The world sways to an invisible music. We are the orchestra and our stories its symphony. And our loneliness is a song, which leads us through pasts and presents, towards new friends, and acquaintances... That girl on the road swaying to an invisible rhythm... That lady at the next table reading a book... What’s their music? A Symphony of Chance Encounters has suspense, love, rage, passion, contemplation and myriad human emotions sung into its stories. A murderess. A child’s relationship with her father. An indifferent author. An unusual friendship. A couple in love. Writers exploring their creations. The fragrance of a new life; a new hope. A woman trapped in a life she does not want – will the rhythm be hers? Their tunes merge. Their songs intertwine to create a symphony. But, which tune do you sway to? Which melody lingers on your lips? Which story is yours?

"...the best extant map of our sonic shadowlands, and it has changed how I listen."—Alex Ross, The New Yorker "...an essential survey of contemporary music."—New York Times "…sharp, provacative and always on the money. The listening list alone promises months of fresh discovery, the main text a fresh new way of navigating the world of sound."—The Wire 2017 Music Book of the Year—Alex Ross, The New Yorker Music after the Fall is the first book to survey contemporary Western art music within the transformed political, cultural, and technological environment of the post–Cold War era. In this book, Tim Rutherford-Johnson considers musical composition against this changed backdrop, placing it in the context of globalization, digitization, and new media. Drawing connections with the other arts, in particular visual art and architecture, he expands the definition of Western art music to include forms of composition, experimental music, sound art, and crossover work from across the spectrum, inside and beyond the concert hall. Each chapter is a critical consideration of a wide range of composers, performers, works, and institutions, and develops a broad and rich picture of the new music ecosystem, from North American string quartets to Lebanese improvisers, from electroacoustic music studios in South America to ruined pianos in the Australian outback. Rutherford-Johnson puts forth a new approach to the study of contemporary music that relies less on taxonomies of style and technique than on the comparison of different responses to common themes of permission, fluidity, excess, and loss.

In the heart of the vibrant city of New Orleans, where the very air seems to hum with the essence of jazz, a tale of enchantment and musical brilliance unfurls in "The Melody of Love." The city's streets are alive with the pulse of music, and within this rhythmic landscape, two extraordinary souls are destined to collide. Isais, a maestro of jazz whose spirit hungers for a melody that can reignite his creative fire, embarks on a quest through the city's labyrinthine alleys in search of inspiration. Little does he know that his journey will lead him to Harley, a mysterious street performer whose voice possesses an extraordinary power to silence even the most clamorous of crowds. As the chords of fate strike their harmonious note, Isais and Harley find themselves irresistibly drawn together by a shared love for music. Their serendipitous encounter sets off a symphony of emotions, launching them into an awe-inspiring musical journey that promises to reshape their lives forever. Against the backdrop of New Orleans' ever-shifting music scene, they forge a soul-stirring duet, a harmonious fusion that captivates audiences near and far. Yet, as their melodies ascend to celestial heights, so do the challenges that accompany fame and success. The brilliance of stardom casts shadows of envy and allure, compelling Isais and Harley to navigate the complex terrain of their newfound lives. Can their love for music endure the trials that await them, or will the demands of their burgeoning careers threaten to mute the very essence of their artistic souls? Within the pages of "The Melody of Love," the delicate equilibrium between passion and practicality takes center stage, as Isais and Harley uncover not just their identities as musicians, but also as lovers. Their narrative transcends the confines of the music industry, weaving a timeless narrative that imparts a poignant lesson on remaining authentic in the face of temptation. As their odyssey propels them from the core of New Orleans to the grandest stages across the globe, they unearth the truth that the ultimate harmony of love dwells not solely in the notes they play, but in the tender interludes they share. Dive headfirst into the rhythmic cadences and dulcet harmonies of "The Melody of Love." Allow the intoxicating ambiance of New Orleans' jazz tapestry to sweep you away, and let the intertwining voyage of Isais and Harley reverberate within your heart, a resonant reminder of the everlasting potency of music, the intricacies of celebrity, and the eternal symphony of love that echoes through the chambers of our souls.

In Rethinking American Music, Tara Browner and Thomas L. Riis curate essays that offer an eclectic survey of current music scholarship. Ranging from Tin Pan Alley to Thelonious Monk to hip hop, the contributors go beyond repertory and biography to explore four critical yet overlooked areas: the impact of performance; patronage's role in creating music and finding a place to play it; personal identity; and the ways cultural and ethnographic circumstances determine the music that emerges from the creative process. Many of the articles also look at how a piece of music becomes initially popular and then exerts a lasting influence in the larger global culture. The result is an insightful state-of-the-field examination that doubles as an engaging short course on our complex, multifaceted musical heritage. Contributors: Karen Ahlquist, Amy C. Beal, Mark Clagu,. Esther R. Crookshank, Todd Decker, Jennifer DeLapp-Birkett, Joshua S. Duchan, Mark Katz, Jeffrey Magee, Sterling E. Murray, Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr., David Warren Steel, Jeffrey Taylor, and Mark Tucker

ENCOUNTERS is an expedition taking you through a journey of unusual. Reading like a fiction occasionally getting carried to a different world and its not just memoirs but reflections making it a unique reading experience. While we all encounter experiences varying its nature through out life , the experience of reading a book of this kind would be another unusual encounter which will be etched in your memory forever. From the blossoming of life - beginning from mothers womb, cradled in her hands the journey of life is abundant with encounters. From the cradle through the places, people, the environment and eventually setting out for a journey to an unknown eternity. Whether the encounters we underwent were by design, were they avoidable, and how worth it was to take them all ?

Andrei Bely is best known for the modernist masterwork Petersburg, a paradigmatic example of how modern writers strove to evoke the fragmentation of language, narrative, and consciousness. In the early twentieth century, Bely embarked on his life as an artist with texts he called “symphonies”—works experimenting with genre and sound, written in a style that shifts among prosaic, poetic, and musical. This book presents Bely’s four Symphonies—“Dramatic Symphony,” “Northern Symphony,” “The Return,” and “Goblet of Blizzards”—fantastically strange stories that capture the banality of life, the intimacy of love, and the enchantment of art. The Symphonies are quintessential works of modernist innovation in which Bely developed an evocative mythology and distinctive aesthetics. Influenced by Russian Symbolism, Bely believed that the role of modern artists was to imbue seemingly small details with cosmic significance. The Symphonies depict the drabness of daily life with distinct irony and satire—and then soar out of turn-of-the-century Moscow into the realm of the infinite and eternal. They conjure worlds that resemble our own but reveal elements of artifice and magic, hinting at mystical truths and the complete transfiguration of life. Showcasing the protean quality of Bely’s language and storytelling, Jonathan Stone’s translation of the Symphonies features some of the most captivating and beguiling writing of Russia’s Silver Age.

"A fitting tool for couples, ministers and counselors who want to address the marital relationship using practical Biblical insights"--Cover.

In his touching and amusing memoir Chance Meetings, William Saroyan gives us a glimpse of the characters that have left an indelible impression on his mind for years to come. From the Armenian neighbourhood of his childhood to the Parisian streets of his formative years, we meet the people that have inspired, perplexed, angered and enamoured him. We meet finely drawn personalities like the Armenian Cabinet maker, that planed wood whilst his mind composed beautiful poems, who would call him into his shop and embarrass Saroyan with his recitations. We visit the tiny desk of the only famous writer in San Francisco, who kindly replied to Saroyan's letter and invited him into his office. And the playful image of his mother, who would caricature everyone from the postman to the president with hilarious precision. First published in 1978, Chance Meetings builds a picture of the author through the people that surrounded him throughout his life, who shaped and formed a great writer, and were immortalised by his words.

Sound film captivated Sergey Prokofiev during the final two decades of his life: he considered composing for nearly two dozen pictures, eventually undertaking eight of them, all Soviet productions. Drawing on newly available sources, Composing for the Red Screen examines - for the first time - the full extent of this prodigious cinematic career.

A presentation of the history of Beethoven's fifth symphony, one of the most popular and well-known compositions in all of European classical music, and one of the most often-played symphonies.