With the same authority, insight, and unique ability to bring music to life on the printed page that he brought to his Guide to Chamber Music, the author gives us an indispensable guide to the sonata form. Comprehensive, analytical, and historical, including descriptions in nontechnical language of over two hundred of the best best-known sonatas, this book is designed to help all music lovers--casual listeners, experienced concertgoers, performers,...

Opera is the fastest growing of all the performing arts, attracting audiences of all ages who are enthralled by the gorgeous music, vivid drama, and magnificent production values. If you've decided that the time has finally come to learn about opera and discover for yourself what it is about opera that sends your normally reserved friends into states of ecstatic abandon, this is the book for you. Opera 101 is recognized as the standard text in English...

"The Philosophy of Modern Song is Bob Dylan's first book of new writing since 2004's Chronicles: Volume One and since winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. Dylan, who began working on the book in 2010, offers a master class on the art and craft of songwriting. He writes over sixty essays focusing on songs by other artists, spanning from Stephen Foster to Elvis Costello, and in between ranging from Hank Williams to Nina Simone. He analyzes...

"In Exploring Latin American music, Carol A. Hess offers a completely new approach to the human experience as a point of departure for musical and cross-cultural understanding. Students explore topics such as music and identity, music and the body, music and religion, and other broad themes. Guided by Hess's brisk and engaging writing, they gain fluency with musical concepts and cultural-historical contexts. A detailed instructor packet contains sample...

"The book give[s] readers a peek into how jazz musicians put together performances and how their methods have differed from style to style. There is discussion of how jazz originated, and ... provides examples of the roots, the earliest recordings, and many major styles that developed later. Styles are described in ways that should help the reader get more out of listening to them. The music is presented in roughly chronological order, and the historically...

With style, wit, and expertise, Leonard Bernstein shares his love and appreciation for music in all its varied forms in The Infinite Variety of Music, illuminating the deep pleasure and sometimes subtle beauty it offers. He begins with an "imaginary conversation" with George Washington entitled "The Muzak Muse" in which he argues the values of actively listening to music by learning how to read notes, as opposed to simply hearing music in a concert...

Authoritative, beautifully written guide presents 231 of the most frequently performed pieces of chamber music by 55 composers. For each, the author gives a brief biography, followed by discussions of the individual compositions - both their historical and musical contexts and their salient features, including formal organization, content, and any extramusical associations. Preface. Glossary.

"Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical? In [this book], Jack Viertel takes them apart, puts them back together, sings their praises, marvels at their unflagging inventiveness, and occasionally despairs over their more embarrassing shortcomings. In the process, he invites us to fall in love all over again by showing us how musicals happen, what makes them work, how they captivate...