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Latest News: Books

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 19th August 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    A critical biography of Shostakovich; conversations with The Sixteen's musical director, Harry Christophers; an examination of the influence of Mahler on the music of Aaron Copland; the history of electronic music; a study of Andy Kirk and his jazz band, Clouds of Joy; and music diaries for 2020 from Boosey & Hawkes.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 5th August 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    Reflections on life as a musician from pianist Stephen Hough; the history of Chopin's Preludes traced through the instruments on which they were played; a discussion of Beethoven's role as a revolutionary; an introduction to dance choreography; a handbook of research into music and the brain; and a collection of photographs of David Bowie.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 22nd July 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    Two books discussing the music of Claude Debussy; memoirs from Scottish composer James MacMillan and Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin; a history of electronic music from the 1950s to the present day; an exhaustive celebration of the life and work of cultural icon Barbra Streisand; and pedagogical guides to teaching piano and jazz.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 8th July 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    An illustrated history of Decca Records; conversations with film composer Ennio Morricone; the first English-language biography of Respighi; an analysis of the atonal music of Schoenberg; a new edition of Grout's classic textbook on the history of Western music; and reissues of books by Daniel Levitin on the relationship between music and the brain.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 24th June 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    The first in-depth analysis of the music of Scottish composer James MacMillan; an examination of Sir Henry Wood's role in the English revival of the music of JS Bach; a biography of eighteenth-century stage star Kitty Clive; and a dissection of anti-German sentiment in America during World War I in relation to the treatment of conductor Karl Muck.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 10th June 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    Biographies of Richard Strauss and Alma Mahler; a reassessment of the music of Steve Reich; a lavishly-illustrated guide to music theory for children; a look at the music of the British landscape; and the story of the lives of the writing duo behind countless hit musicals on both stage and screen, Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 27th May 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    A discussion of the relationship between faith and music; analysis of the compositions of nineteenth-century violin virtuoso, Joseph Joachim; an examination of the collaboration between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann; and books about Elton John in celebration of Rocketman, the new film starring Taron Egerton.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 13th May 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    A collection of essays on the music of Brahms, a reflection by conductor Kent Nagano on the relevance of classical music today, thoughts on teaching music by pianist Susan Tomes, an analysis on George Harrison's contribution to the music of The Beatles, and the influence of jazz on the music of Leonard Bernstein.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 29th April 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    The memoir of Zuzana Růžičková, Holocaust survivor and harpsichordist; Charles-Marie Widor's thoughts on organ performance practice and technique; a discussion of the role of background sounds in the experience of life; a history of British musical theatre; and books on Madonna, Radiohead, and The Beatles.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 15th April 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    Biographies of composers such as Michael Tippett, Paul Dukas, Debussy, and Duruflé; discussions of the relationship between music and consciousness; an account of the life of pop icon Paul Simon; an examination of musical theatre in the context of issues of race, culture, and identity; and the official, comprehensive guide to this year's BBC Proms festival with full listings of every concert.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 1st April 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    A guide to the life and works of Janáček, a study of Stravinsky's time spent living in the USA, an analysis of the Requiem by Tomás Luis de Victoria, books on Schenkerian analysis and music research, a discussion of the social history of jazz, and a collection of essays on popular American music from Tin Pan Alley to to hip hop.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 18th March 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    Biographies of composers and performers as diverse as Jonas Kaufmann, Elton John, Rudolf Nureyev, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Arnold Schoenberg, an introduction to the world of opera, and a discussion of Liszt's piano transcriptions of orchestral music.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 4th March 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    Books on the music of Bohuslav Martinů, Howard Skempton, Alfred Schnittke, and John Cage, introductions to the worlds of jazz and opera, and discussions of the songs of David Bowie and Joni Mitchell.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 18th February 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    A reissue of a classic biography of Berlioz, a discussion of the dramatic works of Schubert, books on opera and its relationship to jazz in 1920s Britain, and a dissection of the final days of EMI.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 4th February 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    New textbooks from Cambridge University Press on music by Schubert, Handel, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, and Boulez, books on French Baroque Opera and Renaissance Culture, and new biographies of Buddy Holly and Marie Duplessis, the woman who inspired the plot of Verdi's La Traviata.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 21st January 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    Books on Russian and Chinese opera, the relationship between dance and politics in contemporary Buenos Aires, how technology influenced avant garde music in Cold War Germany, and changes in audience listening habits from the nineteenth century to the present day.

  • New Publications, New Music Book Publications - 7th January 2019

    by James Longstaffe

    Books on Mozart and the da Ponte operas, an introduction to the psychology of music, a companion to the harpsichord, and volumes discussing music in silent film and the history of The Wizard of Oz on stage and screen.

  • Announcement, Introducing Presto Books

    by James Longstaffe

    We are very pleased to be able to announce the latest development on the Presto website: a new department dedicated to books about music.