Includes favorite orchestral themes arranged for piano, along with information about the traditional symphony orchestra, its history, and biographical data on prominent composers and their best-known works.

“The only love affair I have ever had was with music.” Maurice Ravel A compelling celebration of more than 90 of the world’s most influential composers from the medieval period to the present day, Composers reveals the fascinating stories of their lives, loves, and works. Biographical entries – introduced with a stunning portrait of each featured composer – trace the friendships, loves, and rivalries that inspired each musical genius. Profiles offer revealing insights into what drove each individual to create the musical masterpieces – symphonies, concertos, and operatic scores – that changed the direction of classical music and are still celebrated and treasured today. Lavishly illustrated with paintings or photographs of each composer, alongside original musical scores and personal correspondence, images of their homes and where they worked, and personal effects and other important artifacts, the book introduces the key influences, themes, and working methods of each individual, setting their works within a wider historical and cultural context. Charting the development of classical music and music movements across the centuries, Composers provides a compelling glimpse into the personal lives, loves, and influences of the giants of the classical music canon.

MAKE A SOUND INVESTMENT IN CLASSICAL MUSIC Who are the ten most important classical composers? Who in the world was Palestrina? Why did Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" cause a riot? Which five of each important composer's works should you buy? What is a concerto and how does it differ from a sonata? Maybe you don't know the answers to these questions; author Phil Goulding certainly didn't. When Goulding first tried to learn about classical music, he found himself buried in an avalanche of technical terms and complicated jargon--so he decided to write the book he couldn't find. The result is a complete classical music education in one volume. Comprehensive, discriminating, and delightfully irreverent, Classical Music provides such essential information as: * Rankings of the top 50 composers (Bach is #1. Borodin is #50) * A detailed and anecdotal look at each composer's life and work * The five primary works of each composer and specific recommended CDs for each. * Further great works of each composer--if you really like him * Concise explanations of musical terminology, forms, and periods * A guide to the parts and history of the symphony orchestra "This book uses every conceivable gimmick to immerse readers in the richness of classical music: lists, rankings, sidebars devoted to lively anecdotes, and catchy leads." --The Washington Post "One terrific music appreciation book...The information is surprisingly detailed but concisely presented. Goulding's writing style is breezy yet mature....[He] has raised music appreciation from a racket to a service." --The Arizona Daily Star

Virtually all of the composer's works for piano solo: 4 piano sonatas, "Invitation to the Dance," 8 sets of variations, "Grande Polonaise," others. Authoritative C. F. Peters edition.

In Museum Masterpieces, Book 1, composer Catherine Rollin has created musical expressions of some of the great works of art found in museums throughout the world. The paintings that inspired these pieces are beautifully displayed on a four-page color insert at the center of the book, along with historical notes about each painting. Titles: *American Gothic (Grant Wood) *Black Square and Red Square (Kazimir Malevich) *Carmencita (William Merritt Chase) *A Dash for the Timber (Frederic Remington) *L'étoile (The Star) (Edgar Degas) *Le fifre (The Fife Player) (Édouard Manet) *Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci) *The Nut Gatherers (William-Adolphe Bouguereau) *Reeds and Cranes (Suzuki Kiitsu) *Senecio (Paul Klee)

This book Modern Piano contains 90 easy original pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries. The pieces selected display a great variety of styles including New Music, neoclassicism, modern dances, jazz, blues, pop, rock, musical studies, meditative music, New Age music and more besides: a colourful range of different styles, sometimes blurring the distinction between classical and popular music in 'crossover' pieces that bridge the gap between different musical worlds. The little pieces selected invite us to go on a musical journey of discovery, introducing new experiences using modern sounds and rhythms. All these pieces are suitable for tuition purposes, auditions, examinations and school music competitions – or just as stimulating repertoire for pianists interested in music.