On 11 June 1814, Byron attended a party in London. Among the guests was Mrs. Anne Beatrix Wilmot, wife of Byron's first cousin, Sir Robert Wilmot. He was struck by her unusual beauty, and the next morning the poem was written.

    Wondering, Where does it go? Then one day he hears a voice of the Moon-Angel.Why not try the moon-path tonight?As David will discover, the glimmering moonlit path leads to a magical world behind the moon-a beautiful garden. And golden riches and a great flying horse to whisk him back to earth. But first he will have to battle a giant.

    Once again, we are introduced to a great Russian playwright who is funnier, more exuberant and more wildly romantic than anyone expects.Platonov, in this adaptation, was premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London, in September 2001.

    Now, the paperback edition of her delightful book will take even more Americans to the richly historic part of the city that has always attracted us, from Ben Franklin in the 18th-century to raffish novelist Henry Miller in the 20th.Modern St.-Germain is lively and prosperous, and fifty years ago its heady mix of jazz and existentialism defined urbane cool, but Johnson takes a longer view. "Beside the shades of Jean-Paul Sartre and Edith Piaf," she writes, "there is another crowd of resident ghosts... misty figures in plumed hats whose fortunes and passions were enacted among these beautiful, imposing buildings." From her kitchen window, she looks out on a chapel begun by Reine Margot, wife of Henri IV; nearby streets are haunted by the shades of two sinister cardinals, Mazarin and Richelieu, as well as four famed queens and at least five kings. Delacroix, Corot, Ingres, David, and Manet all lived in St.-Germain; Oscar Wilde died there; and everybody who was anybody visited sooner or later.With her delicious imagination and wry, opinionated voice, Diane Johnson makes a companionable and fascinating guide to a classic neighborhood as cosmopolitan as it is quintessentially French.

    Since the first release of this classic Schirmer edition over 100 years ago, almost anyone who has taken piano lessons for more than two years has played from The Virtuoso Pianist . Millions of copies have been sold of these progressive exercises which guide a player's technique, building finger independence and strength. This was the first American edition released of this music, and remains a classic at a remarkably affordable price.

    During the heyday of the American circus from the mid-1800s to mid-1900s, traveling circuses performed for audiences of up to 12,000-14,000 per show, employed as many as 1,600 men and women, and crisscrossed the country on 20,000 miles of railroad in one season alone. The spectacle of death-defying daredevils, strapping super-heroes and scantily-clad starlets, fearless animal trainers, and startling freaks gripped the American imagination, outshining theater, vaudeville, comedy, and minstrel shows of its day, and ultimately paved the way for film and television to take root in the modern era. Long before the Beat generation made ""on the road"" expeditions popular, the circus personified the experience and offered many young Americans the dream of adventure, reinvention, excitement, and glamour.

       With honed sensitivity and unquestioned expertise, Stuart Isacoff—pianist, critic, teacher, and author of Temperament: How Music Became a Battleground for the Great Minds of Western Civilization—unfolds the ongoing history and evolution of the piano and all its myriad wonders: how its very sound provides the basis for emotional expression and individual style, and why it has so powerfully entertained generation upon generation of listeners. He illuminates the groundbreaking music of Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann, and Debussy. He analyzes the breathtaking techniques of Glenn Gould, Oscar Peterson, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Arthur Rubinstein, and Van Cliburn, and he gives musicians including Alfred Brendel, Murray Perahia, Menahem Pressler, and Vladimir Horowitz the opportunity to discuss their approaches. Isacoff delineates how classical music and jazz influenced each other as the uniquely American art form progressed from ragtime, novelty, stride, boogie, bebop, and beyond, through Scott Joplin, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Cecil Taylor, and Bill Charlap. A Natural History of the Piano distills a lifetime of research and passion into one brilliant narrative. We witness Mozart unveiling his monumental concertos in Vienna’s coffeehouses, using a special piano with one keyboard for the hands and another for the feet; European virtuoso Henri Herz entertaining rowdy miners during the California gold rush; Beethoven at his piano, conjuring healing angels to console a grieving mother who had lost her child; Liszt fainting in the arms of a page turner to spark an entire hall into hysterics. Here is the instrument in all its complexity and beauty. We learn of the incredible craftsmanship of a modern Steinway, the peculiarity of specialty pianos built for the Victorian household, the continuing innovation in keyboards including electronic ones. And most of all, we hear the music of the masters, from centuries ago and in our own age, brilliantly evoked and as marvelous as its most recent performance.   With this wide-ranging volume, Isacoff gives us a must-have for music lovers, pianists, and the armchair musician.

    The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales includes the title story, in which a mortal girl meets Prometheus on a mountain top; "The Demon Pope," in which a Pope makes good on a favor owed to Lucifer, "Alexander the Ratcatcher," in which Alexander the Eighth enlists the aid of a mysterious rat-killer; "The Elixir of Life," in which the sage Aboniel issues a challenge to his seven trusted disciples; "The Philosopher and the Butterflies," in which a scholar holds discourse with insects in the garden; and twenty-three other tales.

    While thus engaged the door opened and the Czar appeared. The princess, who held the book, hastily hid it under the sofa cushions. The Czar approached, and standing before his confused Consort. "You were reading, Madam?" he said. "Yes, Sire." "Do you wish me to tell you what you were reading?" The Czarina was silent. "You were reading the romance of M. Dumas, 'The Fencing Master.' "How do you know that, Sire?" "It is not difficult to guess, since it is the last book I have prohibited." In spite of, or rather by reason of this prohibition, "The Fencing Master" became very popular in Russia, so popular indeed that when in 1858, some eighteen years after its publication, Dumas visited the famous fair at Nijini Novgorod, handkerchiefs printed in colors with scenes from the book were offered for sale to its surprised author.

    In evocative shades of peach, gold, ochre and olive, his seductive compositions of patterns, flowers, and beautiful women became paradigms of the Belle Epoque years. Mucha's work permeated illustration, posters, postcards, and advertising designs of his day. His striking posters of star actress Sarah Bernhardt were particularly famous. Alongside this delicate decorative work, Mucha also harbored committed humanist ideals and nationalist beliefs. With monumental works such as The Slav Epic, he expressed his staunch support for Pan-Slavism, promoting the political independence of the Czech and Slavic nations from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.This book presents key works from Mucha's distinctive oeuvre to introduce an artist who, with few rivals, distilled the spirit of an age.About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN s Basic Art series features: a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions "

    He wrote stories, plays, memoirs and novels which touched the imagination of the Russian people, and was the first Russian author to write sympathetically of such characters as tramps and thieves, emphasizing their daily struggles against overwhelming odds.

    A pioneering work in the culinary field, it was the first cookbook to provide level measurements and easy-to-follow directions.

    Now you can learn to play 100 classic songs as your playing develops through the course. The book includes: · Complete lyrics and chords to 100 songs by artists such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Simon & Garfunkel, Jeff Buckley, Crowded House, Mumford & Sons, Kings of Leon, Nirvana and many more. · 10 songs for each stage of the Beginner’s Course, building up from easy three-chord songs through to more advanced tunes. · Tuition notes for each song by Justin advising you on strumming patterns and chord changes, with diagrams to illustrate all the chord shapes you need. Completely revised and updated, this really is the ultimate beginner’s songbook!

    Gives readers an accessible overview of the many interlocking strands of the movement, focusing on the leading figures in Britain, Germany, France, America, Italy and Russia.

    He felt it had "inexhaustible significance, leading into the deepest depth". Told with Hofmannsthal's delicate eye for details of character and setting, this adult fairy tale moves with dramatic urgency to its inevitable conclusion. Hofmannsthal himself felt that his libretto could not do justice to the message.