Amazon.com Delivers Classical Music Books

CLASSICAL MUSIC BOOKS


Titles of Interest "Piano Roles," "Teaching Genius," "First Nights," and "Gustav Mahler" More for Piano Fans Selections from the Philips Great Pianists of the 20th Century series	Introduction to Renaissance Music Interview with Susan Graham Amazon.com zShops Piano collectibles

TITLES OF INTEREST
"Piano Roles: Three Hundred Years of Life with the Piano"
by James Parakilas et al.
The piano's "invention" 300 years ago in Florence by one Bartolomeo Cristofori was an integral part of the revolution that spread music making beyond the elite quarters of aristocrats into the homes of the growing middle class. Its emergence against a panoply of other types of keyboard instruments (much like that of the modern violin from competing strings) is a fascinating story of musical evolution--but just one of the themes covered in "Piano Roles." Profusely illustrated, this collaborative and highly readable study discusses, among many other topics, the marketing of the piano and the succeeding phases of its changing personality in the public eye; the dual role of concert and domestic music making; the social significance of piano pedagogy; and the larger iconography of the instrument in other media. A splendid and, yes, striking read. Read more

"Teaching Genius: Dorothy DeLay and the Making of a Musician"
by Barbara Lourie Sand
Regardless of whether her name is familiar, violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay has profoundly shaped much of the sound you've come to expect from postwar virtuosos of the instrument. Her pupils have ranged from longtime superstars such as Itzhak Perlman to many of today's rising prodigies. With a track record that has made her seem all but infallible to some, DeLay has also aroused suspicion for the amount of influence she wields. Barbara Lourie Sands is less interested in such critiques than in the person behind the controversies, and she draws on extensive interviews with past and present students and associates to portray DeLay in action.

"First Nights: Five Musical Premieres"
by Thomas Forrest Kelly
Just imagine if you could have been present at the premieres not only of "Messiah" but of Beethoven's Ninth, Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique," Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo," and Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring"--the prospect would be enough to make any music lover a willing guinea pig for time-travel research. Thanks to the vivid re-creations of Harvard professor Thomas Forrest Kelly (and based on his popular lecture course), "First Nights" gets you stunningly close to the action. It's brimming with information for both the novice and the aficionado, including memorable anecdotes, portraits of contemporary reactions and snafus, considerations of the venues, and reflections on the significance of each of these big moments in the history of music.

"Gustav Mahler: Vienna--Triumph and Disillusion (1904-1907)"
by Henry-Louis de La Grange
Henry-Louis de La Grange's colossal research on Gustav Mahler's life and works--extending over three decades--has yielded a vast and comprehensive biography, one that may end up being evaluated as a musician's equivalent to Leon Edel's legendary monument to Henry James. This penultimate number in the four projected volumes (which have drawn from acres of archival material, including documents, autographs, and pictures) centers on the cataclysmic yet fecund years 1904 to 1907. In this installment, we observe Mahler as the conductor at the Vienna Hofoper while he continued his titanic efforts as a composer. Among the personal struggles and tragedies of these years are the death of his eldest daughter, growing marital tensions with Alma, anti-Semitic pressures within the opera, and the recognition of his grave health. It's a rich portrait offering many perspectives from Mahler's contemporaries and synthesizing much of the wisdom since gleaned about this tremendously complex human.

return to top

MORE FOR PIANO FANS
You couldn't ask for a better selection of the world's finest keyboardists than Philips' bargain-priced two-CD sampler of its Great Pianists of the 20th Century series. Excerpts from anthologies on Rosalyn Tureck, Vladimir Horowitz, Artur Rubinstein, and Byron Janis will whet your appetite for the full recordings. Check out our list of favorites from the series. Read more

return to top

INTRODUCTION TO RENAISSANCE MUSIC
The age of Michelangelo, El Greco, Shakespeare, and Lorenzo the Magnificent also produced an extraordinary crop of musical masterpieces, the greatest of which were written to adorn the services in cathedrals and royal chapels. In Amazon.com's Get Started in Classical feature, which includes an audio tour, our classical experts introduce you to the serene yet sophisticated choral music of the Renaissance. Read more

We recommend a one-volume companion to Renaissance music:
Companion to Medieval and Renaissance Music
by Tess Knighton (Editor), David Fallows (Editor)
Read more

return to top

INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN GRAHAM
"Many people have remarked that it's a very odd subject matter and questioned why anyone would write an opera about it. And to those of us involved with it, it seems like the perfect subject matter, because it's larger than life: it's about love, life, death, murder, redemption. Name any opera from the 19th century that isn't! It's about how a big love can transform someone. And it's true." --Susan Graham on her role in the forthcoming Jake Heggie opera "Dead Man Walking."

Read the exclusive Amazon.com interview with Graham.

return to top

AMAZON.COM zSHOPS
Amid the array of items pertaining to classical music to be found in Amazon.com's zShops, you can concentrate on pianos and piano equipment and collectibles. Read more

return to top

You'll find more great books, articles, excerpts, and interviews in Amazon.com's Classical Music Books section at http://www.amazon.com/classical-music-books