This book traces Fauré's life and the rich cultural milieu in which he lived and worked.

An “entertaining and informative” comprehensive guide to 240 classical composers and their music—from the medieval era to the modern age (Library Journal). Music, according to Aaron Copland, can thrive only if there are “gifted listeners.” But today’s listeners must choose between classical and rock, opera and rap, and the choices can seem overwhelming at times. In The Essential Canon of Classical Music, David Dubal comes to the aid of the struggling listener and provides a cultural-literacy handbook for classical music. Dubal identifies the 240 composers whose works are most important to an understanding of classical music and offers a comprehensive, chronological guide to their lives and works. He has searched beyond the traditional canon to introduce readers to little—known works by some of the most revered names in classical music—Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert—as well as to the major works of lesser-known composers. In a spirited and opinionated voice, Dubal seeks to rid us of the notion of “masterpieces” and instead to foster a new generation of master listeners. The result is an uncommon collection of the wonders classical music has to offer.

Combining lush Gothic lyricism with postmodern experimentation, Oliver Sheppard's second collection of verse, Thirteen Nocturnes, presents a nightmare vision of a world in the grip of apocalypse and shadow-a world where "a nighttime of years never-ending" becomes "a darkness severe and unbending," and where life is relentlessly "gathered up against the towering shadow of decay." Taking cues from the dark Romanticism of Poe, the decadent Symbolism of Baudelaire, and the apocalyptic tradition of William Blake-as well as the existential doominess of 20th century cosmic horror-Oliver Sheppard's Thirteen Nocturnes presents a verse vision of collapse, announcing a cold poetics of disintegration in the new dark age of the Anthropocene. "Reading Sheppard's poetry is a little like listening to a conversation between Nietzsche and William Blake during a showing of Peckinpah's Cross of Iron. Using a wide range of forms and cultural references, Sheppard illustrates the human condition in ways that take as much account of its absence as its presence... Given the chance, Sheppard will lead you down dark and unfamiliar paths, to moments of weird beauty." -from the foreword by John Foster

First published in 2011, this research study includes a biography section as well as the works of Gabriel Urbain Fauré born on 12 May 1845. Much of Fauré’s music, especially the late pieces, remain little played and little known—as a result, his reputation as a salon composer of pleasant music continues even among educated musicians. The author suggests that it is more likely that the difficulty of much of Fauré’s music for the listener and the demands it places upon him or her are the principal reasons for its omission from concert programs and for a misunderstanding of Fauré’s place in the history of French music

Vladimir Jankélévitch left behind a remarkable uvre steeped as much in philosophy as in music. His writings on moral quandaries reflect a lifelong devotion to music and performance, and, as a counterpoint, he wrote on music aesthetics and on modernist composers such as Fauré, Debussy, and Ravel. Music and the Ineffable brings together these two threads, the philosophical and the musical, as an extraordinary quintessence of his thought. Jankélévitch deals with classical issues in the philosophy of music, including metaphysics and ontology. These are a point of departure for a sustained examination and dismantling of the idea of musical hermeneutics in its conventional sense. Music, Jankélévitch argues, is not a hieroglyph, not a language or sign system; nor does it express emotions, depict landscapes or cultures, or narrate. On the other hand, music cannot be imprisoned within the icy, morbid notion of pure structure or autonomous discourse. Yet if musical works are not a cipher awaiting the decoder, music is nonetheless entwined with human experience, and with the physical, material reality of music in performance. Music is "ineffable," as Jankélévitch puts it, because it cannot be pinned down, and has a capacity to engender limitless resonance in several domains. Jankélévitch's singular work on music was central to such figures as Roland Barthes and Catherine Clément, and the complex textures and rhythms of his lyrical prose sound a unique note, until recently seldom heard outside the francophone world.

From A to Z to middle C: An “essential reference” for piano students, teachers, players, and music lovers, with hundreds of definitions (E.L. Lancaster, Alfred Music). The Pianist’s Dictionary is a handy and practical reference dictionary aimed specifically at pianists, teachers, students, and concertgoers. Prepared by Maurice Hinson and Wesley Roberts, this revised and expanded edition is a compendium of information gleaned from a combined century of piano teaching. Users will find helpful and clear definitions of musical and pianistic terms, performance directions, composers, pianists, famous piano pieces, and piano makers. The authors’ succinct entries make The Pianist’s Dictionary the perfect reference for compiling program and liner notes, studying scores, and learning and teaching the instrument. “This new edition is a go-to source for piano scholars and students for quick information on musical terms, pianists, major works in the piano repertoire, piano manufacturers, and more . . . comprehensive, easy to use.” —Jane Magrath, University of Oklahoma

John Field is the most misunderstood composer in the history of classical music. The author, a former educator, classical pianist, and member of the Aldenori Piano Trio, finally sets the record straight. Pianists both professional and amateur, educators, teachers of piano performance, and musicologists who want to meet the real John Field and understand his finest creations, the nocturnes, will find this book indispensable.