Bücher der Reihe Cambridge Companions to Music

This book provides an accessible guide to the history of the symphony and to the ways in which symphonic music might be analysed and interpreted. Exploring the symphony over its 250-year history, it will appeal to anyone with a professional, academic or informed amateur interest in the genre.

Investigating the fascinating worlds and memorable work of Gilbert and Sullivan, this Companion provides a fresh approach to their musical legacy and enduring popularity. Written by an international team of specialists, and featuring a personal account by film director Mike Leigh, the book is perfect for enthusiasts and students alike.

This Companion offers an in-depth introduction to the early history of opera by focusing on its foundational century. From opera's Italian origins to its growth through Europe and the Americas, the volume charts the changing landscape - on stage and beyond - which shaped the way early opera was produced and received.

This Companion offers an in-depth introduction to the early history of opera by focusing on its foundational century. From opera's Italian origins to its growth through Europe and the Americas, the volume charts the changing landscape - on stage and beyond - which shaped the way early opera was produced and received.

An insightful overview of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony from three main angles: genesis, analysis and reception. It not only summarises previous research but also includes many fresh insights, based on new evidence. The Companion presents a range of approaches, by twelve leading scholars in Beethoven research.

An expanded and updated edition, this Companion will appeal to students and practitioners of electronic music. Including four new chapters and new artists' statements, this book explores the history, theory, creation and analysis of a wide range of styles across the worldwide electronic music scene.

An accessible introduction to Schumann: his time, temperament, style and his oeuvre. Explores the cultural context, musical and poetic fabric, sources of inspiration of key works from his lieder and piano pieces to chamber, orchestral and dramatic works. Contains tables and illustrations, a glossary and advice on further reading.

Written for a general readership by some of the leading specialists in the field, this Companion presents up-to-date scholarship in an accessible fashion. It provides an authoritative overview of Liszt's music, its context and performance practice in a way that will be invaluable to music professionals and amateurs alike.

A Companion containing twenty specially commissioned essays by leading organ scholars. An essential guide to all aspects of the organ and its music.

A comprehensive guide to the composer's work, aimed both at the non-specialist and music student. It sheds light on both the composer's stylistic and personal development, offering new interpretations of his operatic works and discussing his characteristic working methods.

This guide to the orchestra and orchestral life is unique in its breadth of coverage. It includes topics such as orchestral history and repertory, orchestration, scorereading, conducting, international orchestras, recording, as well as consideration of what it means to be an orchestral musician, an educator, or an informed listener.

From Robert Johnson to Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson to John Lee Hooker, blues and gospel artists figure heavily in the mythology of twentieth-century culture. This book provides an overview of both blues and gospel music, which together provide an expression of twentieth-century black US experience.

The vibrant world of jazz may be viewed from many angles, from social and cultural history to music analysis, from economics to ethnography. This challenging and exciting book takes the reader through the essentials from locating and defining jazz to jazz in performance, its audiences, its markets, and its enjoyment.

This 1999 volume contains sixteen specially commissioned essays on the saxophone, and its history and technical development from Adolphe Sax to the end of the twentieth century. Includes accounts of the instrument's history in jazz, rock and classical music. Contributors are some of the finest performers and experts on the saxophone.

This collection of fourteen essays, authored by leading scholars in the field, surveys the life, work, and posthumous reception of nineteenth-century German-Jewish composer Felix Mendelssohn. While engaging with the most up-to-date scholarly literature, each chapter also provides sufficient background information to provide an introduction to Mendelssohn for the virtual newcomer.

An accessible introduction to the life and music of Edward Elgar, suitable for a wide readership, including performers, general readers, and students, as well as scholars. Divided into three sections, the Companion explores Elgar's early career, major musical achievements, and the reception, performance and interpretation of his work.

Written by many working conductors, this book considers all facets of musical conducting. It includes practical advice on how to conduct different groups (choral, opera, symphony, early music) and a history of conducting presented as a study of national traditions.

This Companion will enrich readers' understanding of the history of the genre, the context and significance of quartets as cultural phenomena, and the musical, technical and interpretative problems of chamber music performance. It will also enhance their experience of listening to quartets in live performances and on recordings.

A fascinating and accessible exploration of the world of grand opera, examining important Romantic operas and the grand operas of Rossini, Auber, Meyerbeer and Halevy, among others. The 2003 volume also includes an essay by the renowned opera director David Pountney.

Ranging from medieval music to Madonna and beyond, this book covers in detail the many aspects of the voice. Almost anything one wants to know about singing practices and singing styles can be found here in nineteen chapters written by leading performers and specialists.

The subject of musical theatre usually brings to mind the Broadway musical, but this collection of essays reveals that operetta was the pre-eminent musical-theatrical entertainment on the urban stage from the 1850s to the early 1930s. The authors explore operetta's production and reception in more than a dozen countries.

This collection of specially commissioned essays offers an accessible introduction to the history of the piano, performance styles, and its vast repertoire. The Companion also contains a glossary of important terms and will be a valuable source for the piano performer, student and enthusiast.

The Cambridge Companion to Bach, first published in 1997, provides a late twentieth-century perspective on J. S. Bach, the man and the composer. It examines the society, the beliefs and the world-view of his age as well as the compositional style, performance and reception of his work.

This Companion to Schubert examines the career, music, and reception of one of the most misunderstood and elusive composers. Leading Schubert scholars investigate the cultural climate in which he worked, the scope of his achievement and chart the course of his reception from the perception of his contemporaries to the assessments of posterity.

An accessible introduction to the life and music of Edward Elgar, suitable for a wide readership, including performers, general readers, and students, as well as scholars. Divided into three sections, the Companion explores Elgar's early career, major musical achievements, and the reception, performance and interpretation of his work.

This is the first book to encompass the breadth and depth of guitar performance, featuring essays which cover different guitar traditions and styles, from baroque, classical, country, blues, and rock to flamenco, African and Celtic, written by some of the most influential players, teachers, and guitar historians in the world.

This practical guide is an essential and stimulating reference book for all clarinet enthusiasts.

This Companion provides an accessible and vivid introduction to the life and music of Finland's greatest composer, Jean Sibelius. Placed in a wide perspective and considering the works themselves, their performance, reception and influence, Sibelius emerges as one of the most striking and individual figures in twentieth-century music.

Alban Berg's achievement is based on an extraordinarily small musical output, but it includes towering masterpieces such as the operas Wozzeck and Lulu, and his last work, the Violin Concerto. These and all Berg's other substantial works are discussed in this wide-ranging Companion.

This Companion provides an accessible and vivid introduction to the life and music of Finland's greatest composer, Jean Sibelius. Placed in a wide perspective and considering the works themselves, their performance, reception and influence, Sibelius emerges as one of the most striking and individual figures in twentieth-century music.