Best Schumann
(Piano Collection).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Another great edition from Schirmer."
"Good sightreading literature for more skilled pianists."
"This is a wonderful collection, not too hard or easy -- highly recommended."
"These editions are taking up more and more room on my shelf."
"I have been a great fan of Shumann's works for a long time."
"Good paper and printing quality!"
* Nun wandre, Maria * Und willst du deinen Liebsten sterben * Verborgenheit * Mignon * Auf demgrunen Balcon * Nummersatte Liebe * In dem Schatten meiner Locken * Bescheidene Liebe Strauss: Morgan * Cacilie * Standchen * Heimkehr * Traum durch die Dammerung * Allerseelen * Zueignung * Ich trage meine Minne Heimliche Aufforderung * Ruhe, meine Seele! Founded in 1947, Hal Leonard LLC has become the worlds largest print music publisher, representing some of the greatest songwriters and artists of all time.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Wonderful collection of German art songs."
"This is in such GREAT condition for the price!"
"The book quality is very good."
"Great volume of songs, and the book was in great condition!"
"I liked this songs, while in University."
1 (Brahms) · Second Sonata, Op.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"2 copies are missing the piano part --attrition of pianists unable to climb on Weber's piano bench."
"Thankyou, it's brilliant,was looking to replace this for a long time, great price fast delivery A++++++."
"I needed a solo book and this has some major clarinet repertoire and it is also printed pretty clearly."
"A collection of pieces for the intermediate clarinet player."
"The editions of the pieces are good, but the binding makes page-turns a nightmare, as is usually the case with this publisher."
"I recieve the book, but NO clarinet component."
"Did not include a seoarate part for clarinet and combined part was too hard to read."
"Received, but does not have the clarinet part."
Best Pergolesi
This long-awaited re-release of a Music Minus One classic features a completely new edition of 17 famous solo cello works, complete with helpful tips for cellists playing them for the first time. Includes an authoritative, newly engraved music score printed on high-quality ivory paper, complete with performance suggestions from Mr. Thomas, and a compact disc containing a complete version with soloist; then a second version in digital stereo of the orchestral accompaniment, minus the soloist. Helping educate musicians since 1950, Music Minus One provides performers at every skill level, an easy way to study, rehearse and perform with professional musicians in the comfort of their own homes. Offering compact discs with accompanying solo music parts from world-renowned soloists, Music Minus One albums offer a superb practice experience.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It's a treat to hear your playing with other instruments, not to mention an excellent way to measure and achieve intonation."
"Unfortunately, it was too advanced for me, I was feeling like a bit of a failure, or at least a disappointment, to myself and my teacher already, so I gave it to my teacher. I'm not sure what I would think of it now, but I don't want to ask for it back as my teacher had his bag with music stolen from his car and I don't want to make him feel bad if it is gone."
"This is a good selection of music, and the accompaniments are well-done."
"Love the CD."
"This is a good way to practice well-known cello solos."
"great add-on to much of my current music - love the audio cd as well!"
"It is great to have an accompaniment as well as listening to a professional cellist."
"BTW If you have this book http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007MWBWTM?redirect=true&ref_=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_81 It's the same book just different cover."
Best Schubert
This consistent top-seller includes 65 works by these famous composers: C. P. E. Bach, J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Grieg, Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Schubert , Schumann and Tchaikovsky.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I'm learning to play the piano and although this isn't a beginner book It will be great when I reach this level."
"Useful collection with nicely selected pieces, although i found some wrong notes, and awkward notations, so not sure of the quality of the edition."
"It's a great book."
"Shipment was extremely fast."
"I learned many pieces from this collection when I was younger and this book has them all."
"Disappointing small book with very little in it."
Best Schoenberg
A new critical foreword by Walter Frisch, H. Harold Gumm/Harry and Albert von Tilzer Professor of Music at Columbia University, expands this centennial edition. Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), renowned Austrian and American composer, musical theorist, painter, and teacher of composition, pioneered compositional and critical approaches to atonality that were landmarks in twentieth century musical thought.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A classic text by one of the true masters of the musical craft."
"This book is absolutely amazing, a must have for any music library."
"This is the best music theory book ever written....It is a little dry but it contains everything you will ever need to know about harmony."
"If you take the time to study it properly and reread any sections that seem a bit hazy, it will take you a while to get through it, but your understanding of music and harmony will be incredibly profound. If you want a hardcore study, and want to come to understand things about sound and harmony you would never even guess at; if you want to learn to write music (and not just throw chords together because they sound great) with purpose; if you yearn to understand WHY that one song sounds so incredible, and to learn how to evoke emotions through similar progressions and melody, this is the book for you, and it is worth many times the amount of money requested here."
"I have been writing 4 part harmony exercises as directed by ASchoenberg in this book. Writing out one's own harmony exercises according to Arnold's instructions is KEY, I believe, to getting the real value out of the book. I play jazz piano, in addition to sight read through Bach (currently pieces from his French Suites)."
"The fact that he never read a book on the subject of harmony or even music history might mark him as an ignoramus, but he does admit to looking through several textbooks. He defends the issue of the possibility of a 7th that resolves by rising upwards but fails to show the classic example of it in the opening allegro of the Op. The chapter on rhythm is incorrect because bar lines are necessary to understanding that weak progressions are not to be written over them especially in chorales unless his majesty would like to quibble about that."
Best Smetana
Music of great beauty, charm and simplicity, reproduced from authoritative European editions.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Several of these pieces have become real favorites, including almost all of the Smetana Czech Dances, Dussek's theme and variations "Leaving for Syria", and the awkwardly titled but wonderfully spirited Smetana "Memories of Bohemia in the form of a polka," Op.13 no.2."
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 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 Rachmaninoff
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 Bach
This book and streaming video course is all that you will ever need for getting started playing the most famous and cherished piano classics by the great composers, like Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven! Are you struggling to follow online piano lessons that seem to jump all over the place without any sense of direction or consistency? Would you like to expand your musical understanding and learn how to play the piano through an affordable, step-by-step book and video course? Bach's Prelude in C Major Mozart's Turkish Rondo Pachelbel's Canon Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Liszt's Hungarian Dance Brahms' Lullaby Mendelssohn's Wedding March Strauss's The Blue Danube Waltz Grieg's Hall of the Mountain King Handel's Hallelujah Dvorák's New World Symphony Chopin's Prelude Bizet's The Toreador Song Verdi's La donna è mobile Schumann's The Wild Horseman Paganini's Caprice Number 24 Beethoven's Ode to Joy Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik Mascagni's Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice Dvorák's New World Symphony Erik Satie's Gymnopedie. Greensleeves Rossini's William Tell Overture (Theme from the Lone Ranger ). and many more classics! I took piano lessons many years ago, and Iwanted tostart playing again, but it seemed like I couldn't remembereven the most basic things. by DanniPal:This has to be one of the best learning tools I have ever read forlearning the piano. 5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Valuable Piano Resource by Hannah Curtis: I play piano and have a big upright piano occupying my living room.Myfriends frequently express interest in learning to play the pianobut...
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Who wouldn’t want to play pieces including Pachelbel’s Canon, Beethoven's Fur Elise, or Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Mirlitons from the Nutcracker? The videos are the biggest bonus as I am a fan of visual learning, and I feel if a student gets stuck or doesn’t fully understand how to interpret a passage at first, they can look to the video for advice and direction."
"Step by step this book and video instructions teaches you the basics of playing music. As we all know, keeping students engaged in the classroom isn't always easy and for some students, a music program is the only reason they come to school every day."
"Very happy with Ferrante's method of teaching!"
"I haven't had my daughter start it yet, so it's sort of an untried review, but I can see her being able to work through it on her own with occasional help from me, which is what I was looking for."
"It’s an exceptional way to start learning piano with no experience, and this book can be used by many ages. I really enjoyed the MP3 recording of all the songs in the book, because it was good to verify what I was doing on the piano."
"This book does a fantastic job at teaching the basics."
"It provides links throughout the material for a good representation of the subject matter; for this, I highly recommend the Kindle version for its quick easy links to the source material."
"I played piano years and years ago and forgot so much."
Best Strauss, Johann
Captured in a beautiful package, including more than fifty color photographs, The Last Waltz tells the intriguing story of the Viennese Strauss family known for producing some of the best known, best loved music of the nineteenth century. "Very readable ... elegantly prepared with plenty of quality illustrations ... makes a fascinating read about one of the greatest musical dynasties that ever lived. John Suchet puts their personal lives into the context of the politics of the day without missing out on the musical history. Stuffed full of facts, both historical and musical, this is in no way a dry academic tome because John Suchet, as always, spins his enthusiastic way through the drama as if guiding us personally in the footsteps of the protagonists and their times. Importantly, and unlike almost every other contemporary writer in this field, Suchet embraces the fact that the Strauss family's music-making did not end with the death of the 'Waltz King' in 1899, but continued well into the 'swinging sixties' of the 20th century." "Handsomely produced and superbly written… As a former News at Ten anchor [Suchet] knows a thing or two about distilling narratives and crafting pay-off lines. The snippets and anecdotes have been carefully collected and put together in such a way that dipping in and out of the book is easy - highly recommended for anyone wondering what is behind the Blue Danube!"
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Vienna outgrew its wall, tore it down, and made it into a boulevard where they placed some of their most important new buildings, like the opera house."
"These family members were the music superstars of the late 19th century, and the fame, trials and tribulations they went through would be the subject of front line news in magazines and papers today."
"I liked the writing style which is part story, part history/biographical and part gossipy....and not in the least bit overly music interpretation."
"It is hard to find a biography about Johann Strauss, Jr. and this one is excellent."
"A must have book for all music lovers and if you've never been to Vienna you really want to after, or even better during, reading this book."
"Great condition, good book (loved the lustrations and pictures)."
"It is a very well research story of the Strauss Family, the musical history of Vienna and Europe during their lifetime and an insight into the private lives of all the members of the Strauss Family."
"Really enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone who loves music and the historical background of Vienna."
Best Saint-saens
"; Best's Prelude on a Chorale by Thomas Tallis; Buxtehude's Fugue in C; the charming Four Pieces for Flute Clocks, written by Haydn for his era's popular musical clocks; Mozart's "Fantasie de Salon," based on four themes from T he Magic Flute; and Pachelbel's beloved C anon in D. Other featured composers include Elgar, Dupré, Beethoven, Frescobaldi, Handel, Liszt, Couperin, and Franck.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Nice variety and selection of tunes, suitable for church services and perfect for someone switching from pot to org and t ready for "prime time pedals" yet!"
"This collection of organ music is a lovely addition to my church repertoire."
"After my injury I could no longer play the organ pedals and this book gave me a bunch of new preludes and postludes for manuals only."
"Looks pretty good, but a bit above my level."
"This is an excellent variety of compositions by a good variety of composers."
"I am a pianist/"fake organist" and love this book of wonderful manual only pieces."
"There is incredible variety in this inexpensive edition, and most are excellent for church use."
"I am the organist for a couple of Catholic churches and this collection of organ music provides many pieces that are perfect preludes and postludes, as well as a few pieces for special occasions."
Best Stravinsky
Now music lovers can enjoy every note of this brilliant and stirring landmark of twentieth-century music, faithfully reproduced in this inexpensive, high-quality edition — ideal for study and for following both live and recorded performances. The leading composer of his day, Igor Stravinsky experimented with virtually every technique of 20th century music.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is one of the greatest masterpieces ever written."
"As a composition student, studying this score in particular has given me a lot of inspiration."
"Study score is clean and accurate."
"What a beautiful piece of music."
"Its so nice to see how my timpani part fits in with everything else."
Best Chopin
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 Hummel
Yet somehow, our harmonica virtuoso and promoter Mark Hummel, manages to play extended tours back and forth across the USA, Canada and overseas on a full time basis. Are you ready to meet some of the worldwide network of unethical bar owners and promoters, sleazy motel managers, paranoid highway patrolmen, grumpy toll booth collectors, bored waitresses and convenience store clerks, brain-dead teenage Burger King employees who can't get an order right, vengeful customs officers, unscrupulous mechanics, novice tour directors, drunken fans that regularly insist on singing and dancing on stages (when there even is a stage) that provide no security? Mark's extensive career includes traveling the, "Big Roads" and blue highways of the United States and Europe for over thirty years as a harmonica mystro, band leader, music producer, and journal and blog writer.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Great book by one of the genre's true road warriors!"
"I know Mark Hummel and there's not a harder working, more dedicated Bluesman out there today."
"A pretty well written story about the adventures of a traveling musician."
"Gift for husband, Great just what he needed for his collection and I m the hero...lol amazon never lets me down."
"Well written, honest, look into life on and off the road of a working blues musician."
"I know Mark Hummel and I already heard from him some of this stories."
"Great reading.Reading the ups and downs come off with Humor,that makes you want to go on."
"Great book by a guy working his ass off."
Best Haydn
A greatly expanded edition of the National Book Award-winning masterpiece by a world-class pianist and writer on music.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The classical period is principally characterized by sonata form and tonality. An understanding of the classical period is not only relatively easy to acquire, but of central importance to understanding nearly all subsequent composition."
"I read much of as an adjunct to Jonathan Biss's MOOC from the Curtis Institute on Exploring Beethoven's Sonatas."
"One real plus is how the author consistently includes contrasting opinions and often recognizes that, ultimately, he has learned from their insights."
"I needed a concise book giving me information on the classical style by the top three composers at the time."
"I bought this as a gift for my husband."
"Gave it as a gift to a professional cellist."
"A bit technical at times."
Best Poulenc
This Sonata For Flute and Piano is a virtuosic flute solo by renowned influential French composer Francis Poulenc.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A history of the piece, extensive critical notes, and bibliographic accounts of the source material used for the edits within are all provided in the scores first few pages (in English, French, and German)."
"It is a paperback, but the outside front and back cover is a thick, shiny, coated paper."
"Exactly what we needed for my daughters audition and less expensive than the sites the school recommended."
"Very nice music, great for teaching."
"Best sonata ever written."
"Written for and with Rampal."
"have no complaints."
Best Sibelius
SIBELIUS 7 MUSIC NOTATION ESSENTIALS provides the most thorough introduction available to the fundamental operations of Sibelius 7 and lays the foundation for continuing studies at the more advanced levels. He was previously Director of Applications and Education at Sibelius Australia.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"At the same time, it provides an organized overview of the features of Sibelius 7 that will be enormously valuable to new users and may also be useful to seasoned Sibelius users who want a leg up in exploring and using the new interface that centers around the Ribbon. Here, for example, are the sections of Lesson 1: Amazing Grace. Before You Begin: Copying Course Files to Your Computer. Moving Around the Score. Exploring the Ribbon and the Status Bar. Exploring Playback. Simple Editing. Exploring the Ideas Panel. Exercise 1 Rearranging a Score. Ideas to Get you Started. * Organization: Each Lesson begins with the name of the piece that you work on to learn the elements of Sibelius covered in that lesson. * Bonus: The book doesn't require it, but James has included Appendix A: Elementary Music Theory for those who may be entering the world of music notation for the first time. * Scores: Scores are well-engraved, and the Agent Zero scores provide a taste of James's considerable skills as a composer."
"I've purchased two other Sibelius books (which I liked), but this is the by far the best book for Sibelius 7."
"This is an excellant course for learning Sibelius 7."
"I purchased this for my husband who said, "I would have rated it 5 except it is not a beginner level book as was advertised."
"Sibelius 7 is actually very easy if you learn it well."
"I used Sibelius first so some of the explanations don't apply but overall an excellent book."
"This book will make learning the ins and outs of the computer program so easy!"
"The class refers to page numbers in the physical book."
Best Brahms
The entire corpus of Brahms's short piano pieces is contained in this volume: the delightful and familiar Waltzes; the effective Scherzo in E-flat Minor; the satisfying Eight Pieces; the two Rhapsodies; the Fantasies — among the most perfectly finished works Brahms ever wrote — the three Intermezzi; the Intermezzi, Ballade, and Romance comprising Six Pieces; and the superlative Intermezzi and Rhapsody that make up the final Four Pieces. German composer Johannes Brahms (1833–97) was a leading musician of the Romantic period and a virtuoso pianist who premiered many of his own works.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is by far my favorite edition."
"I bought this when I needed multiple editions of Brahms' Op 118 for teaching/ comparison purposes."
"This book has just the pieces in it that I wanted."
"A great collection of shorter works."
"I have quite a few Dover edition books and never encountered this problem - on a quite a few pages, the bottom of two pages were connected together so one would have to manually cut the pages apart."
Best Franck
"; Best's Prelude on a Chorale by Thomas Tallis; Buxtehude's Fugue in C; the charming Four Pieces for Flute Clocks, written by Haydn for his era's popular musical clocks; Mozart's "Fantasie de Salon," based on four themes from T he Magic Flute; and Pachelbel's beloved C anon in D. Other featured composers include Elgar, Dupré, Beethoven, Frescobaldi, Handel, Liszt, Couperin, and Franck.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Nice variety and selection of tunes, suitable for church services and perfect for someone switching from pot to org and t ready for "prime time pedals" yet!"
"This collection of organ music is a lovely addition to my church repertoire."
"After my injury I could no longer play the organ pedals and this book gave me a bunch of new preludes and postludes for manuals only."
"Looks pretty good, but a bit above my level."
"This is an excellent variety of compositions by a good variety of composers."
"I am a pianist/"fake organist" and love this book of wonderful manual only pieces."
"There is incredible variety in this inexpensive edition, and most are excellent for church use."
"I am the organist for a couple of Catholic churches and this collection of organ music provides many pieces that are perfect preludes and postludes, as well as a few pieces for special occasions."
Best Gounod
Solo piano and solo organ versions are also included.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Received as promised and in the condition it was described."
"A friend had this book and I wanted to get a copy for myself and a few of the other choir members."
"I play piano and organ for weddings and this book is all inclusive, with low voice, medium voice, and high voice settings for both piano and organ."
"I didn't really need all these different arrangements but I found my favorite arrangement in this book and the others are great for practice."
"Bought it for the Catholic Church I sing at, very useful."
"An absolute must for any church musician."
Best Mascagni
Mascagni's first produced opera (1890), and ultimately his most successful, Cavalleria Rusticana is a tempestuous drama of adultery and revenge set in a remote Italian village.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This Dover score, like all Dover scores, is very nice."
"I am really impressed with amazon.com as I got this product £5 cheaper than buying it on .co.uk I wonder why?"
"Like always, Dover prints on high quality paper, and binds books in such a way that their products could survive any abuse short of a nuclear blast."
"Like always, Dover prints on high quality paper, and binds books in such a way that their products could survive any abuse short of a nuclear blast."
"Like always, Dover prints on high quality paper, and binds books in such a way that their products could survive any abuse short of a nuclear blast."
Best Bloch
In Italy, castration for singing was understood through the lens of Catholic blood sacrifice as expressed in idioms of offering and renunciation and, paradoxically, in satire, verbal abuse, and even the symbolism of the castrato’s comic cousin Pulcinella. "Working in from the broadest anthropological reflections to the most minute points of physiology and endocrinology—by way of musical and social history, the theory and practice of singing, the insights of three centuries’ worth of philosophers and psychologists, all illustrated with the rarest pictures and recordings— The Castrato is a scholarly and literary feast."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"An extraordinary and thoroughly engrossing study of the castrato in his heyday from the late 16th to the early 19th centuries, challenging but worth the effort for those -- not just fellow scholars -- interested in music history, theater history, gender and sexuality studies and general European social history, including religion."
"this is Professor Martha Feldman's third BIG book and the most readable for audiences who are not scholars."
Best Puccini
(Vocal Score).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Good clean copy - English and Italian."
"Who but the professors would bother about those...I cannot say anything else about Carignani's piano reduction than that by the looks of it, I really should have taken piano lessons at an early age -- I would love to lead my cast through this all (well, most of it -- there's the interminable "duet" between Scarpia & Tosca which rather few are happy about. The appreciation grows with each reading, and that pertains also to the historical introduction as well as the critical commentary, the latter of the "no stone unturned" type, but readable by a savant."
Best Wagner
The translation is accompanied by Stewart Spencer’s introductory essay on the libretto and a series of specially commissioned texts by Barry Millington, Roger Hollinrake, Elizabeth Magee, and Warren Darcy that discuss the cycle’s musical structure, philosophical implications, medieval sources, and Wagner’s own changing attitude to its meaning. Text: English, German (translation). Original Language: German. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A very good book about Wagner."
"Very informative and thorough."
"i bought this because I am a theatre director and am getting ready to direct the farce DAS BBQ which is VERY loosely based on Wagner's Ring Cycle."
"This is a very useful set of libretti and translations."
"I bought the book to have a handy libretto and was pleasantly surprised with the wonderful introductory material."
"First, the translation, which takes up three quarters of the book, is well done, with German and English directly compared on a line by line basis, complete with alternate or discarded or rejected versions of the libretto included in an appendix."
"In his introductory note on the text and his translation, Stewart Spencer writes: "Whether or not there is any truth in the anecdote that Wieland Wagner used to insist that his singers translate the text of the Ring into German before beginning work on the stage production, the story has a certain poetic truth to it.""
"The introductory materials and commentary are useful to whatever extent the reader wants those things (apparently some reviewers here don't), but I'd guess most buy this book for the excellent English translation of the librettos. I've started the slow, tedious process of going through and placing bookmarks at each chapter start and on other important pages, but this is a very cumbersome solution, as you can't even edit the bookmarks into brief descriptive titles or organize them into an outline format. But honestly, I give the Kindle edition NO stars....it's the worst Kindle book I've ever purchased and I'd strongly urge others to avoid it until the publisher releases a restructured version."
Best Handel
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"Purchased for my mother."
"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."
"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."
"I'll be ready for the next sing a long."
Best Bruckner
Monumental and inspiring, the nine symphonies of Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) stand as late landmarks in the Austro-Germanic symphonic tradition.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"There is an explanation, including a picture of small part of facsimile of the addition to the 'original' score. Here there is lots of space to write and I like the number of bars per page, easy to follow phrasing/melodic line."
"The second movement of symphony No."
"To be clear, I am very glad that these scores are available, but I am not a fan of Bruckner's 4th (1 star at best)."
"Everything is printed very clearly and spaced out appropriately, so it is easy to read everything without much effort (and there's quite a lot to see- big orchestration and tons of accidentals)."
"Even the Kalmus parts we had, supposed to be Haas, had some differences, most notably for example in the 1st movement bars 125-130, where Dover has many brass doublings and Kalmus only 2 horns and tuba only in bars 127-130."
"the fiery rhythms and transcending beauty really come out when you read the score, even more so than when you listen to it without reading."
"I found this score very useful for a listening companion."
Best Faure
Contents: A Clymene * Adieu * Apres un rEve * Arpege * Au bord de l'eau * Au cimetiere * Aurore * Automne * Avant que tu ne t'en ailles * C'est l'extase * Chanson * Chanson d'amour * Clair de lune * Ddans la forEt de septembre * Dans les ruines d'une abbaye * Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d'ete * En priere * En sourdine * Fleur jetee * Green * Ici-bas!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I highly recommend this book for any level singer who shows in interest in Faure, Melodie, or building up their repertoire library."
"Great book; these is a lot of songs to choose from."
"This book is so so lovely for the soprano voice!"
"Shipping is fast and the book is in good quality."
"Nice clean edition with helpful notes."
"This collection is your typical Faure."
Best Gluck
This long-awaited re-release of a Music Minus One classic features a completely new edition of 17 famous solo cello works, complete with helpful tips for cellists playing them for the first time. Includes an authoritative, newly engraved music score printed on high-quality ivory paper, complete with performance suggestions from Mr. Thomas, and a compact disc containing a complete version with soloist; then a second version in digital stereo of the orchestral accompaniment, minus the soloist. Helping educate musicians since 1950, Music Minus One provides performers at every skill level, an easy way to study, rehearse and perform with professional musicians in the comfort of their own homes. Offering compact discs with accompanying solo music parts from world-renowned soloists, Music Minus One albums offer a superb practice experience.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It's a treat to hear your playing with other instruments, not to mention an excellent way to measure and achieve intonation."
"Unfortunately, it was too advanced for me, I was feeling like a bit of a failure, or at least a disappointment, to myself and my teacher already, so I gave it to my teacher. I'm not sure what I would think of it now, but I don't want to ask for it back as my teacher had his bag with music stolen from his car and I don't want to make him feel bad if it is gone."
"This is a good selection of music, and the accompaniments are well-done."
"Love the CD."
"This is a good way to practice well-known cello solos."
"great add-on to much of my current music - love the audio cd as well!"
"It is great to have an accompaniment as well as listening to a professional cellist."
"BTW If you have this book http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007MWBWTM?redirect=true&ref_=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_81 It's the same book just different cover."
Best Elgar
Authoritative British editions of the 14 Variations, rich with melody and vibrant rhythms, each revealing a facet of a central theme never fully expressed and each depicting an unnamed friend of the composer.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"...except that they don't include the 5th P&C march for some reason."
"This edition of Elgar's Enigma Variations is a very high quality print with a reasonable price."
"The only problem I have with this compilation of Elgar's works has to do with the omission of Pomp And Circumstance March No."
Best Couperin
The consummate craftsmanship, elegance, and originality of Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) define this collection of masterly compositions for the piano.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Pros: -This book contains the Mother Goose Suite as transcribed for piano solo by Ravel's friend Jacques Charlot, the Valse Nobles et Sentimentales, a Prelude (1911), Le Tombeau de Couperin, and Ravel's piano solo transcription of La Valse--all reprints of Durand editions."
"If you're not already impressed by the selection of pieces (I love the 1913 Prelude which I already had a copy of and memorized a while ago), Dover goes even further with this set. Following that are translations of the wonderful quotes of fairy tales from La Mere and other text that appears in the book. The music appears to be in chronological order with the three 1913 pieces grouped together under a single cover sheet (sans any introduction). It is annotated with Ravel's own notes on the orchestra version sometimes including a third ossia staff showing parts of the orchestration unincluded in the transcription."
"Each piece is preceded by a very well written history and the book also includes a most interesting two page glossary of French terms and texts that pertain specifically to the scores in the book. I purchased this book primarily for the quality and to replace my current (les legible) edition of Le tombeau de Couperin, my favorite work by Ravel. This is definitely a quality book for anyone who plays or appreciates Maurice Ravel's work. These are the lovely pieces in the book - 116 pages of Ravel: 224 Le Tombeau De Couperin and other works for solo piano. Maurice Ravel. Dover. 1."
"I don't mind, but someone looking for easy arrangements or larger print won't find it in this book."
"Together with Le tombeau as promised by the title, this volume includes the original piano versions of Ma Mère l'Oye, all eight Valses nobles et sentimentales, the 1913 Prélude, the two pieces À la manière de (Chabrier and Borodin), and the composer's own piano transcription of La Valse."
"Easy to read and great Ravel."
"Seriously some of my favorite music for piano, the book is good quality and clearly notated."