Bücher der Reihe Cambridge Music Handbooks

The Missa Solemnis is a document of extraordinary richness from the last decades of Beethoven's creative life. In this compendious and accessible guide, William Drabkin considers the work as a musical expression of the most celebrated text of the Roman Catholic faith and as an example from a tradition of Mass settings in eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Austria.

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of the Western tradition, yet early critics rejected it as cryptic and eccentric, the product of a deaf and ageing composer. Nicholas Cook charts this dramatic transformation.

The Op. 50 string quartets contain some of the purest writing Haydn ever accomplished. In this first full account of these six quartets Dean Sutcliffe evaluates the Op. 50 in relation to Haydn's more frequently performed quartets and considers their relevance to the composer's wider output. A lucid and accessible discussion of the music emphasises the unity of each quartet: not only motivic unity, but unity also of texture, articulation, harmony and syntax. Each quartet is described in detail. The informative background provided by Dr Sutcliffe includes a brief history of the string quartet, and an assessment of Haydn's earlier works in this genre and of his role at Esterhaza. The description of the composition and publication of the Op. 50 quartets is based on the evidence of Haydn's surviving letters and the recently discovered autograph copies of Nos. 3 to 6 - a discovery which is vividly documented here for the first time.

Charles Ives's massive Concord Sonata, his second sonata for piano, named after the town of Concord in Massachusetts, is central to his output and clearly reflects his aesthetic perspective. Geoffrey Block's wide-ranging 1996 account of the work thus provides an ideal introduction to this fascinating composer.

This book focuses on the definitive work by Carl Nielsen - Denmark's greatest composer. Fanning takes full account of extensive Danish commentaries and offers new insights into Symphony's 'progressive tonality' and relationship to traditional structural models.

David Wyn Jones provides a fascinating account of this popular work and the context in which it was written.

The German Requiem is Brahms's largest work, making Brahms an international name and prompting comparisons between him and Bach and Beethoven. It has found new critical support recently, as an original and progressive work, and this detailed study examines its history, controversial past, and textual and musical structure.

In a rounded picture of Schumann's Fantasie, Op. 17, Nicholas Marston traces the fascinating history of its composition through the composer's personal letters, critical writings and surviving sketches of the work. Every aspect of the work is covered, providing the performer, listener or the student with an understanding of both the piece and the composer himself.

Tchaikovsky's final symphony has fascinated generations of music lovers since its first performance. Professor Jackson explores the question of the Pathetique's program and its relation to Tchaikovsky's homosexuality and death. The book covers the work's conception, genesis, and reception, and presents an in-depth analysis of its remarkable formal structure.

In this 1997 book, David Brodbeck examines the controversial status and relationship in the Beethoven tradition of this work. He begins with an account of the genesis and complicated background to the writing of the symphony, before providing a critical reading of the work.

Larry Todd offers a historical, stylistic, and analytical guide to three remarkable works which secured for Mendelssohn no small measure of his fame.

This guide to Tippett's wartime oratorio A Child of our Time discusses the significant musical and literary features of this remarkable work within its historical, social and stylistic context.

This comprehensive guide investigates Dowland's famous Lachrimae (1604), its publication history, its place in the development of Renaissance dance music, the significance of its writing for particular stringed instruments, and the possible connections between the famous cycle of 'Lachrimae' pavans and Elizabethan conceptions of melancholy.

This guide examines the intellectual background of Strauss's tone poem and considers ways in which it has been received by composers and writers, notably Romain Rolland and Bartok.

This book summarises the complex genesis of Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette then examines the music closely and always with a view to understanding its dramatic implications. The complete libretto is provided in both English and French.

Beethoven's Violin Concerto was the only significant work of this genre to appear between Mozart's five concertos of 1775 and Mendelssohn's E minor Concerto of 1844. This is the first individual study of the Concerto, exploring the work's background and its indifferent initial reception.

Vivaldi's celebrated The Four Seasons are among the most popular works of all time and represent the composer's remarkable innovation in the field of the Baroque concerto. This detailed guide examines the work's origin and construction in a way that enables the reader to distinguish what is extraordinary about the Seasons, whilst providing an ideal introduction to Vivaldi's music in general.

This guide to Mozart's last and most celebrated symphony explores the historical background and aesthetic contexts of the work as well as the music itself.

This discussion of Chopin's four ballades combines history and analysis to provide a detailed picture of these popular piano works, investigating the social and musical background to Chopin's unique style, describing the manuscript sources and evaluating the many printed editions of the ballades.

Bruckner's Eighth Symphony (1890), one of the last of the great Romantic symphonies, is a grandly complex masterpiece. This book explores this many-faceted work from several angles, offering an accessible guide to its compositional history and reception and to its musical design.

This clear and concise guide describes the plot, the music and the staging of Oedipus rex in close detail and provides a fully documented discussion of its origins in Stravinsky's own work and thinking.

Chopin's E minor and F minor Piano Concertos played a vital role in his career as a composer-pianist. This Handbook re-evaluates them so that their many outstanding qualities can be fully appreciated. It describes their genesis, Chopin's own performances and his use of them as a teacher.

This comprehensive guide to Stravinsky's most revolutionary work, tells in vivid detail the story of its inception and composition and of the stormy rehearsals which led to the scandalous premiere. It provides a highly readable account of the music and concludes by posing a radical challenge to established views.

This book contains historical information concerning the conception and writing of Elgar's 'Enigma' Variations, an extended musical discussion requiring only a little technical knowledge of music, and a fascinating survey of the 'solutions' to the mystery implied by the title of Elgar's most famous work.

David Schiff considers Rhapsody in Blue as musical work, historical event and cultural document. He traces the history of the Rhapsody's composition, performance and reception, placing it within the context of American popular song and jazz.

A guide to Monteverdi's Vespers, providing all the information the reader needs for an in-depth appreciation of the music settings, the debate surrounding the intention of the volume, and the problems of performance nowadays.

This Music Handbook examines Liszt's B minor Sonata - regarded as one of the pinnacles of Romantic piano music. It opens with a survey of Liszt's early attempts at sonata composition, and goes on to discuss different interpretative approaches. The book also contains details of performance practice and the performing history of the work.

A guide to Mozart's most famous string quartets, dedicated to his friend, Joseph Haydn. Provides full synopsis of each piece and examines the music in relation to Mozart's earlier quarters. Charts their reception through a broad range of sources: letters, diaries, contemporary criticism and biographies.

Dvorak's Cello Concerto, composed during his second stay in America, is one of the most popular works in the orchestral repertoire. This book is a detailed guide intended for concert-goers and students of this well-loved work, considering aspects of historical background, form, virtuosity, performance and the concerto's rich personal content.

Since its premiere Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde has been widely regarded as his finest masterpiece. Stephen Hefling provides a background to this symphony for voice and orchestra, describes its genesis, summarises reviews of the premiere, and gives a careful account of all six movements.