Music-History & Criticism

From his first performance in the late 1940s until his early death in 1982, Marty Robbins established himself as one of the most popular and successful singer/songwriters in the latter half of the 20th century. On the country charts, he racked up 15 #1...

Lutoslawski on Music is the first collection of writings by the Polish twentieth-century composer Witold Lutoslawski. It includes texts about his own compositions and techniques as well as writings on various aspects of twentieth-century musical culture.Author: Zbigniew SkowronISBN-10: 0810860139ISBN-13: 9780810860131Publisher: Scarecrow PressLanguage: EnglishPublished: 10/29/2007Pages:...

The Crucifixion in Music studies the musical representation of words and the concepts and contexts to which words refer, examining the way the treatment of a literary text, namely the Crucifixus, coalesces into a recognizable musical tradition that individual composers follow, develop, modify, or...

Cellists play a variety of instruments that they call 'Baroque cellos, ' ranging from basically modern cellos with gut strings, a period bridge, and Baroque bow, to instruments where the entire set-up is altered. This is the first study in which the revival of...

Showcases professional work in the arena of jazz theory. Among the contributors are scholars of jazz theory as well as musicians, including four of the founding members of the jazz section of the Society for Music Theory.Author: Henry MartinISBN-10: 0810849739ISBN-13: 9780810849730Publisher: Scarecrow PressLanguage: EnglishPublished:...

This resource offers an opportunity to reflect critically on some of the insistent 'othering' that has accompanied much cultural production in and on the Celtic World, and that have prohibited serious critical engagement with what are sometimes described as the 'traditional' and 'folk' music...

The classical music of Iraq, known as Iraqi Maqam, features classical and vernacular poetry sung by a virtuoso soloist and accompanied by a small instrumental ensemble. It is a remarkably cosmopolitan art, sharing many features with neighboring classical traditions, particularly Iranian. Its repertoire consists...

This is the first complete survey of the historical pitch standards used by musicians during the last four centuries. Written from a practical perspective and addressed to performers it is the first book to attach frequency values to pitch names and describe where, when,...

Features Lester Young, early black recording, Earl Hines, jazz and bop harmony.Author: Edward Berger, David Cayer, Dan MorgensternISBN-10: 0810822989ISBN-13: 9780810822986Publisher: Scarecrow PressLanguage: EnglishPublished: 05/23/1995Pages: 224Format: PaperbackWeight: 0.98lbsSize: 9.88h x 6.46w x 0.59d

Features Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner, Count Basie, and John Coltrane.Author: Dan MorgensternISBN-10: 0810822962ISBN-13: 9780810822962Publisher: Scarecrow PressLanguage: EnglishPublished: 05/23/1995Pages: 224Format: PaperbackWeight: 1.00lbsSize: 10.16h x 6.42w x 0.59d

Thirty years after his death, Fritz Reiner's contribution--as a conductor, as a teacher (of Leonard Bernstein, among others), and as a musician--continues to be reassessed. Music scholar and long-time friend Philip Hart has written the definitive biography of this influential figure.Author: Philip HartISBN-10: 0810114631ISBN-13:...

Mary Hallock-Greenewalt played the piano with the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Orchestras as a concert soloist, invented her own color organ that she called a "Sarabet" after her mother, and, in her pursuit of the art she named "Nourathar" by combining the Arabic words for...

Black gospel music grew from obscure nineteenth-century beginnings to become the leading style of sacred music in black American communities after World War II. Jerma A. Jackson traces the music's unique history, profiling the careers of several singers--particularly Sister Rosetta Tharpe--and demonstrating the important...

Comprehensive and richly illustrated, Close Harmony traces the development of the music known as southern gospel from its antebellum origins to its twentieth-century emergence as a vibrant musical industry driven by the world of radio, television, recordings, and concert promotions. Marked by smooth, tight...

American Lonesome: The Work of Bruce Springsteen begins with a visit to the Jersey Shore and ends with a meditation on the international legacy of Springsteen's writing, music, and performances. Gavin Cologne-Brookes's innovative study of this popular musician and his position in American culture...

This book talks about music. It incorporates modal and tonal music. It talks about Arnold Schoenberg, the founder of contempoary music, Alban Berg and how the past plays on contemporary music and Anton Webern and the future of contemporary music. As well as the...

While European powers were at war with the Ottoman Empire for much of the eighteenth century, European opera houses were staging operas featuring singing sultans and pashas surrounded by their musical courts and harems. Mozart wrote The Abduction from the Seraglio. Rossini created a...

A study of the reflexive relationship between music and language in the nineteenth century, this book maintains a discrete historical focus while drawing upon an aesthetic going back to problems of epic delivery in ancient Greece. Reading Romantic reactions to music together with linguistic...

April 1958: The Soviets were leading the space race, the Iron Curtain was at its heaviest, and the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow seemed certain to crown a hometown champion. But as the world's finest young pianists descended on the Russian capital, an...

"One might say that where Religion becomes artificial, it is reserved for Art to save the spirit of religion." With these words Richard Wagner began "Religion and Art" (1880), one of his most passionate essays. That passion made Wagner himself a central icon in...

In the hands of the state, music is a political tool. The Banda de M俍ica del Estado de Oaxaca (State Band of Oaxaca, BME), a civil organization nearly as old as the modern state of Oaxaca itself, offers unique insights into the history of...

The Words and Music of Frank Zappa moves beyond the details of Frank Zappa's life (1940-93) toward a focused treatment of the rock and pop songs of this great American composer. Today Zappa's music can be appreciated as a whole, emerging as a coherent,...

In December 1863, Civil War soldiers took refuge from the dismal conditions of war and weather. They made their winter quarters in the Piedmont region of central Virginia: the Union's Army of the Potomac in Culpeper County and the Confederacy's Army of Northern Virginia...

Musica Poetica provides an unprecedented examination of the development of Baroque musical thought. The initial chapters, which serve as an introduction to the concept and teachings of musical-rhetorical figures, explore Martin Luther's theology of music, the development of the Baroque concept of musica poetica,...

This book contains the first study of the musical culture of ancient Israel/Palestine based primarily on the archaeological record. Noted musicologist Joachim Braun explores the music of the Holy Land region of the Middle East, tracing its form and development from its beginning in...

Award for Best Research in the Field of Record Labels or Manufacturers from the Association for Recorded Sound CollectionsWinner of the Kenneth W. Baldridge Prize from the Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society, Hawaii Region Between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth century, technology transformed the...

In his new concluding chapter, Peter Kivy advances his argument on behalf of a distinctive intellectual and musical character of opera before Mozart. He proposes that happy endings were a musical--as opposed to a dramatic--necessity for opera during this period and that Mozart's Idomeneo...

This is the first book on New York's subway musicians--modern troubadours who perform on platforms, mezzanines, and even trains pounding through the city. Illustrating her account with captivating photos, Susie J. Tanenbaum draws on interviews with musicians and their audiences to explore both the...

In the 1940s and 1950s, Soviet musicians and ensembles were acclaimed across the globe. They toured the world, wowing critics and audiences, projecting an image of the USSR as a sophisticated promoter of cultural and artistic excellence. In Virtuosi Abroad, Kiril Tomoff focuses on...

What is required for a listener to understand a piece of music? Does aural understanding depend upon reflective awareness of musical architecture or large-scale musical structure? Jerrold Levinson thinks not. In contrast to what is commonly assumed, Levinson argues that basic understanding of music...

What makes a musical work profound? What is it about pure instrumental music that the listener finds attractive and rewarding? In addressing these questions, Peter Kivy continues his highly regarded exploration of the philosophy of musical aesthetics. He considers here what he believes to...

Finally, the long-awaited English edition of this historic Japanese book is here! The Beauty of the 'Burst pays tribute to Gibson's magnificent Sunburst Les Pauls made between 1958 and 1960, the most highly prized solidbody electric guitars ever. The magnitude of their value is...

Many American folk singers have tried to leave their world a better place by writing songs of social protest. Musicians like Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez sang with fierce moral voices to transform what they saw as an uncaring...

Through a musical language involving symbols, numbers, and tonality, J.S. Bach created emotional dimension in the preludes and fugues of The Well-Tempered Clavier. This book explores the use of that musical language, revealing how Bach used harmonic design and melodic and rhythmic motivic formulas...

DanceHall combines cultural geography, performance studies and cultural studies to examine performance culture across the Black Atlantic. Taking Jamaican dancehall music as its prime example, DanceHall reveals a complex web of cultural practices, politics, rituals, philosophies, and survival strategies that link Caribbean, African and...

Arthel "Doc" Watson, an 82-year-old musician from North Carolina, is one of the two or three most important acoustic guitarists in American musical history. The story of Watson's music is a rich and complex narrative which involves the listener in an exploration of the...

Immerse yourself in the raw energy and enthusiasm of New York City subway buskers in this shining photo showcase. From makeshift stages in Times Square where MTA music banners are hung to subway station platforms and cars throughout the city, these performers collectively express...

In the 1980s, music defined the moment: "Video Killed The Radio Star" ushered in MTV, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" ruled The Breakfast Club, and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" became the anthem of a generation. The 1980s were also the...

Adorno's broad ranging radio project, carried out whilst living as a refugee in New York, raises important perspectives on questions of popular culture, the music of industrial entertainment, the history of radio and the social dimensions of the reproduction of art.Author: Theodor W. AdornoISBN-10:...

It is common to hear talk of how music can inspire crowds, move individuals and mobilise movements. We know too of how governments can live in fear of its effects, censor its sounds and imprison its creators. At the same time, there are other...

Longtime friend and reporter, Neil McCormick, reveals childhood and present day stories about Bono and his band, U2. Some are born great. Some achieve greatness. Some have greatness thrust upon them. And some have the misfortune to go to school with Bono. Everyone wants...

Brian Dolan's social and cultural history of the music business in relation to the history of the player piano is a critical chapter in the story of contemporary life. The player piano made the American music industry-and American music itself-modern. For years, Tin Pan...

Julian Young presents Richard Wagner as an important philosopher of art and life, first as a utopian anarchist-communist and later as a Schopenhauerian pessimist. Understanding Wagner's philosophy is crucial to understanding his operas, as it is to understanding Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and Heidegger.Author: Julian YoungISBN-10:...

Cavaillé-Coll's Monumental Organ Project for Saint Peter's, Rome: Bigger Than Them All, by Ronald Ebrecht, tells the engrossing story of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll's quest to build the largest-ever mechanical-action organ in the biggest church at the time. Cavaillé-Coll is often referred to as the greatest...

Connecting classic rhythm & blues and rock & roll to the Civil Rights Movement, and classic soul and funk to the Black Power Movement, The Hip Hop Movement critically explores what each of these musics and movements contributed to rap, neo-soul, hip hop culture,...

In Working Class Heroes, David Simonelli explores the influence of rock and roll on British society in the 1960s and '70s. At a time when social distinctions were becoming harder to measure, rock musicians appeared to embody the mythical qualities of the idealized working...

The varieties of music venues in Seattle have been as vital and vibrant for the people of the Emerald City as the genres that have graced these famous halls. These houses of music have nurtured the entertainment legacy of this region. Each holds a...

From 1940 to 1970, Cincinnati overflowed with musical opportunities. Hank Williams recorded his hit "Lovesick Blues." Andy Williams, Rosemary andBetty Clooney, and Doris Day appeared regularly on WLW Radio, which also broadcast Boone County Jamboree. Then came the network television showMidwestern Hayride and stardom...

Spanish Harlem's musical development thrived between the 1930s and 1980s in New York City. This area was called El Barrio by its inhabitants and Spanish Harlem by all others. It was a neighborhood where musicians from the Caribbean or their descendants organized musical groups,...

Pittsburgh Jazz documents the almost forgotten magic created in the city of Pittsburgh by a host of artists, uptown inner city streets, and jazz joints that served patrons from a menu packed full of delightful music. The magical improvised songs, compositions, and unique styles...