Kahn & Averill – förlag

This is the first book which deals with the school of American repetitive music, also know as minimal music. The early work of La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass is discussed in the context of traditional Western music. Minimal music thus emerges as the latest stage in a development leading from Schoenberg, Webern, Stockhausen and Cage. In considering the philosophical thinking of Deleuze and Lyotard, the representatives of the so-called French ' libidinal philosophy', and of Adorno, the author examines the degree to which the 'ecstatic dimension' is present in this music or is even consciously introduced to it.

This book has grown out of the author's research about Iraq and Palestine 1932-41, written in Tel Aviv University.

During a career spanning more than 50 years, pianist Helmut Deutsch has accompanied over 100 singers, including Ian Bostridge, Grace Bumbry, Diana Damrau, Brigitte Fassbaender, Jonas Kaufmann, Angelika Kirchschlager, Camilla Nylund, Christoph Pregardien, Mauro Peter, Hermann Prey, Thomas Quasthoff, Yumiko Samejima, Peter Schreier, Irmgard Seefried and Anne Sofie von Otter. Translated from the German by Richard Stokes, professor of lieder at the Royal Academy of Music, this memoir describes, with humour, honesty and intelligence, Helmut Deutsch's journey from unknown repetiteur to one of the most refined and sought-after accompanists of the modern era, respected by the leading singers of our time, who make music with him and revere him as a great artist and strong musical partner. In this engaging and entertaining account, Deutsch offers fascinating insights into pianistic technique, repertoire, performance, interpersonal relationships, and the special qualities required for his profession: empathy, flexibility, sensitivity, patience and the ability to stand back in the service of others. Deutsch is a captivating narrator, frank and entertaining. From out of tune pianos to jealous singers, his memoir teems with anecdotes and reflections on his multi-faceted life as a musician, offering readers a glimpse of unforgettable moments on and off stage without a trace of vanity.

Here is a book that will transform how you play and think about the classical guitar and its music. - Emmanuel SowiczThe guitar is one of the most popular instruments in the world, but what does it take to become a fully rounded classical guitarist? In a systematic sequence of chapters, Jonathan Leathwood and Richard Wright offer a fresh perspective on technique, interpretation, learning, practicing and repertoire, drawing on a huge variety of composers and works, including a separate exploration of Bach. A final section explores the guitarist as collaborator, with advice on how to make the guitar sound at its best in the company of other instruments and how to work with non-guitarist composers. Throughout the book, musical examples from key works illuminate the points discussed.The authors bring their vast experience as teachers and performers to this book, which will intrigue and inspire anyone interested in the art of the guitar.An invaluable addition to the immensely successful Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides, this book brings exciting new insights into the study and performance of the classical guitar repertoire.

Jessica Duchen’s Myra Hess – National Treasure would be my music book of the year. It’s a meticulously reserached and superbly narrated biography of a woman whose life is rich in interest, both before and after those famous wartime National Gallery concerts.Richard Osborne – The OldieThroughout World War II, Dame Myra Hess, Britain's greatest concert pianist, ran lunchtime concerts at London's National Gallery. They became the stuff of legend, proving music's power to support the human spirit in the darkest of times. This biography, the first in nearly five decades, follows Hess's transformation from rebellious young musician into inimitably powerful woman and national heroine. She was born into a religious Jewish family in Victorian north London and studied at the Royal Academy of Music with the renowned pedagogue Tobias Matthay. Nevertheless, as a woman seeking to build a performing career before World War I, she faced a struggle for recognition. At home, a clash with her father led her to seek alternative ways of building a substitute family of friends.Stardom ensued when she reached the US in 1922. Soon, with America at her feet from coast to coast, her beloved transcription of Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring capturing public imagination, and British artistic luminaries, politicians and royalty flocking to her UK performances, Hess seemed unstoppable. During the war and through the National Gallery concerts, she became an unsung activist, helping refugee musicians from Nazi-occupied countries to find their feet in Britain and personally endeavouring to aid young British musicians faced with wartime deprivations.Myra Hess - National Treasure offers previously unpublished extracts from her correspondence and postwar American tour diaries, full of insights into her collaborations with towering musicians of her day, including Arturo Toscanini, Pablo Casals, Bruno Walter and Kathleen Ferrier. Interviews with her former pupils shed light on Hess's rigour, intensity and warmth, her dislike of recording and her special way of building her connection with her audience when on stage.Hess encountered innumerable personal challenges nonetheless, including some disastrous medical misdiagnoses. A sociable woman who disliked being alone, she sacrificed her personal life in her determination to dedicate herself entirely to music. And though warm and giving, she did not hold back when faced with betrayal, cruelty or deception, or when others failed to meet the ferociously high standards she set for herself. Dame Myra Hess emerges at last from behind the myths: a unique personality full of generosity, courage, humour and sheer, unfailing 'chutzpah'.

In what is primarily an instructional book, Jack Brymer places the instrument in the broad context of its role in the orchestra and in chamber music, expressing stimulating and controversial views. Perhaps his most original and valuable contribution is to be found in the long section on acoustics, the down-to-earth section on the practical clarinettist, and the illuminating passages on artistic approach. Brymer writes for the teacher of the clarinet, as well as for beginners and advanced players, and the unique appendix on the clarinet repertoire is particularly comprehensive. Modern science has revealed facets of the clarinet's harmonic structure previously only dimly perceived, and the author points the way to a future full of promise.

Who better to write an authoritative yet fascinating introduction to flute playing than Sir James Galway whose glittering career extends from principal flute in the Berlin Philharmonic to the top of the international pop music charts? His unique advice and experience is brought to bear on the problems and techniques of learning, practicing and playing - in solo, ensemble, at home, in concert and in the recording studio.

Louis Kentner covers all aspects of the piano in this comprehensive and fascinating dissertation. As well as practical material there are pages of instruction on technique including a chapter on the use of the pedal, some hints on singing tone and legato, advice on practising, and a do-it-yourself guide to basic tuning. Kentner provides a penetrating analysis of much of Chopin's and Liszt's piano music and contributes a unique and detailed study of Beethoven's thirty-two piano sonatas. The book includes some selected further reading and a discography.

Yehudi Menuhin shares with the reader his unique store of understanding about the violin, about how to exercise and practise, about the techniques of performance. His reflections on the nature and scope of his instrument are profoundly illuminating and his theories on interpretation particularly valuable. A section on the violinist as teacher/student contains a fascinating transcript of a lesson with Yehudi Menuhin, who also writes separately about the violinist as orchestral player, leader, chamber music player, recitalist and soloist.William Primrose writes the distinguished monograph on the viola and describes the instrument as ‘a violin with a college education’. He was an acknowledged technical master of the viola who, along with Lionel Tertis, was one of the finest exponents of this beautiful instrument of the 20th century.Denis Stevens, the British musicologist and specialist in early music, provides and interesting chapter on the history of the violin and looks in detail at the monumental challenge that is Bach’s Six Solos for Violin without Bass Accompaniment better known as the Sonatas and Partitas for Violin.

Lionel Tertis was internationally recognised to have been perhaps the greatest viola player of all time. That the viola is today an important solo instrument and orchestral unit is entirely his achievement, and his design of a large but easily manageable viola - the Tertis Model - has laid the foundations for a standard-sized instrument.The author describes his prodigious career with vigour and a remarkable recall of detail. The musicians and composers, many of them his close friends of whom he writes, include some of the most important in twentieth century music.A comprehensive bibliography of works written for solo viola is included as is a complete discography of the author's solo recordings.

This volume is an introduction to cello playing by an outstanding recitalist, soloist and teacher of international repute whose natural wish - as a teacher - would be to sing, play and demonstrate what he means. Devoted pupil, Nona Pyron, herself a figure of some authority in the world of the cello, has guided and marshalled William Pleeth's brilliantly perceptive advice - based on his lifetime's playing and teaching - into the confines of this valuable book.

The talent and experience of the legendary virtuoso, Léon Goossens, with that of the contemporary composer, conductor and oboist, Edwin Roxburgh combine to produce this comprehensive handbook for the oboe. The history of the instrument is followed by illuminating chapters on baroque, classical, romantic and twentieth century music. The mark of Goossens’ long experience as an international soloist is woven into every page, whether in his observations about great soloists of the past or in pertinent views on modern recording methods. Edwin Roxburgh contributes a detailed explanation of extemporization and ornamentation in eighteenth-century music as well as an optimistic review of new developments in oboe playing and modern music. For the student, there is a whole section on reed making and performing techniques together with detailed advice for teachers. Extensive appendices cover manufacturers, repertoire, fingering charts, bibliography and discography.

Neuhaus taught at the Moscow Conservatory and his pupils included some of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century: Emil Gilels, Sviatoslav Richter, Nina Svetlanova, Alexei Lubimov and Radu Lupu. His legacy continues today and many teachers around the world regard this book as the most authoritative on the subject of piano playing.

Harold Taylor draws on a combination of Alexander Technique and the teaching of pianist Raymond Thiberge to propound a piano method that is all about overall mental and physical coordination rather than analysing different elements of technique. Playing the piano, in this world, is not about the fingers, but about the whole body; it’s not about conquering the external obstacle of the piano, but about removing the internal obstacles with which we habitually distort or get in the way of ourselves.

In its relatively brief history of just 150 years, the saxophone has faced both harsh criticism and confusion, while simultaneously being celebrated and widely played more than any other wind instrument. Paul Harvey’s book dispels the myths and clears up the confusion, providing essential insights into this incredibly versatile instrument.The eccentric genius Adolphe Sax and the evolution of his invention are thoroughly explored, along with the various members of the saxophone family, its components and acoustics, fingering techniques, tone production, special effects, doubling, and its repertoire in orchestral, chamber and solo performances. The book also offers additional materials for study, all enhanced with detailed illustrations, photographs and music examples.

Features the life and work of Dinu Lipatti. This book deals with Lipatti as pianist, composer and teacher. It includes many quotations from letters written by him, many musical examples, a list of works and two cadenzas for the Mozart Piano Concerto in C (K467). This publication is a valuable foundation from which to understand the complete devotion and musicianship of one of the most gifted pianists/composers the world has ever heard. Much of this book is devoted to understanding Dinu Lipatti's music, his teaching, composing and those important in his musical development.

Detailing the understanding and performance of the French mélodie, famous French baritone Pierre Bernac provides insight in this book for singers, accompanists, and concert-goers. Teamed with composer Francis Poulenc for more than 25 years, Bernac and Poulenc became legend as one of the first duos to be recognized as equals within the music arena. Texts and performance guidance for over 200 songs from 18 different composers including Fauré, Debussy and Poulenc are given in French with line-for-line translations in English. This comprehensive approach to the French repertoire also includes tips on pronunciation, performance, and interpretation.

What does it mean to understand music? What, if anything, does music mean? Composers, performers, listeners, and academics may answer these questions differently, but what sense of music do they share? When music seems unfamiliar or unlike anything we have heard before, we may say that we don't "like" it. How is taking pleasure from music related to understanding it? This book explores these and other issues as they arise in various musical contexts. Performers' interpretations may be filled with errors, after all, that then become part of a tradition; a composer's work may be variously assessed by his or her contemporaries - an account of how Beethoven's reputation was established so early is included - and how musical analysis can mislead as well as enhance understanding of a composition. Originally the content of three lectures given in Rome in 1993 - "The Frontiers of Nonsense", "How To Become Immortal" and "Explaining the Obvious" - this work offers a study of music, as text, as performance, and as listening experience.

This work is part of a series of comprehensive practical guides for the solo piano. A reference book for all levels - amateur, student, teacher and professional - the purpose of the series is to help pianists with their choice of music to suit their own styles and capabilities, and to discuss their technical and interpretive demands. This volume provides a complete survey of Chopin's music for solo piano, including a graded list of his works together with detailed suggestions for study and performance. An extended introduction places Chopin in the context of his time, distancing him from the romantic misconceptions that have dogged his reputation through successive generations.

This second edition of Esther Salaman's acclaimed book comes with added ideas and exercises. The message though is still the same: singing at all stages and the personality behind the voice - the aspirations, fears and courage we need to explore our invisible instrument. The book covers every aspect of voice production and the author's appreciation of the Bel Cantists underlies all her work. She gives a detailed plan for vocal health, as well as technical exercises in the form of musical examples. Singers of all ages, teachers and choir trainers will find it immensley helpful. The book included an analysis of Schubert's 'An die Musik'.

Alkan: lonely 19th century genius, virtuoso pianist and also composer of some of the most difficult and disturbingly powerful piano music. After a long period of neglect his piano music is being discovered by an ever-widening public and played and recorded by some of the world's leading pianists. This edition, in two parts, was originally published in two separate volumes - the first dealth with the man, and the second was devoted solely to his music. With this reprint in one volume the books have been extensively revised, with two extra appendices added, and new bibliographies and discographies included.

In examining the work of Theodor Adorno, this collection of essays focuses on the German philosopher's ideas in the field of musicology. Though it addresses complex theories, this inquiry maintains a lucid style, describing the nuances of Adorno's thought while not relying on a great deal of prior knowledge to shed light on his contributions to music theory. Included is a discussion of the applicability of Adorno's ideas to popular music and an assessment of Adorno's continuing relevance in light of other commentaries.

The contributors to this text are Grindea (piano), Havas (strings), Tausky (conducting), Nieman (composing), Gruner (voice), Howard (speech), Ben-Or (Alexander Technique), Lehrer (psychology), de Peyer (clarinet) and Jacobsen (tension control). The reprinted text also carries an additional chapter on guitar playing by Joseph O'Connor.