Hailed by Franz Liszt as the world's greatest organist, Camille Saint-Saëns was revered by his contemporaries for his ingenious improvisations, his mastery of the art of registration, his virtuosity, and his eclectic organ compositions. Saint-Saëns's technique and style developed out of what remained of the French classic tradition that survived into 19th century use, bridged the entire career of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, and continued well into the 20th century. Rollin Smith, author of The Organ Works of César Franck, provides an insightful biographical view of Saint-Saëns as organist and composer, including detailed chapters on the construction and settings of instruments he played (the harmonium, the Aeolian organ, and the Cavaillé-Coll organs, among others). Within the eleven appendices are essays by and about Saint-Saëns; recordings of his performances; specifications of selected organs that he played; and a thematic catalogue of his works for harmonium and organ.

A detailed study of the life of one of the most important and influential musical figures of the nineteenth century.

The first two volumes of Heinrich Schenker's masterwork Neue musikalische Theorien und Phantasien, Harmonielehren (1906), and Kontrapunkt (1910 and 1922), laid the foundations for the harmonic aspect of his theory. The specific voice-leading component was a later development, progressing with brilliance over the last 15 years of his life. It is in Schenker's third volume Free Composition: Vol. III of New Musical Theories and Fantasies Part 2: Musical Examples (Freie Satz, 1935) that the idea of voice-leading receives its most detailed and precise formulation. Pendragon Press is honored to make this distinguished reprint of Schenker's musical examples available once again, with a new preface by Carl Schacter.