Books in the Listener's Companion series

In this book, Kenneth LaFave guides readers past Bernstein's famously tortured personal problems and into the clarity and balance of his Serenade after Plato's Symposium for Violin and Orchestra, the intense drama of his music for On the Waterfront, the existential cosmography of his three symphonies, and his vibrant works for the musical stage.

Titles in The Listener's Companion: A Scarecrow Press Music Series provide readers with a deeper understanding of key musical genres and the work of major artists and composers. Aimed at nonspecialists, each volume explains in clear and accessible language how to listen to works from particular artists, composers, and genres. Looking at the context in which the music appeared as well as its form, authors explore with readers the environments in which key musical works were written and performedfrom a 1950s bebop concert at the Village Vanguard to a performance of Handel's Messiah in eighteenth-century Germany.Along with his contemporaries Chopin and Wagner, Verdi is among the few composers whose place in the musical pantheon is based almost entirely upon the mastery of a single genre. This is largely owing to his staggering output in a career that lasted over fifty years. Several of his operas occupy the nucleus of the modern repertoire, and Verdi almost single-handedly maintained the Italian lyric tradition against the tide of Wagnerian music drama. In his final years, he virtually reinvented Italian opera. Indeed, Verdi's life and music came to be so intimately associated with the Italian unification movement known as the Risorgimento that he is still revered as a great national figure in his homeland.In Experiencing Verdi: A Listener's Companion, Donald Sanders combines biography with simple, concise musical analysis. Summarizing the evolution of Italian opera and the bel canto tradition that prevailed at the beginning of Verdi's career, Sanders takes readers on a leisurely tour of eleven of Verdi's most important operas and of the Manzoni Requiem and concludes with a look at Verdi's influence on later composers like Giacomo Puccini, his place in the modern repertoire, and his role as an Italian patriot.With a timeline, glossary of basic musical terms, and selected reading and listening recommendations, Experiencing Verdi will engage opera lovers at all levels, from those just starting to listen, learn, and enjoy to musical devotees.

Titles in the Listener's Companion Series provide readers with a deeper understanding of key musical genres and the work of major artists and composers. Aimed at nonspecialists, each volume clearly explains how to listen to works from particular artists, composers, and genres. Examining both the context in which the music appeared and its form, authors provide the environments in which key musical works were written and performedfrom a 1950s bebop concert at the Village Vanguard to a performance of Handel's Messiah in eighteenth-century Dublin.Wolfgang Amade Mozart (17561791) remains as popular today as ever. His recordings fill iTunes playlists, and annual Mozart festivals are performed worldwide. His eminence as a musician has supported overseas guided tours, served as the subject of a cartoon series (Little Amadeus: twenty-nine episodes from 2006 to 2008), inspired movies and documentaries, and launched a French rock opera.In Experiencing Mozart: A Listener's Companion, music historian David Schroeder illustrates how the issues Mozart cared about so deeply remain important to modern listeners. His views on politics, women, authority, and religion are provided, along with compelling analysis of selected great symphonies and sonatas, moving concertos and innovative keyboard works, and groundbreaking operas. Schroeder merges his vast knowledge of the great artist's personal and professional life, late eighteenth-century European culture and society, and remarkable musicianship to guide listeners in the art of listening to Mozart. This work is an ideal introduction to readers and listeners at any level.

Hear the name ';Igor Stravinsky' and the first thing that comes to mind is a composer of ponderous, ';serious' music. But did you know that Stravinsky lived much of his life in Hollywood? That he collaborated on musical projects with Pablo Picasso and George Balanchine? That his work subtly espoused deeply held political views and reflected key literary influences? That he was not only interested in the modern communication technologies of his timesound recording, radio, television, even early computersbut wrote music that echoed their impact?In Experiencing Stravinsky, music historian Robin Maconie takes a fresh approach to understanding this great composer's works, explaining what makes Stravinsky's sound unique and what we, as listeners, need to know in order to appreciate the variety and brilliance of his compositions. Experiencing Stravinsky is more than just another work of music appreciation. In the author's deft hands, Stravinsky's long musical career is a guided tour through 20th-century history, from Czarist Russia and two world wars to the height of the Hollywood era and the birth of the information age. Maconie has provided nothing less than an operating manual to getting the most out of Stravinsky's music.

In Experiencing Jazz: A Listener's Companion, writer, teacher, and renowned jazz drummer Michael Stephans offers a much-needed survey in the art of listening to and enjoying this dynamic, ever-changing art form. More than mere entertainment, jazz provides a pleasurable and sometimes dizzying listening experience with an extensive range in structure and form, from the syncopated swing of big bands to the musical experimentalism of small combos. As Stephans illustrates, listeners and jazz artists often experience the essence of the music togetheran experience unique in the world of music.Experiencing Jazz demonstrates how the act of listening to jazz takes place on a deeply personal level and takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the genre, instrument by instrumentoffering not only brief portraits of key musicians like Joe Lovano and John Scofield, but also their own commentaries on how best to experience the music they create. Throughout, jazz takes center stage as a personal transaction that enriches the lives of both musician and listener. Written for anyone curious about the genre, this book encourages further reading, listening, and viewing, helping potential listeners cultivate an understanding and appreciation of the jazz art and how it can helpin drummer Art Blakey's words';wash away the dust of everyday life.'

Arved Ashby takes readers into the seeming chaos of Mahler's work to investigate the elements which make each work an experiential adventure. The book surveys Mahler's symphonies and song cycles in detail, introducing them as intensely vivid, truthful, and lived and felt experiences.

Stolz explores Black Sabbath's nineteen studio albums, several live albums, and additional studio tracks, urging readers to reassess the work of this seminal act in American rock music history. The book uncovers how Black Sabbath's song catalog explored and defined the musical genre they founded, mastered, and disseminated.

Experiencing Chick Corea introduces this American jazz icon to audiences beyond the domain of fans already familiar with this work. Monika Herzig places Corea's creations in their historical and social contexts so any music lover can gain a fuller understanding of the incredible range of his work.

Blending history and musical analysis, Davidian reveals the genius of Debussy's major works. As Davidian looks beneath the surface of the music to explain its power, she contextualizes them within Debussy's life and nineteenth-century Paris.

Brooke Halpin takes the reader on a magical adventure through the Beatles' entire catalog of remarkable, timeless songs to discover the circumstances that inspired the songs and brought four Liverpudlian musicians eternal fame. The volume includes personal vignettes to take the reader back in time to experience Beatlemania for themselves.

This work analyzes each of Joel's albums, laying out their appeal to musicians and non-musicians alike while exploring the production styles that have characterized Joel's development in the recording studio. MacFarlane outlines how Billy Joel's recorded works as a whole serve as the foundation for a complex and enduring musical legacy.

Gengaro surveys Chopin's position as a composer of Romantic piano music at a time when the piano stood at the center of musical and social life. It sheds a spotlight on Chopin and his music that illuminates the Romantic period in which he lived, the social and artistic climate, and the importance of this most individual artist.

Bowman discusses the sounds and stories of the versatile English singer-songwriter and musician Peter Gabriel's songs. From his albums as a solo artist with the band Genesis to his film and media scores and movie songs, Gabriel's music ranges from mainstream celebrations of pop styles to experimental arrangements filled with personal emotions.

Robert G. H. Burns brings together the many strands of the progressive rock movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s and follows the evolution of this remarkable rock tradition into the modern era. Exclusive interviews with some of prog rock's most important progenitors supplement Burns' analysis of the music itself.

LaFave opens the ears of film-goers to the nuance behind movie music, laying out in layman's language how composers map what we hear to what we see. As part of the Listener's Companion series, this volume provides an enhanced experience of music by exploring how the works were written and first performed as well as how they are enjoyed today.

Eric Wendell looks beyond the successes and failures of jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock to explore his musical design within the jazz community and mainstream pop culture. Wendell explores how Hancock's efforts have established new jazz standards while fostering a cross-genre continuity among modern jazz practitioners.

Carl Maria von Weber is recognized as the father of the German Romantic and Nationalist music. Morgan walks readers through Weber's masterpieces, providing key insights by integrating critical points in the composer's life and the burgeoning Romantic and Nationalist movements in Germany that Weber's music came to champion.

Ian Chapman surveys Alice Cooper's career through his twenty-six studio albums (1969-2017). Throughout, Chapman argues that while Cooper may have been rock's most accomplished showman, he is first and foremost a musician, with his share of gold and platinum albums to vouch for his qualifications as a musical artist.

Experiencing Berlioz offers an accessible pathway into the underlying allure of Berlioz's music. His views on rehearsing and conducting, bumpy career ride and failures, the journey of a work through revisions and editions, and historical performance practices provide a backdrop to discussions of his most significant works.

Jeff Sultanof takes a fresh look at big band jazz, examining why the big band era started when it did, how pop music and big bands evolved in response to one another, and the key roles played by well-known band leaders and the bands they led.

Sanders chronicles Schumann's life and work, analyzing the most significant and widely performed compositions from each of the genres in which Schumann composed. This volume gives readers an enhanced experience of key works by exploring the environments in which they were written and first performed as well as those in which they are enjoyed today.

Designed for those unversed in composition or music theory, this book places Beethoven's compositions within the context of his personal and professional life and social and cultural milieu. This volume offers readers an enhanced experience of key works by exploring Beethoven's lyricism, heroic style, and unwaveringly idealistic musical vision.

In Experiencing David Bowie: A Listener's Companion, musicologist, writer, and musician Ian Chapman unravels the extraordinary marriage of sound and visual effect that lies at the heart of the work of one of the most complex and enduring performers in popular music.

An icon of musical talent and independence, Bessie Smith's contributions to the blues and the music industry earned her the title of "Empress of the Blues." Learning how to listen to Smith's work in turn develops a greater understanding of how her successors extended and reinterpreted her music to honor her enduring legacy.

In Experiencing Tchaikovsky: A Listener's Companion, historian and scholar David Schroeder looks beyond traditional views of Tchaikovsky to explore the dramatic impact of his music by walking readers through the remarkable range of works by this great Russian composer.

Sherrell explores American musical theater, beginning with the early-twentieth-century shift from European-influenced operettas and bawdy variety shows to sophisticated works and thus provides listeners with the tools and background necessary to gain an understanding of the highly variegated structure and character of Broadway music.

Experiencing the Rolling Stones draws together a broad swath of postwar history as it covers the band's origins in Swinging London through to their recording sessions outside of England. Malvinni takes an especially close look at Keith Richards' guitar work and its effect on the band's music, as well as the multiple changes in the band's members.

In Experiencing Led Zeppelin: A Listener's Companion, musician and writer Gregg Akkerman looks behind the curtain of "rock gods" sensationalism at this performing act's musical legacy. Putting readers right where the band was performing its iconic numbers, Akkerman is the guide for anyone intent on understanding how Led Zeppelin's music works.

Experiencing the Violin Concerto explores the violin concerto from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" to Bartók and beyond, the social and personal histories of unforgettable virtuosi, the wonderful instruments they played, and the audiences they conquered worldwide. As part of the Listener's Companion series, this volume gives readers an enhanced experience of key works by investigating the environments in which the works were written and first performed as well as the environments in which the works are enjoyed today.