Victor Lederer – författare

This is an in-depth study of a seminal work, first performed in 1727.Johann Sebastian Bach's the "St. Matthew Passion" stands as a singular expression of religious sensibility. Conceived within the constraints of Bach's role as cantor of the St. Thomas Church in the provincial German city of Leipzig, the music has a power and profundity that readily transcend time and place. Yet the darkness of the subject - the betrayal, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus - and the complexity and sophistication of Bach's compositional techniques can be difficult listening for even the most eager novice.By highlighting the inspiration Bach drew from opera, this book truly illuminates the hybrid forms that comprise the work, thereby clarifying many of the composer's dramatic strategies. Drawn from the "Gospel of St. Matthew", the narrative sections - featuring characters including the narrator - Evangelist, Pilate, Peter, Judas, and Jesus himself - have tremendous theatrical power, while non-Biblical arias and chorales offer moments of deep reflection and consolation.This book shows the willing but intimidated beginner the way into the intricacies of Bach's masterwork while unveiling subtleties for the more knowledgeable listener as well. Finally, Lederer recounts the fascinating performance history of the piece and looks at the merits of different recordings of this extraordinary work, indisputably one of the cornerstones of Western music."Magnum Opus" is a series for anyone seeking a greater familiarity with the cornerstones of Western Classical Music - operatic, choral and symphonic. Always passionate, down-to-earth, and authoritative on the works and their creators, "Magnum Opus" is an indispensable resource for anyone's musical library and the perfect gift for the music-lover in your life.

Beethoven''s works for solo piano – the sonatas, variations, and bagatelles – and the five concertos for piano and orchestra stand at the heart of the repertory. Beethoven''s Piano Music: A Listener''s Guide, by Victor Lederer, will help the motivated reader understand this popular but often knotty music. The bulk of the text consists of a movement-by-movement analysis of the 32 sonatas, fascinating for their individuality and for the way they trace the master''s development.In addition to the sonatas, Lederer also takes the reader through the most significant of the variations. The greatest is the Diabelli, Beethoven''s monumental takeoff on a trivial theme, but three more sets, the 32 Variations in C minor, the Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 34, and the “Eroica” Variations, Op. 35, are also of the highest quality. And the Bagatelles, Opp. 33, 119, and 126, are short but strong studies that display different aspects of Beethoven''s musical personality. Finally, Lederer discusses the five piano concertos in detail, showing the influence of the sublime models of Mozart in the first three concertos, with Beethoven boldly finding his own voice with the beloved Fourth and Fifth Concertos. The book comes with a Naxos CD containing performances by pianist Jenö Jandó that illustrate the text.

Ludwig van Beethoven''s chamber works are some of his most revered compositions. Victor Lederer guides the serious nonprofessional listener through this oeuvre in his new book Beethoven''s Chamber Music: A Listener''s Guide.Lederer shows how Beethoven''s sonatas for violin and piano overflow with high energy and spirits, showing a creative force that transcended personal struggles. The “Kreutzer” sonata, Op. 47, displays all the power of the master''s middle period, while the G Major sonata, Op. 96, foreshadows Beethoven''s mellower late works. The author also considers the sonatas for cello and piano, which span Beethoven''s early, middle, and late periods, and examines the piano trios, including the immense “Archduke” trio.A highlight of the book is an exploration of the sixteen string quartets, which represent the pinnacle of Beethoven''s achievement in chamber music. Lederer explains how the middle-period quartets, starting with the epic “Razumovsky” set, shatter molds and create new procedures, often on a stunning scale, and why the five late quartets and the Great Fugue are considered the peaks of the quartet literature and of Beethoven''s own output. Lederer helps both new and experienced listeners grasp the strangeness and grandeur of these astonishing creations.The book comes with a compact disc containing musical selections drawn from critically acclaimed performances on Naxos Records.

Victor Lederer surveys the music of Hector Berlioz, one of the most pioneering orchestrators in history, and introduces the general music lover to both his masterpieces such as Les Troyens and lesser known gems.A bold innovator in the 19th century, Berlioz was a musical dramatist with an output that is less familiar than it should be and often misunderstood. His most famous and popular pieces are the thrilling programmatic symphonies, the Symphonie fantastique and Harold en Italie. The “dramatic symphonies” Roméo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust are both driven by conflict and excitement, which contrast his piercing, long-limbed melodies and startling harmonic shifts. Berlioz’s strongly profiled musical style possesses high rhythmic energy, and manic outbursts that are instantly identifiable as his, and he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and effective orchestrators in history. The book is accompanied by online audio tracks to select Berlioz works from the Naxos library.

Victor Lederer surveys the music of Hector Berlioz, one of the most pioneering orchestrators in history, and introduces the general music lover to both his masterpieces such as Les Troyens and lesser known gems.A bold innovator in the 19th century, Berlioz was a musical dramatist with an output that is less familiar than it should be and often misunderstood. His most famous and popular pieces are the thrilling programmatic symphonies, the Symphonie fantastique and Harold en Italie. The “dramatic symphonies” Roméo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust are both driven by conflict and excitement, which contrast his piercing, long-limbed melodies and startling harmonic shifts. Berlioz’s strongly profiled musical style possesses high rhythmic energy, and manic outbursts that are instantly identifiable as his, and he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and effective orchestrators in history. The book is accompanied by online audio tracks to select Berlioz works from the Naxos library.

Beethoven's works for solo piano – the sonatas, variations, and bagatelles – and the five concertos for piano and orchestra stand at the heart of the repertory. Beethoven's Piano Music: A Listener's Guide, by Victor Lederer, will help the motivated reader understand this popular but often knotty music. The bulk of the text consists of a movement-by-movement analysis of the 32 sonatas, fascinating for their individuality and for the way they trace the master's development.In addition to the sonatas, Lederer also takes the reader through the most significant of the variations. The greatest is the Diabelli, Beethoven's monumental takeoff on a trivial theme, but three more sets, the 32 Variations in C minor, the Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 34, and the “Eroica” Variations, Op. 35, are also of the highest quality. And the Bagatelles, Opp. 33, 119, and 126, are short but strong studies that display different aspects of Beethoven's musical personality. Finally, Lederer discusses the five piano concertos in detail, showing the influence of the sublime models of Mozart in the first three concertos, with Beethoven boldly finding his own voice with the beloved Fourth and Fifth Concertos. The book comes with a Naxos CD containing performances by pianist Jenö Jandó that illustrate the text.

Giuseppe Verdi's career forms one of the loveliest arcs in musical history. The passion of his works resonates universally while the sophistication of his middle and late operas satisfies demanding ears and tastes. In ÊVerdi: The Operas and Choral WorksÊ Victor Lederer surveys every one of the master's 28 operas and his greatest choral pieces showing Verdi's growth as a musical dramatist ä he would revolutionize the hidebound conventions of 19th-century Italian opera ä and his single-minded pursuit of dramatic truth.ÞAfter describing the chaotic milieu in which Verdi learned his craft the book provides act-by-act analyses of the early masterpieces ÊNabuccoÊ ÊErnaniÊ and ÊMacbethÊ. The neglected operas from the composer's self-described years in the galleys are covered together. Lederer then takes readers through the magnificent sequence of Verdi operas from ÊLuisa MillerÊ onward including the fine but underrated ÊStiffelioÊ. Each of the late operas ä ÊDon CarloÊ ÊAidaÊ and ÊOtelloÊ and ÊFalstaffÊ the twin Shakespearean masterworks that crown Verdi's oeuvre ä is discussed at length in its own chapter. Lederer also examines Verdi's monumental Requiem along with the choral ÊQuattro pezzi sacriÊ Verdi's sublime final achievement. The book comes with a Naxos CD of musical selections representing highlights from throughout Verdi's long remarkable career.

Giuseppe Verdi''s career forms one of the loveliest arcs in musical history. The passion of his works resonates universally, while the sophistication of his middle and late operas satisfies demanding ears and tastes. In Verdi: The Operas and Choral Works, Victor Lederer surveys every one of the master''s 28 operas and his greatest choral pieces, showing Verdi''s growth as a musical dramatist – he would revolutionize the hidebound conventions of 19th-century Italian opera – and his single-minded pursuit of dramatic truth.After describing the chaotic milieu in which Verdi learned his craft, the book provides act-by-act analyses of the early masterpieces Nabucco, Ernani, and Macbeth. The neglected operas from the composer''s self-described “years in the galleys” are covered together. Lederer then takes readers through the magnificent sequence of Verdi operas from Luisa Miller onward, including the fine but underrated Stiffelio. Each of the late operas – Don Carlo, Aida, and Otello and Falstaff, the twin Shakespearean masterworks that crown Verdi''s oeuvre – is discussed at length in its own chapter. Lederer also examines Verdi''s monumental Requiem along with the choral Quattro pezzi sacri, Verdi''s sublime final achievement. The book comes with a Naxos CD of musical selections representing highlights from throughout Verdi''s long, remarkable career.

An enigma to those who knew him, the early-20th century French master Maurice Ravel composed some of the most popular and beloved music in the repertory. In Ravel: A Listener's Guide, Victor Lederer surveys and explores this master's refined and utterly distinctive oeuvre.Ravel is often mentioned in the same breath as his older contemporary Claude Debussy, but the works of the two composers display as many differences as similarities. Where Debussy rejected existing forms, the structuralist Ravel embraced the baroque suite and classical sonata form as vehicles for his ideas, in addition to his own concise inventions. At his best, which is where we usually find this focused stylist, passion flows just beneath some of the most exquisitely crafted surfaces in music, under which lurk ironies that raise as many questions as they answer. A perfect example is Boléro, Ravel's most famous work; Lederer analyzes the music and looks at the outsized role it has assumed in our culture.Lederer walks the reader and listener through Ravel's relatively small but crucial contributions to orchestral, vocal, chamber, and piano music. Ravel's two operas, idiosyncratic and underappreciated, are examined in detail as well. The book includes a Naxos CD with examples from across the master's career.

Over the course of some three dozen volumes, Amadeus Press' highly acclaimed Unlocking the Masters series has drawn readers into the worlds of the greatest composers and their music. Curated pairings of critically minded introductory texts and companion CDs loaded with tracks selected from the world's foremost libraries of recorded classics, the series truly brings the sounds and stories of its legendary subjects to life. Its latest entry, Victor Lederer's Schumann: A Listener's Guide, is an essential portal to the musical works of and tempestuous life of this little-understood genius. Many, if not most, major composers improve over the course of their careers. For Schumann, however, the opposite was true: plagued throughout his life by physical and mental illnesses, he helplessly – and consciously – endured the gradual diminution of his prodigious talent until his premature death at age 46. Throughout Schumann: A Listener's Guide, Lederer provides unflinching critiques of the weaknesses that plagued Schumann's style, contrasting them with the brilliance of his earliest triumphs. This eminently accessible account explores the full spectrum of the master composer's oeuvre, from his popular early music and lieder to his works for chamber ensembles composed in 1842 to his four beloved, if flawed, symphonies. It also accounts for Schumann's dramatic works, particularly Genoveva, his only opera, and Incidental Music to Byron's “Manfred ” a bewilderingly unappreciated musical score. As with all volumes in the UTM series, Schumann: A Listener's Guide is accompanied by a CD containing two of the master's most daring imaginative flights, both explored in detail in the text: the Davidsbündlertänze for piano and Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love), one of the all-time greatest song cycles and works for voice. Geared toward fledglings, but written with an eye turned to aficionados, the book is a must-have for Schumann buffs and classical music fans young and old.

Along with Beethoven's sonatas and the purely idiomatic works for piano of Chopin and Debussy the solo keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach represents the heart of the pianist's repertory; in the more specialized field of music for the organ Bach's primacy seems beyond challenge. This listener's guide to Bach's music for the keyboard provides the interested amateur with a close but non-technical look at these two crucial parts of the master's oeuvre. The composer's tendency to work exhaustively in tightly structured formats ä such as the 48 preludes and fugues of ÊThe Well-Tempered ClavierÊ ä provides a natural framework for this study; but the power beauty high polish and occasionally the sheer strangeness of Bach's imagination are carefully examined as well.