Best Musicals
After his acclaimed and best-selling Finishing the Hat (named one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2010), Stephen Sondheim returns with the second volume of his collected lyrics, Look, I Made a Hat , giving us another remarkable glimpse into the brilliant mind of this living legend, and his life’s work. The handsomely designed book, like the first volume, contains illuminating reproductions of pages from the author's beloved legal pads on which he works out rhyme schemes, as well as annotated scripts and pages of musical notations. A” —Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly “While the book technically covers Mr. Sondheim’s output from 1981 to the present, aficionados will delight in all the bits and bobs from early in his career that Mr. Sondheim didn’t make room for in the first volume .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The Maestro wrote this erudite book, making it literate, engaging and terribly informative."
"If you agree with Tom Lehrer that Stephen Sondheim is the best lyricist of the 20th Century (I do but I would remover the temporal limitation), then these two books are an absolute must."
"If you enjoy Sondheim's shows, you need this book."
"The ultimate master class in lyric-writing, from the best musical theatre writer of all time."
"A real treat for those who enjoy Sondheim's lyrics."
"Very happy with product and seller!"
"I encourage all writers of music to read these two books."
In Hat Box , Stephen Sondheim presents his complete collected lyrics from the acclaimed Finishing the Hat and Look, I Made a Hat . Stephen Sondheim has written award-winning music and lyrics for theater, film and television.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The Maestro wrote this erudite book, making it literate, engaging and terribly informative."
"If you agree with Tom Lehrer that Stephen Sondheim is the best lyricist of the 20th Century (I do but I would remover the temporal limitation), then these two books are an absolute must."
"If you enjoy Sondheim's shows, you need this book."
"The ultimate master class in lyric-writing, from the best musical theatre writer of all time."
"A real treat for those who enjoy Sondheim's lyrics."
"Very happy with product and seller!"
"I encourage all writers of music to read these two books."
This souvenir folio features full-color photos from the stunning production as well as piano/vocal arrangements of 9 songs, including: All I Ask of You * Angel of Music * Masquerade * The Music of the Night * The Phantom of the Opera * The Point of No Return * Prima Donna * Think of Me * Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. This piano/vocal book includes nine favorite songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash blockbuster musical The Phantom of the Opera .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Very good arrangement."
"Beautiful music, beautiful selections from the musical."
"My wife has wanted to play this music every since we saw the play."
"was not what I thought it was but it turned out great, it was sheet music and not a book."
"Always a great selection."
"Has all the songs I wanted and the pictures are fun :)."
"Great piano book!"
Best Sondheim
In Hat Box , Stephen Sondheim presents his complete collected lyrics from the acclaimed Finishing the Hat and Look, I Made a Hat . Stephen Sondheim has written award-winning music and lyrics for theater, film and television.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The Maestro wrote this erudite book, making it literate, engaging and terribly informative."
"If you agree with Tom Lehrer that Stephen Sondheim is the best lyricist of the 20th Century (I do but I would remover the temporal limitation), then these two books are an absolute must."
"If you enjoy Sondheim's shows, you need this book."
"The ultimate master class in lyric-writing, from the best musical theatre writer of all time."
"A real treat for those who enjoy Sondheim's lyrics."
"Very happy with product and seller!"
"I encourage all writers of music to read these two books."
Best Sullivan
From toughing it out in Texas to his appearance at Woodstock, his affair with Janis Joplin, his stadium-filling tours, and washing out on drugs and the temptations of the road before finally fulfilling his dream of becoming a 100-percent pure bluesman, resurrecting the career of Muddy Waters, and winning a Grammy Award for his effort, this is a raucous roller coaster of story.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My only hope is that in future editions they include some sort of appendix to cover the years the book did not - from 2009 (I believe) when the book was originally finished until his death on the road in 2014 - roughly one week before I had tickets to see him."
"I'm blaming the editor more than the writer because Ms. Sullivan did a good job of putting together a relatively coherent story from a wide variety of interviews. I believe it's the job of an editor to toss the book back to the author with advice on how to tighten up the story, put it in chronological order, etc."
"Since the author and Johnny Winters collaborated on this book, it was pretty tame."
"The exciting story of this brilliant and often overlooked musician is marred by repetitive accounts of the same story."
"This was a very clear case in which the reporter got suddenly lost in the process of editing the interviews she had done, perhaps due to her own nice feelings toward the interviewee."
Best Modern Popular
After his acclaimed and best-selling Finishing the Hat (named one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2010), Stephen Sondheim returns with the second volume of his collected lyrics, Look, I Made a Hat , giving us another remarkable glimpse into the brilliant mind of this living legend, and his life’s work. The handsomely designed book, like the first volume, contains illuminating reproductions of pages from the author's beloved legal pads on which he works out rhyme schemes, as well as annotated scripts and pages of musical notations. A” —Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly “While the book technically covers Mr. Sondheim’s output from 1981 to the present, aficionados will delight in all the bits and bobs from early in his career that Mr. Sondheim didn’t make room for in the first volume .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The Maestro wrote this erudite book, making it literate, engaging and terribly informative."
"If you agree with Tom Lehrer that Stephen Sondheim is the best lyricist of the 20th Century (I do but I would remover the temporal limitation), then these two books are an absolute must."
"If you enjoy Sondheim's shows, you need this book."
"The ultimate master class in lyric-writing, from the best musical theatre writer of all time."
"A real treat for those who enjoy Sondheim's lyrics."
"Very happy with product and seller!"
"I encourage all writers of music to read these two books."
Best Historical Period
This new volume in Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics presents 26 preludes, 21 nocturnes and 19 waltzes a large amount of music at a value price.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Printing is not clear as I expected."
"Love this book and playing from it."
"It's Schimer -- what else can I say -- one of the best editions ever on the market."
"Came just like it stated, brand new and in a very short amount of time after I ordered it!!"
"I love Chopin music, and nocturnes and waltzes are my preferred."
"Pages Printed upside down on both shipments."
Best Rodgers
(Vocal Selections).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Got the male lead in school play!"
"These are comprehensive vocal and piano arrangements for singers and pianists."
"Love this music from my childhood."
"Also I guess I am that guy, you know, the one buys books for musicals to make his kids sing..."
"Great piano book with good arrangements."
"This is great."
"I love the Revised version of this songbook."
"This music collection is very easy to read and easy to play."
Best Performing Arts History & Criticism
After his acclaimed and best-selling Finishing the Hat (named one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2010), Stephen Sondheim returns with the second volume of his collected lyrics, Look, I Made a Hat , giving us another remarkable glimpse into the brilliant mind of this living legend, and his life’s work. The handsomely designed book, like the first volume, contains illuminating reproductions of pages from the author's beloved legal pads on which he works out rhyme schemes, as well as annotated scripts and pages of musical notations. A” —Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly “While the book technically covers Mr. Sondheim’s output from 1981 to the present, aficionados will delight in all the bits and bobs from early in his career that Mr. Sondheim didn’t make room for in the first volume .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The Maestro wrote this erudite book, making it literate, engaging and terribly informative."
"If you agree with Tom Lehrer that Stephen Sondheim is the best lyricist of the 20th Century (I do but I would remover the temporal limitation), then these two books are an absolute must."
"If you enjoy Sondheim's shows, you need this book."
"The ultimate master class in lyric-writing, from the best musical theatre writer of all time."
"A real treat for those who enjoy Sondheim's lyrics."
"Very happy with product and seller!"
"I encourage all writers of music to read these two books."
Best Vocal
Our collection features 17 selections in piano/vocal format from the music penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda, including: Alexander Hamilton * Burn * Dear Theodosia * Hurricane * It's Quiet Uptown * My Shot * One Last Time * Satisfied * That Would Be Enough * Washington on Your Side * You'll Be Back * and more.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The songs included are: Alexander Hamilton. My Shot. The Schuyler Sisters. You'll Be Back. Helpless. Satisfied. Wait For It. That Would Be Enough. History Has Its Eyes On You. Dear Theodosia. What'd I Miss. The Room Where It Happens. Washington On Your Side. One Last Time. Hurricane. Burn. It's Quiet Uptown."
"I can't play piano parts from my phone without hunching over and squinting, and I can't play them from a larger screen like a tablet because they're much too blurry. But unless I'm missing something important in how to use Kindle editions of books, DO NOT buy the Kindle version."
"My only complaint is that this collection is missing some really great songs, a few of which are eminently playable as stand-alone pieces."
"Was a Christmas gift for someone who plays piano and has seen Hamilton 3 times already."
"Got this for my wife, who is a huge fan."
"Great book."
"This was purchased as a birthday gift for my grown daughter and she loves it."
"My daughter is obsessed with Hamilton and already had the songs memorized but she LOVES this book."
Best Popular
Every album and every song ever released by the Beatles - from "Please Please Me" (U.S. 1963) to "The Long and Winding Road" (U.S. 1970) - is dissected, discussed, and analyzed by two music historians in this lively, fully illustrated work. *Starred Review* This hefty gem of a book catalogs every recording released by the Beatles, in chronological order of album release. They know their stuff (Guesdon is a musician; Margotin, a music critic), and it shows—especially in the Production and Technical Details sections, where the type of equipment is named and described, recording speeds are discussed, and there is much talk of the number of takes each song required and why.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"book takes the "greatest bits of info" from the Lewisohn, Babiuk, Ryan/Kehew books, as well as previously published interviews by the Beatles and associates, recording anomalies (readily available on several internet sites) and puts them together under one cover (primary songwriter, instrument/vocal credit, dates/mixing/studio location and personnel, specific instruments used, the Anthology series audio material and additional background info). You will not see photos of the EMI recording boxes nor photos of every single instrument used, however there is certainly enough visual material to make the book a valuable tool covering the studio career of the Beatles."
"This is the book for it!"
"I received this great book for Christmas.....wow....exactly what I wanted."
"I was amazed how many instruments George Martin played on some later albums."
"Beatles 4 ever!"
"Bought this as a Christmas present for my Dad and he’s obsessed!"
"Loved it all, the pictures, instruments used on each song, the history and background."
"If you fell in love with the print version, as I did, but were waiting for the Kindle version so you wouldn't have to lug around that giant physical book be warned that the Kindle version has NONE of the great photos found in the print version."
Best Opera
Our collection features 17 selections in piano/vocal format from the music penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda, including: Alexander Hamilton * Burn * Dear Theodosia * Hurricane * It's Quiet Uptown * My Shot * One Last Time * Satisfied * That Would Be Enough * Washington on Your Side * You'll Be Back * and more.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The songs included are: Alexander Hamilton. My Shot. The Schuyler Sisters. You'll Be Back. Helpless. Satisfied. Wait For It. That Would Be Enough. History Has Its Eyes On You. Dear Theodosia. What'd I Miss. The Room Where It Happens. Washington On Your Side. One Last Time. Hurricane. Burn. It's Quiet Uptown."
"I can't play piano parts from my phone without hunching over and squinting, and I can't play them from a larger screen like a tablet because they're much too blurry. But unless I'm missing something important in how to use Kindle editions of books, DO NOT buy the Kindle version."
"My only complaint is that this collection is missing some really great songs, a few of which are eminently playable as stand-alone pieces."
"Was a Christmas gift for someone who plays piano and has seen Hamilton 3 times already."
"Got this for my wife, who is a huge fan."
"Great book."
"This was purchased as a birthday gift for my grown daughter and she loves it."
"My daughter is obsessed with Hamilton and already had the songs memorized but she LOVES this book."
Best Religious & Church Music
Neither have the more recent editions of vocal scores based on the Mozart orchestra score, with its many contrapuntal charms, quite fulfilled expectations, as they materially increased the difficulty of the piano part. Listeners who truly love this work may be interested in the full orchestral score --also at a great price--from Dover, edited by Alfred Mann.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had one from college, and bought this as a replacement since I lost my original score."
"Great for singing in a performance of the Messiah."
"When singing a part in this music, it is easy to get so focused on one's own part that one misses the fact that the notes themselves weave a tapestry on the page and to the ear that tell a story as rich as the verse."
"protected and delivered in very good time."
"Item exactly as described; delivery was fast and accurate."
"My first Book fell apart from using it for 30 years."
"This is a beautiful, pristine copy of the familiar Schirmer Bpiano-vocal score of The Messiah."
"Came quickly and a fair price and will use it for Christmas!"
Best Concerto
inch....this work is likely to become a standart work very quickly and is to be recommended to all schools where recorder studies are undertaken inch.
Find Best Price at AmazonBest Symphonies
This charming and interactive picture book with its panel of 19 sound buttons is like a ticket to a concert hall, taking readers on a journey from the exciting first moment when the musicians begin tuning up to the end of the first movement (attention newcomers: don’t clap yet!). Kids will want to match their voices to the A note that tunes the orchestra, dance to the rhythmic passages—and, of course, sing along to da-da-da- daah ! “An ideal way to introduce children to the magic of music—delightful, charming, wonderfully entertaining, beautifully illustrated.” —Gerard Schwarz, Music Director, the All-Star Orchestra. " Welcome to the Symphony [lives] up to the publisher's promise that children will enjoy it . “An ideal way to introduce children to the magic of music—delightful, charming, wonderfully entertaining, beautifully illustrated.”. –Gerard Schwarz, music director, The All-Star Orchestra and music director laureate, Seattle Symphony. (Gerard Schwarz). "A delight for kids of any age! (Terry Kinney). “Lively, beautifully written…a charming way to educate the next generation of concert-goers.”. –Orin O’Brien, double bassist, The New York Philharmonic. (Orin O’Brien). “This beautiful book appeals on so many levels...The charming illustrations and brilliant musical recordings provide the perfect sensory stimuli, while the text illuminates every question a child might have about the experience in the most natural and satisfying way.”. –Dorothy Lawson, artistic director, Ethel String Quartet. (Dorothy Lawson). "An introduction to one of the greatest of all classical works that quite wondrously includes not just words and pictures, but some of the music itself.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It provides great beginner information in a way kids understand and makes it interactive."
"I was surprised by how good the sound is, and that each instrument plays a different part of the piece."
"We read this before bedtime and the music (altho short clips) helps slow her down and lull her to sleep."
"It’s funny and silly with the mice, and also teaches about classical music- and I love that you can then hear what they are explaining with the sound buttons."
"Even though this book is a bit mature for our 2 year old, he loves pressing the buttons and saying the instrument names."
"Wonderful book!"
"I do like the book for my little one."
"Best first music book ever!"
Best Piano Sonatas
Combining scrupulous scholarship and profound artistic vision, Schenker achieved an edition which is universally admired by musicians and scholars. This edition will be welcomed by all pianists, both professional and amateur, for its accuracy and reliability; it is highly desirable for instruction, study, reference, and enjoyment. The triumphant genius of Ludwig van Beethoven (17701827) casts a long shadow over classical music no other composer of the past two centuries has exercised an influence more profound than his.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Not that this book should be expected to address a longstanding problem with piano books, but even with the lay-flat binding, the front pages will keep shutting (this is just a peeve of mine, probably doesn't bother most people)."
"I could never really usee those because it was not easy to open and read, since this is a huge work (32 sonatas make a gross volume very impractical)."
"Easy to read, no mistakes that i can hear."
"Excellent urtext edition of this wonderful works."
"The famous musicologist Heinrich Schenker is known for his extreme attention to detail, including, for example, the directions of the stems (which other Urtext editions are not)."
"I love playing this and trying to sightread some of the movements."
Best Piano Concertos
Just as Serge Rachmaninoff's piano virtuosity ranked him among the greatest pianists of the twentieth century, his compositions for piano and orchestra won him an important position among modern composers. 1 in the years 1890–91, while he was still a young student at the Moscow Conservatory, and revised it nearly three decades later in 1917, when he began to devote his life mainly to his international career as a piano virtuoso.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Regarding those who say that the type is too small to allow pianists to learn their parts from this version of the score: fine, get a 2-piano version for your technical mastery of the music, BUT get this too if you want to be a real musician when learning this music."
"Love Dover Publications."
"Rachmaninoff is one of the truly great romantic composers, and I have purchased all of the scores for enjoyment."
"A must have for fans of the Rachmaninoff piano concertos... cheap in price while well printed and bound - it's a great addition to any music library collection!"
"His writing this while still a student in the Moscow conservatory is just a preview of what a notable pianist and composer he would become."
"The score of the First Concerto is basically the revised version, except there are occasional passages where the piano writing is something other than what you will find in any two-piano score."
"Structurally, it seems to be identical to the revised version, but much of the piano figuration (I'm unsure about the orchestral part) is based on the original version."
Best Violin Concertos
Corrected, revised edition, incorporating newly discovered details from Barber's personal conducting copy.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In my opinion, the Barber Violin Concerto is on a level of its own."
"I am running into some issues when comparing this 2014 version with my teachers 1949 issue--which is to be expected."
"The revised (2014) edition has smaller prints, compare with the old (1949) edition, and it's harder to read."
"The violin part was missing."
"The 2014 revised version took some liberties with bowings, and most of them don't make sense."
Best Ballet & Dance
The ever-wonderful Kristen Bell convinces everyone to just “Dance It Out.” Samuel L. Jackson stomps his captivating way through “Tyrannosaurus Funk.” Stanley Tucci is the impossibly frenetic caller of the “Rat Race.” Five for Fighting goes full-on big band era with a stunning slow-build/big-finish “Swing Thing.” And when’s the last time you heard Laura Linney and “Weird Al” Yankovic perform a song together? Here they give you the electronic sci-fi “Robot Dance,” which Mr. Yankovic suddenly turns into (naturally enough) a Broadway tap dance number. Take a child by the hand, put on your sneakers or tap shoes (oh heck, bare feet will do), cue up the CD, and get out there and dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance!! Michael Ford, Sandra Boynton’s esteemed collaborator on Philadelphia Chickens and Rhinoceros Tap , is a classically trained composer and pianist, with a long detour in Progressive Rock performance.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"We love all the Boynton books and have about every single one."
"Though the songs seem much simpler than other Boynton albums, my kid loves it, and that's what matters most."
"Fun music by a number of artists."
"100% grand-daughter endorsed."
"A truly delightful book/cd."
Best Requiems & Oratorios
Neither have the more recent editions of vocal scores based on the Mozart orchestra score, with its many contrapuntal charms, quite fulfilled expectations, as they materially increased the difficulty of the piano part. Listeners who truly love this work may be interested in the full orchestral score --also at a great price--from Dover, edited by Alfred Mann.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had one from college, and bought this as a replacement since I lost my original score."
"Great for singing in a performance of the Messiah."
"When singing a part in this music, it is easy to get so focused on one's own part that one misses the fact that the notes themselves weave a tapestry on the page and to the ear that tell a story as rich as the verse."
"protected and delivered in very good time."
"Item exactly as described; delivery was fast and accurate."
"My first Book fell apart from using it for 30 years."
"This is a beautiful, pristine copy of the familiar Schirmer Bpiano-vocal score of The Messiah."
"Came quickly and a fair price and will use it for Christmas!"
Best Lieder & Art Songs
Every album and every song ever released by the Beatles - from "Please Please Me" (U.S. 1963) to "The Long and Winding Road" (U.S. 1970) - is dissected, discussed, and analyzed by two music historians in this lively, fully illustrated work. *Starred Review* This hefty gem of a book catalogs every recording released by the Beatles, in chronological order of album release. They know their stuff (Guesdon is a musician; Margotin, a music critic), and it shows—especially in the Production and Technical Details sections, where the type of equipment is named and described, recording speeds are discussed, and there is much talk of the number of takes each song required and why.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"book takes the "greatest bits of info" from the Lewisohn, Babiuk, Ryan/Kehew books, as well as previously published interviews by the Beatles and associates, recording anomalies (readily available on several internet sites) and puts them together under one cover (primary songwriter, instrument/vocal credit, dates/mixing/studio location and personnel, specific instruments used, the Anthology series audio material and additional background info). You will not see photos of the EMI recording boxes nor photos of every single instrument used, however there is certainly enough visual material to make the book a valuable tool covering the studio career of the Beatles."
"This is the book for it!"
"I received this great book for Christmas.....wow....exactly what I wanted."
"I was amazed how many instruments George Martin played on some later albums."
"Beatles 4 ever!"
"Bought this as a Christmas present for my Dad and he’s obsessed!"
"Loved it all, the pictures, instruments used on each song, the history and background."
"If you fell in love with the print version, as I did, but were waiting for the Kindle version so you wouldn't have to lug around that giant physical book be warned that the Kindle version has NONE of the great photos found in the print version."