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."
Based on Russian fairy tales, the piece, according to Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, has "all the coloring of a Russian child's picture book…brilliant orchestration, glowing color…an extraordinary evocative power which literally enchants the listener." The leading composer of his day, Igor Stravinsky experimented with virtually every technique of 20th century music.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I have used Dover scores for many years."
"This is a good reference score, but for more demanding tasks use Eulenburgs critical score."
"It would have been nice to see an explanation of why the performance with is on you tube uninterrupted is split into tacks here."
"Among the treasures of the 20th Century's greatest and most important composer, The Firebird is a lush and colorful work. The first of three ballets written for the Ballet Russes (the subsequent being Petrushka and the importan Rite of Spring), Stravinksy produced a score of such imagination and ingenuity."
"If you like the rites of spring or petrushka, this is a great score to own NOTE: this is not the 1919 Firebird Suite that is most popular - this is the full score - it has probably a half hour more of music and some much more interesting orchestrations!"
"If you're hoping to be able to do detailed score analysis from the Kindle version, you're going to be disappointed."
Modal and Tonal Counterpoint : From Josquin to Stravinsky 1/E by Harold Owen. The Nature of Polyphonic Music: Terms and General Concepts. Polyphony and Style: A Comparison of Examples From the Fourteenth to the Twentieth Centuries. Two-Part Motets: Setting of Text; Formal Considerations. Two-Part Secular Music: Instrumental Duo; Canzonet. Stylistic Innovations: The Basso Continuo; the Emergence of Tonality; New Uses of Dissonance; Chromaticism. Continuous Variations: Ground Bass; Chaconne; and Passacaglia. Predecessors of the Fugue: Canzona; Ricercar; Fantasia; and Choral Fugato. Cantus Firmus Compositions: The Chorals Prelude. Fugue I: Overview; Subject and Response; Countersubject. Polyphony in the Classical Era: Counterpoint in Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Polyphony in the Romantic Era: Counterpoint in Mendelssohn, Brahms, Franck, and Others. PART SIX: POLYPHONY IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. Appendix B: The Ecclesiastical Modes and the Hexacord System. Appendix C: A Guide to the Interpretation of Figured Bass Symbols.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I just wanted to address a couple of the negative points mentioned by others, as they had concerned me, and put in my two cents worth as someone who has been actively comparing the available textbooks for a course I am teaching this fall. The other concern raised in other reviews is that the book focuses primarily on 16th and 18th century styles, with relatively little on 19th or 20th century styles. Basically, as anyone who has found their way to this textbook and these reviews will presumably have figured out, there really aren't many books out there that even attempt to address both 16th and 18th century styles, much less also include any discussion of 17th, 19th or 20th century music."
"I teach at a four-year college, and I often pull the book out during composition lessons to demonstrate a variety of things: species counterpoint, 18th century counterpoint, serial technique and stylistic traits of Stravinsky, Bartók, and Hindemith."
"I had more success with it than with any other counterpoint text I've ever used."
"This book shouldn't be considered a reference book; While teachers might find this useful as a lesson book, I suspect that students might find it to be of limited worth for their professional libraries after they've finished school."
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 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 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."
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 Tchaikovsky
Musicians will rejoice that previously difficult-to-find favorites like Waltz of the Snowflakes and Spanish Dance (Chocolate) are now available, along with the rest of this beloved score, in an affordable, single-volume edition.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Orchestration and performance introductory notes in Russian, German, and English, with Russian and French notations (in addition to the usual Italian notations) on the score itself, plus occasional English margin translations. 2) Inconsistency: The French score section headings are translated into English and placed on the bottom margin, whereas the Russian score note translations are put into the introductory section before the score."
"At this price, how wonderful to have the complete ballet score with the original performance notes right there on the staves."
"Wonderful tool for the upcoming staging of our show."
"The pages are a normal 9 x 12 (or so) but the book is about 2 inches thick and for a score with only 90 minutes of music that's unusual (I know, that was trivial factoid)."
""), and now I can look at the score with full appreciation, with more than one exclamation of "So THAT'S how he did it!""
"Good quality printing, affordable pricing."
"I looked around my orchestra's music library, and was disappointed that they had scores of the suites, but not the complete ballet score."
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Borodin
This volume brings together Borodin's two most popular works: the melodious, vivacious "Polovtsian Dances" from Prince Igor and the richly evocative tone poem "In the Steppes of Central Asia." The enormous success of these works is evidence by their frequent performance in concerts worldwide and their many recordings.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Minimum of 20 words about the product?"
"Borodin's list of musical works was very short but his brilliant works like "Polovtsian Dances" and "In the Steppes of Central Asia" shown in this study score more than make up for it."
"I would recommend this product to anyone who needs a quality bread product.""
Best Dvorak
9, "From the New World" (composed during Dvořák's three-year stay in America), echoes the folk spirit of his native Czechoslovakia as well as American influences, and is filled with the spontaneous melodic invention, rhythmic variety, and intensity of harmony that characterize his orchestral works. The Dover edition presents both symphonic masterpieces — among the most popular works in the orchestral repertoire — reprinted from authoritative editions in one inexpensive, practical volume.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Good and inexpensive version of two major works by Dvorak."
"This is great score book that is strong & nice.They will last for a long time.They will not tear easy also.Also they are easy to read."
"I wish it was spiral bound so that it would lay flat, however it is otherwise and excellent purchase."
"These scores are great to conduct from and for score study."
"Not bad for the price, but be prepared to hand write the instrumentation on every single page of this score."
"This was a gift for my son."
Best Liszt
In a series of lively essays that tell us much not only about the phenomenon that was Franz Liszt but also about the musical and cultural life of nineteenth-century Europe, Alan Walker muses on aspects of Liszt's life and work that he was unable to explore in his acclaimed three-volume biography of the great composer and pianist. Alan Walker is Professor of Music at McMaster University.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If the three volumes on the life of Franz Liszt by Mr. Alan Walker left you begging for more, then this book is for you."
"I've read the three Liszt biographical volumes a few times each already, and yet I find things I haven't caught previously.This is another of that type of book, where one can read it many times and still find it enjoyable.Mr."
"I have read pretty much everything Alan Walker has written about Liszt, including his Von Bulow biography."
"As I expressed to Dr. Walker in writing, there are those gifted pianists who have the experience and ability to interpret the music of Franz Liszt while Dr. Walker has the equal ability [and credentials therein] to interpret Franz Liszt the man. There are many tomes and recitations, indeed even dedicated websites, about Franz Liszt but Dr. Walker's writings offer an almost You-Are-There quality of his narrative and thus you at least figuratively yet perceptively 'see' and 'hear' Liszt more so than you simply read of the man whether Liszt remarks to one of his students about certain "uninvited guests" [sic -- Liszt's buzz-word for 'wrong notes' or "clinkers"] or Liszt becoming yancy when pressured or indeed even very politely cajoled to play [which happened virtually everywhere he went] versus his own initiative and hence 'desire' to play, as Dr. Walker puts it, "because it is then within his gift to do so.""
"A NICE ADDENDUM TO WALKER'S MAGNUM OPUS ON LISZT."
"hope my nephew likes this."
"for lisztomaniacs only."
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 Ravel
Often described as Ravel's orchestral masterpiece, Daphnis and Chloe is a 20th-century classic, a rich musical setting of the Greek novel by Langus.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This work of Ravel's is one of the greatest gems of 20th Century music of the world."
"The pages could be a little bit whiter for a clearer reading."
"I just kinda sits there and lets you look at it."
"It serves my needs as a study score."
"Great score and easy to read."
"This is a great score of this piece, it is easy to read, and obviously is a print for the original copy."
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 Billings
Authoritative edition of the music of William Billings.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon""This first critical edition of the works of an American composer - - ", The product of many years' effort by The American Musicological Society in collaboration with the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, presents in four handsomely bound volumes Billings' entire psalmody, historical and biographical notes, as well as the composer's textual musicological theory and rules, with references, indices and commentary."
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 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 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 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 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 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."
Best Humperdinck
(Vocal Score).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The words in this score and not what is generally used in recordings at major opera companies."
"Very great edition with easy to follow score."
"Exactly what I needed - and it even arrived early."
"great music and lyrics, easy to use as play piano, price is right, will enjoy for future, wonderful opera score."
"This was exactly what I was looking for...a beautiful piano score with English parts."
"It's only in English and it's the first G Schirmer score I've ever bought and it's not had the original language of the score as well as the English - so very disappointed."
Best Beethoven
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"Perfect for my return to the piano."
"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."
"Beginner Classical Piano Music: Teach Yourself How to Play Famous Piano Pieces by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven & the Great Composers (Book, Streaming Videos & MP3 Audio)."
"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."