More than 170 symphonies from this repertoire are described and analyzed in The First Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony, the first volume of the series to appear.

This major essay collection takes a fresh look at how differences among people matter for music and musical thought.

Classical music permeates contemporary life. Encountered in waiting rooms, movies, and hotel lobbies as much as in the concert hall, perennial orchestral favorites mingle with commercial jingles, video-game soundtracks, and the booming bass from a passing car to form the musical soundscape of our daily lives. In this provocative and ground-breaking study, Melanie Lowe explores why the public instrumental music of late-eighteenth-century Europe has remained accessible, entertaining, and distinctly pleasurable to a wide variety of listeners for over 200 years. By placing listeners at the center of interpretive activity, Pleasure and Meaning in the Classical Symphony offers an alternative to more traditional composer- and score-oriented approaches to meaning in the symphonies of Haydn and Mozart. Drawing from the aesthetics of the Enlightenment, the politics of entertainment, and postmodern notions of pleasure, Lowe posits that the listener's pleasure stems from control over musical meaning. She then explores the widely varying meanings eighteenth-century listeners of different social classes may have constructed during their first and likely only hearing of a work. The methodologies she employs are as varied as her sources -- from musical analysis to the imaginings of three hypothetical listeners. Lowe also explores similarities between the position of the classical symphony in its own time and its position in contemporary American consumer culture. By considering the meanings the mainstream and largely middle-class American public may construct alongside those heard by today's more elite listeners, she reveals the great polysemic potential of this music within our current cultural marketplace. She suggests that we embrace "crosstalk" between performances of this music and its myriad uses in film, television, and other mediated contexts to recover the pleasure of listening to this repertory. In so doing, we surprisingly regain something of the classical symphony's historical ways of meaning.

A classic reference--to share with a friend.

Child prodigies have been observed in a range of disciplines - particularly music, mathematics, chess, and art. The question of what makes a prodigy has long been controversial. Some have dismissed the notion of giftedness, arguing that most famous prodigies had strong parental, cultural, and environmental influences that helped them develop their extraordinary abilities. One recent theory suggested that anyone could achieve outstanding success in whatever endeavour they wanted with a minimum of 10,000 hours of practice. Nevertheless, many studies of prodigies have suggested that there might be strong underlying cognitive differences, regarding their use of short-term versus long-term memory, spatial memory, imagery, and language. Whatever the arguments - for those interested in child development - prodigies remain a fascinating subject of study when considering questions about creativity, intelligence, development, and the impact of nature versus nurture. This books breaks new ground in presenting the first scientific exploration on the topic of musical prodigies. It brings together research from a range of disciplines, including psychology, neurobiology, and genetics, to provide a thorough exploration of prodigious talent. In addition, the book includes fascinating case studies of prodigies and also looks at their long-term development into adulthood - many child prodigies have had problems making the transition into adolescence and adulthood. Musical prodigies will be required reading for anyone interested in child development, music, and the arts

Between early 1806 and early 1807, Ludwig van Beethoven completed a remarkable series of instrumental works. But critics have struggled to reconcile the music of this banner year with Beethoven's "heroic style," the paradigm through which his middle-period works have typically been understood. Drawing on theories of mediation and a wealth of primary sources, Beethoven 1806 explores the specific contexts in which the music of this year was conceived, composed, and heard. As author Mark Ferraguto argues, understanding this music depends on appreciating the relationships that it both creates and reflects. Not only did Beethoven depend on patrons, performers, publishers, critics, and audiences to earn a living, but he also tailored his compositions to suit particular sensibilities, proclivities, and technologies.