Are you a fan of classical music? Can you name all the well-known composers, conductors and the compositions they are associated with? Or perhaps, you would like to learn more about them? If so, you are certain to enjoy the quotes and musical miscellany in 101 Quirky Observations on Classical Music. Who defined music as ‘a science that would have us laugh and sing and dance'? Which composer said, ‘the trombones are too sacred for frequent use'? What writer requested, ‘please do not shoot the pianist, he is doing his best’? The answers to these questions and similar brain-teasers can all be found inside this book. With sections on composers, compositions, instruments, orchestras and their musicians, conductors, soloists and opera as well as much more classical music related trivia, this book has something for everyone. This book is a great way to find out more about classical music and those who have been involved in writing, playing and performing it through the years. This is a must-have for anyone who listens to, plays or appreciates classical music.

The first comprehensive account of the influence of Ukrainian motifs on the classical music of Europe.

This textbook is a first introduction to mathematics for music theorists, covering basic topics such as sets and functions, universal properties, numbers and recursion, graphs, groups, rings, matrices and modules, continuity, calculus, and gestures. It approaches these abstract themes in a new way: Every concept or theorem is motivated and illustrated by examples from music theory (such as harmony, counterpoint, tuning), composition (e.g., classical combinatorics, dodecaphonic composition), and gestural performance. The book includes many illustrations, and exercises with solutions.

Central to the repertoire of Western art music since the 18th century, the symphony has come to be regarded as one of the ultimate compositional challenges. In his five-volume series The Symphonic Repertoire, the late A. Peter Brown explores the symphony from its 18th-century beginnings to the end of the 20th century. In Volume 1, The Eighteenth-Century Symphony, 22 of Brown's former students and colleagues collaborate to complete the work that he began on this critical period of development in symphonic history. The work follows Brown's outline, is organized by country, and focuses on major composers. It includes a four-chapter overview and concludes with a reframing of the symphonic narrative. Contributors address issues of historiography, the status of research, and questions of attribution and stylistic traits, and provide background material on the musical context of composition and early performances. The volume features a CD of recordings from the Bloomington Early Music Festival Orchestra, highlighting the largely unavailable repertoire discussed in the book.

Questions of creativity, and particularly the processes which underlie creative performance or ’improvisation’, form some of the central areas of interest in current musicology. Yet the predominant discourses on which musicological thought in this area are based have rarely been challenged. In this book Laudan Nooshin interrogates musicological discourses of creativity from the perspective of critical theory and postcolonial studies, examining their ideological underpinnings, the relationships of alterity which they sustain, and the profound implications for our understanding of creative processes in music. The repertoire which forms the book’s main focus is Iranian classical music, a tradition in which the performer plays a central creative role. Addressing a number of issues regarding the nature of musical creativity, the author explores both the discourses through which ideas about creativity are constructed, exchanged and negotiated within this tradition, and the practice by which new music comes into being. For the latter she compares a number of performances by musicians playing a range of instruments and spanning a period of more than 30 years, focusing on one particular section of repertoire, dastgāh Segāh, and providing transcriptions of the performances as the basis for analytical exploration of the music’s underlying compositional principles. This book is about understanding musical creativity as a meaningful social practice. It is the first to examine the ways in which ideas about tradition, authenticity, innovation and modernity in Iranian classical music form part of a wider social discourse on creativity, and in particular how they inform debates regarding national and cultural identity.

A graphic novel in the form of Ricardo Cavolo’s personal diary, which follows the story of music through 101 essential artists; from Bach to Radiohead, to Amy Winehouse, Nirvana and Daft Punk. With over one hundred uniquely colorful illustrations and handwritten text, lists, notes, and personal anecdotes this is a book to delight in.

This unique collaboration between a musicologist and two pianists – all experts in Russian music – takes a fresh look at the supercharged music and polarizing reception of the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin. From his Chopin-inspired miniatures to his genre-bending symphonies and avant-garde late works, Scriabin left a unique mark on music history. Scriabin’s death centennial in 2015 brought wider exposure and renewed attention to this pioneering composer. Music lovers who are curious about Scriabin have been torn between specialized academic studies and popular sources that glamorize his interests and activities, often at the expense of historical accuracy. This book bridges the divide between these two branches of literature, and brings a modern perspective to his music and legacy. Drawing on archival materials, primary sources in Russian, and recently published books and articles, Part One details the reception and performance history of Scriabin’s solo piano and orchestral music. High quality recordings are recommended for each piece. Part Two explores four topics in Scriabin’s reception: the myths generated by Scriabin’s biographers, his claims to synaesthesia or “color-hearing,” his revival in 1960s America as a proto-Flower Child, and the charges of anti-Russianness leveled against his music. Part Three investigates stylistic context and performance practice in the piano music, and considers the domains of sound, rhythm, and harmony. It offers interpretive strategies for deciphering Scriabin’s challenging scores at the keyboard. Students, scholars, and music enthusiasts will benefit from the historical insights offered in this interdisciplinary book. Armed with this knowledge, readers will be able to better appreciate the stylistic innovations and colorful imagination of this extraordinary composer.

This book reflects recent scholarly and theoretical developments in media studies, or Medienwissenschaft. It focuses on linkages between North America and German‐speaking Europe, and brings together and contextualizes contributions from a range of leading scholars. In addition to introducing English‐language readers to some of the most prominent contemporary German media theorists and philosophers, including Claus Pias, Sybille Krämer and Rainer Leschke, the book shows how foundational North American contributions are themselves inspired and informed by continental sources. This book takes Harold Innis or Marshall McLuhan (and other members of the “Toronto School”) as central points of reference, and traces prospective and retrospective lines of influence in a cultural geography that is increasingly global in its scope. In so doing, the book also represents a new episode in the international reception and reinterpretation of the work of Innis and McLuhan, the two founders of the theory and study of media.

For the beginner or the devotee—it's everything the classical music buff needs to know. The major composers from Bach and Bartok to Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky Significant performers from Maurice Andre and Leornard Bernstein to Georg Solti and Yo Yo Ma The landmark works from Appalachian Spring to Don Juan A concise history of classical music A deconstruction of the art form The language of classical music Valuable resources for the Curious Listener