A 1997 examination of the genesis, background and extra-compositional allusions of this controversial work.

More than 100 selections from the noted musicologist's Essays in Musical Analysis cover most of the standard works in the symphonic repertory, from Bach to Vaughan Williams. Incisive essays examine overtures and symphonies by Beethoven and Brahms, eleven symphonies by Haydn, six by Mozart, three each by Schubert, Schumann, and Sibelius, and many other works.

Using one of the most famous works in classical music—Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony—here is the perfect way to introduce a young child to the world of classical music. This charming and interactive picture book with its panel of 19 sound buttons is like a ticket to a concert hall, taking readers on a journey from the exciting first moment when the musicians begin tuning up to the end of the first movement (attention newcomers: don’t clap yet!). At each step of the way, readers learn the basics of classical music and the orchestra: What is a conductor? What is a symphony? Who was Beethoven? The different aspects of music: melody, harmony, tempo, theme. And the families of instruments—strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. But the best part is that every critical idea is illustrated in gorgeous sound. The sound panel allows readers to hear the different parts of the symphony and voices of the music—the famous beginning of the Fifth, what a clarinet sounds like, the difference between a violin and a viola, what a melody is, and what harmony is. Kids will want to match their voices to the A note that tunes the orchestra, dance to the rhythmic passages—and, of course, sing along to da-da-da-daah!

Lilburn’s Symphony No.1 (1949) is an essential work to study in the history of New Zealand orchestral music. Premiered in 1951 by the National Orchestra (now the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra), it was later established as a staple of orchestral repertoire with regular performances and recordings. This critical edition is the first computer-engraved publication of the work, and is the second of four volumes published in celebration of the centenary of Lilburn’s birth in 1915.

For more than half of his long life, composer Roger Sessions was a commanding figure on the American musical scene. He enjoyed the solid respect of his peers, and as a teacher of a generation of composers and author of compelling writings on his craft, his influence on musical thought remains profound. Yet, even in his lifetime, his music endured vastly disrespectful neglect. He was a "difficult" composer. Sessions was well aware of it. In a New York Times article, he wrote, "I have sometimes been told that my music is 'difficult' for the listener. There are those who consider this as praise, those who consider it a reproach. For my part I regard it as, in itself, neither one or the other...it is the way the music comes, the way it has to come." The way Sessions's music "had to come" is a recurrent focus of this biography. As the story is told, often in the composer's own words, the complex picture emerges of a remarkable man who, gradually and not very willingly, learned to accept his unexpected lot as a "difficult" composer. Frederik Prausnitz, an acquaintance of Sessions and conductor of his work, combines personal and musical insights to present this fascinating portrait of an influential, yet often overlooked, modernist composer.

(Faber Piano Adventures ). Adult Piano Adventures Classics Book 1 celebrates great masterworks of Western music, including symphony themes, opera gems, and classical favorites. The melodies of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and other master composers are arranged at just the right level for adult beginners and for those who are returning to the keyboard. Section 1 features piano arrangements with minimal hand position changes, and many selections include an optional duet part. Section 2 introduces the I, IV, and V7 chords in the key of C major, harmonizing themes such as Sibelius's Finlandia, Schubert's The Trout, and Mendelssohn's Spring Song. Section 3 presents the primary chords in the key of G major, with arrangements of Vivaldi's Autumn (from The Four Seasons), Mozart's theme from The Magic Flute, Lizst's Liebestraum, and more.