten music book finalists in contention for an award.
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Christmas Gift Ideas for Readers
21st Nov 2024
Not sure what to get the music-loving reader in your life as a Christmas present? Here are our gift suggestions from books published within the past twelve months, including composer biographies, publications on opera and music history, and books about Christmas carols.
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John Suchet on Beethoven
15th Nov 2024
The celebrated writer and broadcaster speaks to Rob Cowan about his eighth (!) book on the composer (published by Elliott & Thompson Limited last month), reflecting on why he finds the man and his music so endlessly fascinating and the solace which he has drawn from it during troubled times.
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New Music Book Publications - 13th November 2024
13th Nov 2024
The story behind the composition of one of the great operatic masterpieces of the nineteenth century, Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen; an appraisal of Elgar's choral work, The Music Makers; a compilation of letters between composer John McCabe and various eminent composers and performers around the world; a companion to the electric guitar; and the latest edition of The Rare Record Price Guide.
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New Music Book Publications - 16th October 2024
16th Oct 2024
A personal reflection on the music of Beethoven from John Suchet, a paperback edition of a book exploring the young Mozart's time in Italy, a new edition of the Köchel catalogue of Mozart's music from Breitkopf & Härtel, a discussion of the stories behind beloved Christmas carols, and an analysis of the soundtrack from the popular film, 'Saturday Night Fever'.
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New Music Book Publications - 16th September 2024
16th Sep 2024
Boosey & Hawkes's Music Diary for 2025, biographies of Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Debussy, an exploration of the organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach, a paperback reissue of a book exploring music during the Second World War, guides for young people to musical instruments and Christmas carols, and a handbook on music theory for beginners.
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New Music Book Publications - 12th August 2024
12th Aug 2024
An examination of the formative years of Pierre Boulez, a collection of essays looking at the legacy of Berlioz, a guide for singers on analysing the musical and textual context of Schubert songs, an exploration of the evolution of the guitar in the twenty-first century, essays on music by Theodor Adorno, and a humorous take on all things musical from comedian Alex Horne and The Horne Section.
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New Music Book Publications - 15th July 2024
15th Jul 2024
Analyses of the song outputs of Franz Liszt and Robert Schumann, a look at the art and craft that went into the establishment of the "Great American Songbook", an examination of the importance of the year 1924 to the world of musical theatre, a survey of the symphonies of Robert Simpson, and a study of the connections between music and the modern in eighteenth-century Spain.
