Best Strauss, Richard
Richard Strauss' fifteen operas, which span the years 1893 to 1941, make up the largest German operatic legacy since Wagner's operas of the nineteenth century. Richard Strauss' fifteen operas make up the largest German operatic legacy since Wagner's operas of the nineteenth century.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"To that elite group must now be added Bryan Gilliam’s ROUNDING WAGNER’S MOUNTAIN, RICHARD STRAUSS AND THE MODERN GERMAN OPERA. No other German composer of the time embraced all three, least of all in one work.”. A surprising amount of the source material on Strauss has never been translated into English: Strauss’s youthful letters, his letters to Clemens Kraus and Josef Gregor, for example, so Gillam’s quoting of them, sometimes at length, sheds new light on the subject. Equally valuable (and new) are the results of his own exploration of the Strauss archives and quoting (sometimes for the first time in English, so far as I know), from Strauss’s diaries, his wife Pauline’s diaries, as well as the odd find that any writer prays to uncover, like a memo from Joseph Goebbels admonishing Strauss, “The world is not as you see it from your Garmisch study.”. The discussions of Strauss’s tonal structure of each opera will, obviously, be more meaningful for musicians, but Gilliam’s writing is so clear that anyone can understand the basic points he’s making."
"Calling Strauss a musical atheist, Gilliam points out that Strauss rejected the Wagnerian concept of redemption by love with Salome which ends with the deaths of the "redeemer" and the "redeemee"."
"I have always loved the music of Richard Strauss and have therefore always relied on the scholarship of Bryan Gilliam to interpret and guide me through the works of this complex composer."
"Gilliam's new book is the state of the art account on the operas of Strauss and also perhaps the best book and most concise account of the composers life. I would say that it is the best available book for a reader who really wants to understand Strauss the man as well as Strauss the composer."
With 150 illustrative full-score musical examples from works by Berlioz, Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck, Weber, Wagner, and others, and numerous smaller musical examples. Text: English (translation). Original Language: French.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The Berlioz and Rimsky-Korsakov books should both be on your bookshelf..."
"Got my book in couple days time."
"The revision by R. Strauss added a lot of technical in-depth, that today remains current."
"Not realizing how widely the invention would be disseminated, Berlioz devotes less than half a page to the subject. He offers comparable space to a couple of Adolph Sax's other inventions--the saxtrombas and the saxtubas--which most of us have never even heard of. There was also an instrument called the octobass, which was like a contrabass, but with three strings tuned to G, D, and A. Oh well, it's always nice to learn a little music history. If you ever heard the piece, you will surely agree that only a roar results, no matter how accurately the drums are tuned."
"This is perfect for someone who wants to see, know, and understand how the various instruments of an orchestra work: their ranges, characteristics, abilities...it gives many many examples from various compositions from various composers: Wagner, Berlioz, Beethoven, Gluck, Weber, Mozart... Every part of the book except for a couple pages in the beginning talk about the specific instruments...the "meat" of the book IS the book...no "fluff.""
"This is definitely NOT the book with which a contemporary beginner student of orchestration should start."
"Hector Berlioz sets out each section of the orchestra in a logical fashion, reference book style and describes each instrument in a clear, readable and enjoyable manner. This is a first class book on instrumentation/orchestration and would recommend it to composers of all levels of experience."
3 Tone Poems in Full Score, Series I: Don Juan, Tod Und Verklarung, & Don Quixote (Dover Music Scores)
This volume conveniently brings together for the first time three of these major works, reproduced from complete and authentic first editions. Also included are new English translations of programmatic texts, instrumentation, original title pages, and the composer's musical indications in the score. A leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, Richard Strauss (1864–1949) is known for his operas ( Der Rosenkavalier and Salome ), Lieder, tone poems, and orchestral works.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"THIS IS AN HISTORIC ARTISTIC DOCUMENT, GOOD PRICE, EXCELLENT PRINTING QUALITIY, FOR MUSIC FANS AND PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS AS WELL; IT IS AN APPROACH TO THE MUSICAL OUSTANDING CAREER AS A SUPERB 20TH CENTURY COMPOSER.SUCH AS RICHARD STRAUSS."
"It's a score, so what can I say?"
"Perfect - the teacher loved the gift."
"A great score, with no errors and very large, readable print."
"For the few that can read a score like the rest of us read a newspaper, the music can come alive in the imagination of their inner ear. For the rest of us mortals, following the score while the music plays can help us 'see' the tree come to life with our ears and revel in all of the life and vitality it contains. But following the score is like climbing right up into the tree."
"Richard Strauss knew how to make symphonic music with great drama as well as humour."
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 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 Shostakovich
The eleven essays lay a foundation for a proper understanding of Shostakovich's musical language as well as providing new insights into the issues surrounding his composition.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"_Shostakovich_Studies_ is valuable first and foremost for Richard Taruskin's essay "Public Lies and Unspeakable Truth: Interpreting Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony.""
"This book is indispensable if you are really interested in Shostakovich."
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 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 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 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 Debussy
Many of Debussy's best-known pieces are assembled in this convenient, affordable collection.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"She teaches piano but had no Debussy in her pile of sheet music."
"This provides a great collection of Debussy piano works."
"My son loves playing out of this book!"
"This is a fabulous book with many selections."
"Great deal on a huge selection of music."
"Title, in original language, at the end of a piece is a cool choice!"
"This is all original compositions - lovely!"
"Book is missing about 30 pages in the middle."
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!"
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 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 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 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 Mussorgsky
(Boosey & Hawkes Scores/Books).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This arrangement of his most famous piece, a collection of piano sketches based on an art exhibition of a recently deceased friend, honors the source, but colors the music with strong textures, often brilliantly applied."
"Notation is just perfect, don't hesitate to buy."
"Congratulations to Boosey and Hawkes for here republishing a staple of the orchestral repertoire (Maurice Ravel did an outstanding job of arranging Musórgskiy's piano original, though I wish he had included the "Promenade" immediately prior to "The Market-Place at Limoges"), with beautiful layout and a scholarly quality in terms of editing out mistakes in the previous edition."
"Moussorgsky's most famous work, "Pictures at an Exhibition" (orch."
Best Rimsky
This book, therefore, which differs from most other texts on the subject because of its tremendous wealth of musical examples and its systematic arrangement of material according to each constituent of the orchestra, will undoubtedly be of value to any music student. Chapter IV, Composition of the Orchestra, covers different ways of orchestrating the same music; effects that can be achieved with full tutti; tutti in winds, tutti pizzicato, soli in the strings, etc. Immediately following this text are some 330 pages of musical examples drawn from "Sheherazade," the "Antar Symphony," "Capriccio Espagnol," "Sadko," "Ivan the Terrible," "Le Coq d'Or," "Mlada," "The Tsar's Bride," and others of Rimsky-Korsakov's works.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Just started reading it, but was just what I was looking for."
"Explanations of how to orchestrate various groups of musical instruments to create beautiful sounding symphonic arrangements."
"This book is a great and to the point orchestration course book."
"The three stars is only for the "free" Kindle version."
"I don't have any background in music and never studied it but what the author writes here is clear an understandable."
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 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 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 Rossini
This is the first and easiest book in a 4-book collection of preludes, interludes, and postludes compiled and arranged by Carlo Rossini for performance on pipe, electronic or reed organs, and with Hammond registrations included.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As other reviewers have written, this is easy to sight read and insert pedals where you will."
"I am new at playing for services and don't have time to prepare preludes, postludes, etc."
"Great options for short or longer preludes-postludes."
"I'm a pianist, not an organist, who plays organ for church services because we have such a shortage of musicians, locally; and when I found this book - worn and incomplete - at a yard sale a couple years ago, I picked it up on the cheap."
"I love it."
"I am a part time organist at a church which means months may pass between the times I am called on to play."
"The product was old, but worth the price."
"Arrived on time and as expected."
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 Massenet
(Vocal Score). — Daily Telegraph --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"had to replace well-worn Schirmer hard cloth-bound."
"Well bound on sleek paper - easy on the eyes - wonderful score."
"In the score there is a little not clearly written which part some role sings, but i like it."
"He is so taken with these "Mini Guides" that each and every one of his twenty-eight five-star reviews begins, "The Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series is just wonderful; it's like a "Cliff Note" [sic] of the opera, and extremely informative and educational." Then, go out to see the opera. Older performances of operas that in many cases can only be described as superb can be found on CD right here at Amazon for about the price of this pamphlet."
"I congratulate Burton Fisher for a job very well done and Amazon for making these handy, information-laden booklets available. My tip: acquire the entire collection because you will be in easy reach of superbly presented opera guides consisting of story analysis, principal characters in the opera, story narrative with music highlights, background, analysis, and commentary."
"will buy next time ."
"The price is quite normal, as scores go, and you shall find accurate markings and index."
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 Verdi
(Vocal Score). Daniel S. Brink is the Artistic Advisor and Principal Coach/Accompanist for the Colorado Opera Festival, Artistic Director for the Company Singers, a development program for young operatic hopefuls and Artistic Director/Conductor of the Colorado Springs Choral Society small ensemble, MOSIAC.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The quality printing not is the best, if you ask me the perfect size for this score is the letter, yet with this little things is the best edition for the singers."
"No translation -- just the original Italian."
"Exactly what I expected, brand new, no markings or scratches."
"These Ricordi cloth-bound editions are the most well-bound vocal scores I own."
"And the score will not stay open on the music stand."
Best Grieg
Between 1867 and 1901, Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) wrote ten sets of little mood pictures for piano that display his great musical gifts at their lyrical best.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As noted on the back cover, Grieg's harmonies here are interesting and late-Romantic, sometimes anticipating the music of Debussy and Ravel, et al. Note: coming back to my review, I kind of feel bad about using the term "salon music" in the original title! I feel that Grieg put a lot of genuine emotion into these utterly delightful mood pieces, and the more I play them the more I get out of them."
"Great value, and the fonts are very clear."
"LOVE this and so inexpensive!"
"I had it cut & fixed with rings to make it easier to use."
"I ordered it again because I missed playing them; the great variety of style and flavor is wonderful, as well as the variety of difficulties."
"Nice to find all the Lyric Pieces in one volumn, at a nice affordable price!"
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 Mozart
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"I played piano years and years ago and forgot so much."
"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've always wanted to learn how to play the piano but either I never have the time or energy to do so, or the YouTube tutorials of random people are just not effective in it's attempt to teach. I got curious about the author and looked up other videos and I love seeing his passion for music."
"Ferrante is positive and encouraging without coming off fake, as some music instruction books do, which helps you have realistic expectations for your own progress."
"This book would be unsuitable for a more intermediate piano player, but as a former piano slacker who suddenly regrets not sticking with the instrument, this book was a lovely reintroduction."
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 Mahler
Symphony No. Symphony No. Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) wrote chiefly symphonies and Lieder.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Well, this book is useful only if you number the measures yourself with a pencil (which would take a very long time), since the book actually does NOT supply measure numbers. But each figure can be any number of measures, so when you read an article that makes reference to measure 435, you simply won't be able to find it, without actually numbering the measures yourself."
"This two in one score is terrific for the amateur music fan who likes to curl up in their favorite chair on a stormy Saturday night with their headphones and some hot chocolate and hear everything the composer wanted."
"Again, the Dover publications of scores is excellent and to have both symphonies in one volume is a real find."
"it's a symphony score!"
"The Dover reprints are not the best but for the price nothing beats it!"
"Perfect when you do not have the money to buy a better edition ;-)."
"It's the full score, just as you suspected!"
"Big clear print on quality paper."