Titanic: True Stories of her Passengers, Crew and Legacy


Nicola Pierce - 2018
    On board were: writers, artists, honeymooners, sportsmen, priests, reverends, fashion designers, aristocrats, millionaires, children, crew and emigrants looking for a better life.This book tells of their lives, and shines the spotlight on: Some of the great ship’s surprising treasures Her fêted voyage from Belfast’s Harland & Wolff shipyard The fascinating museums devoted to her memory, including Titanic Belfast The iconic music and movies Her winged and four-legged passengers The sister ships of Olympic and Britannic Tales of heroism Theories surrounding Titanic’s fatal collision The lifeboats and just how close the SS Californian was on that tragic night How Arctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and the inquiries viewed events These stories and much more lie inside.

Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Around. An Introduction to The Ring of the Nibelung


Mark Owen Lee - 1990
    "Anyone, whether knowledgeable or not, will profit by reading it..." - Opera Quarterly

Modern Music: A Concise History


Paul Griffiths - 1978
    The various paths are made clear by a concentration on the major works and turningpoints in the music of our time: the new rhythmic force that came in with The Rite of Spring, the unbounded universe of Schoenberg's atonality, the undreamed-of possibilities opened up by electronics, the role of chance in the music of John Cage and the astonishing diversity of minimalism.

The 10 Rules Of Rock And Roll


Robert Forster - 2009
    My list goes: The Velvet Underground, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Doors, and then I stall on the fifth. Creedence? The Band - although they're mostly Canadian. Simon and Garfunkel? Jefferson Airplane? The Lovin' Spoonful? But I plump for The Monkees."-Robert Forster In The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll, Robert Forster takes readers on an exhilarating trip through the past and present of popular music - from Bob Dylan, AC/DC and Nana Mouskouri through to Cat Power, Franz Ferdinand and ... Delta Goodrem. To accompany Forster's acclaimed writing for The Monthly, there are some stunning new pieces - 'The 10 Rules' and 'The 10 Bands I Wish I'd Been In' and an appreciation of Guy Clark - as well as a reflection on The Velvet Underground, a short story about Normie Rowe and a moving tribute to fellow Go-Between Grant McLennan. Funny and illuminating, The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll shows a great critic at work.

Guitar: The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists: Learn and Apply Music Theory for Guitarists


Joseph Alexander - 2016
     Discover how to build every major and relative minor scales. Understand how key signatures work and instantly know the notes of any scale An instant trick to tell you the notes in any key, just using by looking at your guitar fretboard! Bonus: Learn to instantly see the relationships six ‘secret’ closely related key changes that you can use in your own writing and playing instantly. Are you Missing part of the puzzle? Most guitarists know a lot of scales, but few actually understand the essential principles of how they are built and how they relate to each other.The Circle of Fifths is like an ancient ‘Rosetta Stone’ of music theory that not only tells you which notes are in any key, but also contains the secret of how every scale is built and how every scale relates to each other.In The Circle of Fifths, you will not only learn how The Circle works, but you will also learn to build it yourself and gain instant access to the deep inner core of theory that governs everything in music.The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists shows how every key, scale, chord and modulation works in music. It’s essential knowledge of any aspiring musician. Hear it! Theory is just knowledge, but once you hear it, it becomes music. The Circle of Fifths for Guitarists contains many supporting audio examples to help you get inside the theory and quickly apply the concepts to your own playing. Get it for free from www.fundamental-changes.com This book is Free on Kindle Unlimited

The Life and Death of Classical Music


Norman Lebrecht - 2007
    Lebrecht compellingly demonstrates that classical recording has reached its end point, but this is not simply an expos? of decline and fall. It is, for the first time, the full story of a minor art form, analyzing the cultural revolution wrought by Schnabel, Toscanini, Callas, Rattle, the Three Tenors, and Charlotte Church. It is the story of how stars were made and broken by the record business; how a war criminal conspired with a concentration-camp victim to create a record empire; and how advancing technology, boardroom wars, public credulity and unscrupulous exploitation shaped the musical backdrop to our modern lives. The book ends with a suitable shrine to classical recording: the author's critical selection of the 100 most important recordings, and the 20 most appalling.Filled with memorable incidents and unforgettable personalities, from Goddard Lieberson, legendary head of CBS Masterworks who signed his letters as God; to Georg Solti, who turned the Chicago Symphony into the loudest symphony on earth - this is at once the captivating story of the life and death of classical recording and an opinionated, insider's guide to appreciating the genre, now and for years to come.

Mozart: the man and the artist, as revealed in his own words


Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - 1905
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Sacred and Profane: A Novel of the Life and Times of Mozart


David Weiss - 1968
    "A very readable book which portrays the human being behind the music, increasing our love of both." Yehudi Menuhin, from inside cover.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Classical Music: But Were Too Afraid to Ask (Classic FM)


Darren Henley - 2012
    But Were Afraid to Ask dives underneath the sheet music to bring the world of classical music to life.Perfect for beginners and intermediates alike – as well as revealing some hidden treasures that even experts will be surprised by – Darren Henley’s witty and knowledgeable writing offers insights into the composition of an orchestra, the workings of its instruments and the lives and creativity of composers both old and new.Charting the development of classical music through its composers and their eras, it is a perfect easy-to-pick-up-and-read gift or the self-purchase that means you need never fear getting your librettos and arias mixed up at the opera again.'Drawing from their vast experience in making classical music available, Mssrs. Henley and Jackson have crafted a thoroughly enjoyable work that is of value both to the newcomer to classical music as well as the more seasoned aficionado. They approach the subject with both a love of music and a strong awareness of the reluctance many people have to become involved with this musical form ... a relaxed, informative, and eminently enjoyable introduction to the field of classical music.' --Donald F Calbreath, New York Journal of Books

The Vinyl Dialogues: Stories behind memorable albums of the 1970s as told by the artists


Mike Morsch - 2014
    The Vinyl Dialogues offers the stories behind 31 of the top albums of the 70s, including backstories behind the albums, the songs, and the artists. It was the 1970s: Big hair, bell-bottomed pants, Elvis sideburns and puka shell necklaces. The drugs, the freedom, the Me Generation, the lime green leisure suits. And then there was the music and how it defined a generation. The birth of Philly soul, the Jersey Shore Sound and disco. It's all there in "The Vinyl Dialogues," as told by the artists who lived and made Rock and Roll history throughout the decade.Throw in a little political intrigue - The Guess Who being asked not to play its biggest hit, "American Woman," at a White House appearance and Brewer and Shipley being called political subversives and making President Nixon's infamous "enemies list" - and "The Vinyl Dialogues offers a first-hand snapshot of a country in transition, hung over from the massive cultural changes of the 1960s and ready to dress outrageously and to shake its collective booty. All seen through the eyes, recollections and perspectives of the artists who lived it and made all that great music on all those great albums.

How to Listen to Great Music: A Guide to Its History, Culture, and Heart


Robert Greenberg - 2011
    The right knowledge can deepen the ability of this music to edify, enlighten, and stir the soul. In How to Listen to Great Music, Professor Robert Greenberg, a composer and music historian, presents a comprehensive, accessible guide to how music has mirrored Western history, that will transform the experience of listening for novice and long-time listeners alike. You will learn how to listen for key elements in different genres of music - from madrigals to minuets and from sonatas to symphonies-along with the enthralling history of great music from ancient Greece to the 20th century. You'll get answers to such questions as Why was Beethoven so important? How did the Enlightenment change music? And what's so great about opera anyway? How to Listen to Great Music will let you finally hear what you've been missing.

If It Ain't Baroque: More Music History as It Ought to Be Taught


David W. Barber - 1992
    Barber takes you on another delightful romp through the pages of music history - as it ought to be taught.

Schubert's Winter Journey: Anatomy of an Obsession


Ian Bostridge - 2014
    Written in 1828, in the last months of the young Schubert's life, 'Winterreise' ("Winter's Journey"), has come to be considered the single greatest piece of music ever written for the male solo voice. Deceptively brief - the twenty-four short poems are performed uninterrupted in 70 minutes - it nonetheless has an emotional depth and power that no music of its kind has ever equalled. Originally intended to be sung to an intimate gathering, performances of 'Winterreise' now pack the greatest concert halls around the world. Drawing on his firsthand experience with this work (he has performed it more than one hundred times), on his musical knowledge, and on his training as a scholar, Ian Bostridge teases out the enigmas and subtle meanings of each song, exploring the world and the states of heart and mind in which Schubert created them, and the exquisite resonance and affinities that continue, even today, to move us so profoundly.

Skeleton Key


David Shenk - 1994
    Along the way, Deadheads have built an original and authentic American subculture, with vivid jargon and rich love, and its own legends, myths, and spirituality.Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads is the first map of what Jerry Garcia calls "the Grateful Dead outback," as seen through the eyes of the faithful, friends, and family, including Bill Walton, Elvis Costello, Tipper Gore, Al Franken, Bob Bralove, Dick Latvala, Blair Jackson, David Gans, Bruce Hornsby, Rob Wasserman, and Robert Hunter. Skeleton Key puts you on the Merry Pranksters' bus behind the real Cowboy Neal, uncovers the origins of Cherry Garcia, follows the dancing bear on its trip from psychedelic artifact to trademarked icon, and unlocks the Dead's own tape vault.Informative reading for the new fan or the most grizzled "tourhead," Skeleton Key shines throughout with Deadheads' own stories, wit, insiders' knowledge, sincere appreciation of the music of the "band beyond description," and the diverse and soulful culture it inspires.

Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician


Christoph Wolff - 2000
    S. Bach in countless performances and recordings, the composer himself still comes across only as an enigmatic figure in a single familiar portrait. As we mark the 250th anniversary of Bach's death, author Christoph Wolff presents a new picture that brings to life this towering figure of the Baroque era. This engaging new biography portrays Bach as the living, breathing, and sometimes imperfect human being that he was, while bringing to bear all the advances of the last half-century of Bach scholarship. Wolff demonstrates the intimate connection between the composer's life and his music, showing how Bach's superb inventiveness pervaded his career as musician, composer, performer, scholar, and teacher. And throughout, we see Bach in the broader context of his time: its institutions, traditions, and influences. With this highly readable book, Wolff sets a new standard for Bach biography.