US TARIFFS UPDATE | August 2025 | No impact expected on your Presto orders | Read full details
Books Recommendations
-
New Music Book Publications - November 2025
The history of the world in fifty pieces from BBC Radio 3 presenter Tom Service, an exploration of Vivaldi's famous set of concertos, The Four Seasons, a journey through Western classical music with composer Robin Holloway, the hidden life of the metronome, a look at the contribution of the songs of the Sherman brothers to the making of the Walt Disney classic, Mary Poppins, curiosities from the history of music, and a study of opera-going in Britain.
-
New Music Book Publications - October 2025
A guide to the church cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, a new edition of Igor Stravinsky's 1939 Harvard lectures, a book of classical music puzzles, an exploration of the history of the Argentinian tango, an examination of the middlebrow musical in 1940s America, a collection of letters written by musicians through the ages, and a guide to the operatic aria repertoire.
-
New Music Book Publications - September 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - August 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - July 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - June 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - April 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - March 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - February 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - January 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - 11th December 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - 13th November 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - 16th October 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'.
-
New Music Book Publications - 16th September 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - 12th August 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - 15th July 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.
-
New Music Book Publications - 10th June 2024
The memoir of conductor Antonio Pappano, biographies of composers Olivier Messiaen and Joaquín Rodrigo, companions to composition and women composers, a discussion of music documentaries and films about music, an examination of transitions in mid-Baroque music, an exploration of the rise of the shellac disc in early sound reproduction, and an analysis of the presence and role of songs in Marcel Proust’s novel, À la recherche du temps perdu.
-
New Music Book Publications - 21st May 2024
An introduction to the world of music for young minds, a paperback edition of a companion to Mahler's symphonies and song cycles, a collection of essays exploring the life and works of Debussy, a commentary on the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, the autobiographical recollections of Charles-Marie Widor, and a guide to preparing repertoire for musical theatre auditions.
-
New Music Book Publications - 29th April 2024
A guide to the upcoming BBC Proms Festival, a paperback edition of Alice Farnham's examination of what it means to be an orchestral conductor, collections of essays exploring the life and work of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Leonard Bernstein, a revised and expanded edition of Jeremy Dibble's biography of Stanford, and a companion to tango music.
