This remarkable revelatory reference work, written in a conversational style that is witty and fast-paced, argues that the Italian people did more for the development and propagation of music than any other people in the world. The book is filled with supporting data that prove this claim, showing that the first written music was an Italian creation, and that the vocabulary of music is primarily Italian. It also notes that the primary instruments were either devised or thoroughly improved by the Italians, the great musical forms, including the opera, ballet, operetta, and symphony, and that the great body of musical geniuses who were the early composers, musicians, conductors and vocalists were Italian. The book eventually closes with a telling of the great musical story to come out of the Italian-American communities.

The most informed reference book on nineteenth-century music currently available, this comprehensive overview of music in the nineteenth century draws on the most recent scholarship in the field. Essays investigate the intellectual and socio-political history of the time, and examine topics such as nations and nationalism, the emergent concept of an avant garde, and musical styles and languages at the turn of the century. It contains a detailed chronology, and extensive glossaries.

This book explores how the reception of Italian opera, epitomised by Verdi, influenced changing ideas of German musical and national identity.

The first comprehensive study of the dominant form of solo singing in Renaissance Italy prior to the mid-sixteenth century.

The Routledge History of Italian Americans weaves a narrative of the trials and triumphs of one of the nation’s largest ethnic groups. This history, comprising original essays by leading scholars and critics, addresses themes that include the Columbian legacy, immigration, the labor movement, discrimination, anarchism, Fascism, World War II patriotism, assimilation, gender identity and popular culture. This landmark volume offers a clear and accessible overview of work in the growing academic field of Italian American Studies. Rich illustrations bring the story to life, drawing out the aspects of Italian American history and culture that make this ethnic group essential to the American experience.