Books in the Cambridge Companions to Music series

This is the first book to encompass the breadth and depth of guitar performance, featuring essays which cover different guitar traditions and styles, from baroque, classical, country, blues, and rock to flamenco, African and Celtic, written by some of the most influential players, teachers, and guitar historians in the world.

This is a 2004 introductory chronicle of the Lied and places it in its full context - at once musical, literary, and cultural - with chapters devoted to focal composers, influence on other musical genres, use as a musical commodity, and issues of performance.

An accessible introduction to Schumann: his time, temperament, style and his oeuvre. Explores the cultural context, musical and poetic fabric, sources of inspiration of key works from his lieder and piano pieces to chamber, orchestral and dramatic works. Contains tables and illustrations, a glossary and advice on further reading.

Arvo Part is one of the most influential and widely performed contemporary composers. Written by an international team of scholars and performers, this is an essential guide to Part's music, which covers his biography, his philosophy of music and the spiritual aspect of his work, and analyzes his extraordinary tintinnabuli music.

Addressing the world's largest and most popular form of music participation, this Companion combines perspectives on choral music's history, its global culture and professional development. Written by a team of international practitioners and scholars, the volume includes a pedagogical section where leading choral musicians provide fascinating insights into choral performance.

Addressing the world's largest and most popular form of music participation, this Companion combines perspectives on choral music's history, its global culture and professional development. Written by a team of international practitioners and scholars, the volume includes a pedagogical section where leading choral musicians provide fascinating insights into choral performance.

This Companion provides an overview of the composer Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). Sixteen essays by leading experts provide an introduction to Bruckner's life and works in all genres and introduce the lay reader to issues that have concerned scholars over the past twenty years.

The Cambridge Companion to the Violin offers students, performers and scholars a fascinating and composite survey of the history and repertory of the instrument from its origins to the present day.

An icon of British national identity and one of the most widely performed twentieth-century composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams has been as much misunderstood as revered. This Companion presents new perspectives on the composer's music, cultural context and reception in Britain and beyond, and includes interviews with major living composers.

An icon of British national identity and one of the most widely performed twentieth-century composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams has been as much misunderstood as revered. This Companion presents new perspectives on the composer's music, cultural context and reception in Britain and beyond, and includes interviews with major living composers.

This Companion explores the historical and theoretical contexts of the singer-songwriter tradition, and includes case studies of singer-songwriters from Thomas d'Urfey through to Kanye West.

This Companion explores the historical and theoretical contexts of the singer-songwriter tradition, and includes case studies of singer-songwriters from Thomas d'Urfey through to Kanye West.

Alban Berg's achievement is based on an extraordinarily small musical output, but it includes towering masterpieces such as the operas Wozzeck and Lulu, and his last work, the Violin Concerto. These and all Berg's other substantial works are discussed in this wide-ranging Companion.

Bringing together leading international experts in the field of eighteenth-century opera, this Companion is a definitive reference resource which provides well established knowledge, reflects recent thinking and stimulates further individual research. Key topics covered include the productive process of opera, national styles and genres, acting, ballet and the libretto.

Arnold Schoenberg is one of the most important and controversial figures in twentieth-century music. This Companion presents engaging essays on Schoenberg's central works, writings, and ideas over his long life in Vienna, Berlin, and Los Angeles, in the context of his interactions with contemporary artistic, social, and cultural developments.

This Companion is a practical guide to monophonic and polyphonic music from the emergence of plainsong to the end of the fourteenth century. Focusing on technical and cultural aspects of medieval music, its coherent perspective makes it ideal for all students and scholars of this key topic in music studies.

Arnold Schoenberg is one of the most important and controversial figures in twentieth-century music. This Companion presents engaging essays on Schoenberg's central works, writings, and ideas over his long life in Vienna, Berlin, and Los Angeles, in the context of his interactions with contemporary artistic, social, and cultural developments.

This Companion is a practical guide to monophonic and polyphonic music from the emergence of plainsong to the end of the fourteenth century. Focusing on technical and cultural aspects of medieval music, its coherent perspective makes it ideal for all students and scholars of this key topic in music studies.

The development of recording has radically transformed the practice of music. This Companion provides a detailed overview of the transformation, including the history of recording technology and recording's impact on performing styles. Covering both classical and popular traditions, it also includes short contributions by a wide variety of practitioners.

Long beloved by audiences, Richard Strauss inspired little scholarly activity until the mid 1980s, when there was a resurgence of interest on both sides of the Atlantic. This Companion reflects the latest research, showing Strauss's artistic personality to be richer and more complicated than has been previously acknowledged.

Wagner was one of the most influential and controversial figures in the history of music. This volume explores new and continuing debates regarding the musical, cultural, and political impact of his dramas and published writings. It provides up-to-date biographical data and interpretive views valuable to academics, students, and opera enthusiasts.

Investigating the fascinating worlds and memorable work of Gilbert and Sullivan, this Companion provides a fresh approach to their musical legacy and enduring popularity. Written by an international team of specialists, and featuring a personal account by film director Mike Leigh, the book is perfect for enthusiasts and students alike.

Thanks to the ambiguities of Soviet cultural life, Shostakovich was regarded in the West with a mixture of admiration and suspicion. This study is a guide for all who wish to probe more deeply into this complex, important composer and his place in the history of music.

Bringing together leading international experts in the field of eighteenth-century opera, this Companion is a definitive reference resource which provides well established knowledge, reflects recent thinking and stimulates further individual research. Key topics covered include the productive process of opera, national styles and genres, acting, ballet and the libretto.

Written by renowned scholars and industry professionals, this Companion covers the key elements and methods, from Nerdcore hip-hop to the role of rappers in the Obama campaign. With case studies from around the world, this collection reflects the passion and scholarly activity occurring in the new generation of hip-hop studies.

In the years approaching the centenary of Mahler's death, this book offers the only comprehensive, single-volume study in English of his music and musical activities. Contributions from a collection of distinguished Mahler scholars discuss works in all genres and from all periods, and investigate his lifelong career as conductor.

Written by leading specialists in the field, this Companion, first published in 2007, provides the most authoritative treatment of Monteverdi and his music. Drawing extensively on Monteverdi's letters, it includes a select discography/videography and a complete list of Monteverdi's works together with an index of first lines and titles.

Written by leading specialists in the field, this Companion, first published in 2007, provides the most authoritative treatment of Monteverdi and his music. Drawing extensively on Monteverdi's letters, it includes a select discography/videography and a complete list of Monteverdi's works together with an index of first lines and titles.

This Companion traces the evolution of ballet as a theatrical art from the fifteenth to the end of the twentieth century. An international team of writers discuss important and interesting aspects of a much beloved art form that has many friends but few historical reference books.

John Cage was one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century music. Besides composing around 300 works, he was also a prolific performer, writer, poet and visual artist. This Companion celebrates the richness and diversity of Cage's achievements, providing a fully rounded portrait of a fascinating figure.