Bücher der Reihe Cambridge Music Handbooks

This book is about the popular Quartet for the End of Time by Messiaen, which was first performed in 1941. The book describes how the work was composed in a prisoner-of-war camp and discusses the music in detail. Like most of Messiaen's music, the Quartet is strongly Christian in inspiration.

In this fascinating description of Janacek's most important works The Glagolithic Mass and its history, Paul Wingfield brings together information on all significant aspects of the work. In particular he quotes important letters from and to the composer.

Pierrot Lunaire (1912) is one of the most important music theatre works ever written. This is the first guide in English to a work which continues to be performed, broadcast and recorded worldwide.

This Handbook covers Handel's best known public music, the Water Music, and the Music for the Royal Fireworks. Christopher Hogwood sets the music in its political and musical context, with many contemporary reactions quoted, and considers important performing details, together with advice and suggestions for the modern player and listener.

An informative and wide ranging guide which places Musorgsky's original piano work in the context of Russian cultural life.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest choral works of the twentieth century, Britten's War Requiem was first performed at the consecration of Coventry's new cathedral in 1962. This handbook examines Britten's use of the anti-war poetry of Wilfred Owen and contains hitherto unpublished correspondence and manuscript sources.

A fresh look at the work and its composer with implications beyond Sibelius himself into the entire repertory of Post-Wagnerian symphonic composition.

Widely regarded as Brahms' supreme achievement in the field of chamber music, the Clarinet Quintet is here placed in the context of the history of the clarinet and its repertory, and of Brahms' own compositions before 1891.

Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra has proved to be one of the most popularly successful works of the twentieth century. This book contains both a discussion of the historical and musical contexts of the piece and detailed technical information about it. Intended for use by both students and general readers, it is the first book devoted exclusively to the Concerto for Orchestra.

An analysis of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto - of supreme importance as the composer's last instrumental work.

This guide to Mozart's two most popular piano concertos presents the historical background of the works, placing them within the context of Mozart's compositional and performance activities at a time when his reputation as both composer and pianist was at its peak.

This book is the first comprehensive guide to Holst's orchestral suite The Planets. It considers the music in detail and places the work in its historical context, describing the circumstances of its composition and its meteoric rise to popular acclaim.

Even in Beethoven's day the 'Moonlight' Sonata was a popular favourite. This 1999 book provides an accessible introduction to the Sonatas Opp. 27 and 31 (including The 'Moonlight' and 'The Tempest'), aimed at pianists, students, and music lovers. It begins with the works' historical background - the emergence of a 'piano culture' at the end of the eighteenth century, Beethoven's aristocratic milieu in Vienna, and his oft-quoted intention to follow a new compositional path. An account of the sonatas' genesis is followed by a discussion of their reception history, including a survey of changing performing styles since the mid-nineteenth century. The concept of the Sonata quasi una Fantasia is examined in relation to the cult of artistic sensibility in early-nineteenth-century Vienna. The study concludes with a critical introduction to each sonata.

Many listeners and players are fascinated by Bach's Goldberg Variations. In this wideranging and searching study, Professor Williams, one of the leading Bach scholars of our time, helps them probe its depths and understand its uniqueness. He considers the work's historical origins, especially in relation to all Bach's Clavierubung volumes and late keyboard works, its musical agenda and its formal shape, and discusses significant performance issues. In the course of the book he poses a number of key questions. Why should such a work be written? Does the work have both a conceptual and a perceptual shape? What other music is likely to have influenced the Goldberg and to what extent is it trying to be encyclopedic? What is the canonic vocabulary? How have contemporaries or musicians from Beethoven to the present day seen this work and, above all, how has its mysterious beauty been created?

This handbook examines the work from a number of cultural and technical perspectives.

The 'Eroica' Symphony is perhaps Beethoven's most provocative work. Its unprecedented design and its powerful emotional impact forever redefined the potential of musical expression. This study focuses on Beethoven's unique ability to imbue traditional forms with the idealism of his philosophical mentor, Friedrich Schiller.

This is a guide to both the music and the poetry of Schubert's much loved song cycle which was composed in 1823 and is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of the repertoire.

Mahler's Third Symphony was conceived as a musical picture of the natural world. This handbook describes the composition of Mahler's grandiose piece of philosophical programme music in detail in the context of the ideas that inspired it and the artistic debate and social conflicts that it reflects.

Described by Aaron Copeland as 'among the finest creations of the modern repertoire', Berg's Violin Concerto has become a twentieth-century classic. In this authoritative guide the reader is introduced not only to the concerto itself but to all that surrounded and determined its composition.

La mer stands at the centre of Debussy's achievement. In this study it is considered in the context of Debussy's personal and musical development. Discussion of performance styles draws on current recordings, and studies of rhythm, motif and tonality show how Debussy generates 'narratives' across the movements.

The Mass in B Minor is arguably Bach's greatest single work. This guide considers the work from many angles, offering the reader basic information in a concise and accessible form. John Butt gives an absorbing account of the work's genesis, its historical context, and its reception by later generations.

Verdi's Requiem is one of the most frequently performed choral works. David Rosen discusses its composition and performance history, and analyses the seven movements, considering Verdi's interpretation of the texts. Rosen also considers the controversial issue of the Requiem's 'operatic' status.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band represents the highpoint of the recording career of the Beatles. This is the first detailed study to be made of this or any other such album, and is a fascinating approach to this legendary work.

This new guide to Handel's most celebrated work traces the course of Messiah from Handel's initial musical response to the libretto, through the oratorio's turbulent first years to its eventual popularity with the Foundling Hospital performances.