Antonio Stradivari (1644—1737) was a perfectionist whosesingle-minded pursuit of excellence changed the world of music. Inthe course of his long career in the northern Italian city ofCremona, he created more than a thousand stringed instruments;approximately six hundred survive, their quality unequalled by anysubsequent violin-maker. In this fascinating book, Toby Fabertraces the rich, multilayered stories of six of these peerlesscreations–five violins and a cello–and the one towering artist whobrought them into being. Blending history, biography, meticulousdetective work, and an abiding passion for music, Faber takes usfrom the salons of Vienna to the concert halls of New York, andfrom the breakthroughs of Beethoven’s last quartets to the firstphonographic recordings. This magnificent narrative invites us toshare the life, the intrigue, and the incomparable beauty of theworld’s most marvelous stringed instruments.

Few music lovers realize that the arrangement of notes ontoday’s pianos was once regarded as a crime against God and nature,or that such legendary thinkers as Pythagoras, Plato, da Vinci,Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Newton and Rousseau played a role inthe controversy. Indeed, from the time of the Ancient Greeksthrough the eras of Renaissance scientists and Enlightenmentphilosophers, the relationship between the notes of the musicalscale was seen as a key to the very nature of the universe. In this engaging and accessible account, Stuart Isacoff leads usthrough the battles over that scale, placing them in the context ofquarrels in the worlds of art, philosophy, religion, politics andscience. The contentious adoption of the modern tuning system knownas equal temperament called into question beliefs that hadlasted nearly two millenia–and also made possible the music ofBeethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, and all who followed. Filledwith original insights, fascinating anecdotes, and portraits ofsome of th

The Must-Have Guide for Breaking into the Music Business Completely revised and updated for the twenty-first century, TheMusic Business provides essential career advice and information onhow to get started and advance in all areas of the musicindustry—from an author who’s had careers in music as an artist andprofessor for more than two decades. This comprehensive volumegives you guidance and information on: · Starting your music career · The ins and outs of recording contracts · Record producing and music engineering · The distribution and sale of records · The Internet and MP3s, and their effects on the musicindustry · The latest computer programs · Copyright law · Composing music and songwriting · Music education · The international music industry · And much more The Music Business is an indispensable reference for anyone whowants to begin a career in any of the industry’s facets, as well asan invalua

In this compulsively readable, fascinating, and provocativeguide to classical music, Norman Lebrecht, one of the world's mostwidely read cultural commentators tells the story of the rise ofthe classical recording industry from Caruso's first notes to theheyday of Bernstein, Glenn Gould, Callas, and von Karajan. Lebrechtcompellingly demonstrates that classical recording has reached itsend point-but this is not simply an expos? of decline and fall. Itis, for the first time, the full story of a minor art form,analyzing the cultural revolution wrought by Schnabel, Toscanini,Callas, Rattle, the Three Tenors, and Charlotte Church. It is thestory of how stars were made and broken by the record business; howa war criminal conspired with a concentration-camp victim to createa record empire; and how advancing technology, boardroom wars,public credulity and unscrupulous exploitation shaped the musicalbackdrop to our modern lives. The book ends with a suitable shrineto classical recording: the author's critical selectio

A Tribe Called Quest - Beastie Boys - De La Soul - Eric B. andRakim - The Fugees - KRS-One - Pete Rock and CL Smooth - PublicEnemy - The Roots - Run-DMC - Wu-Tang Clan - and twenty-five morehip-hop immortals It's a sad fact: hip-hop album liners have alwaysbeen reduced to a list of producer and sample credits, a publicityphoto or two, and some hastily composed shout-outs. That's a damnshame, because few outside the game know about the true creativeforces behind influential masterpieces like PE's It Takes a Nationof Millions. . ., De La's 3 Feet High and Rising, and Wu-Tang'sEnter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). A longtime scribe for the hip-hopnation, Brian Coleman fills this void, and delivers a thrilling,knockout oral history of the albums that define this dynamic andiconoclastic art form. The format: One chapter, one artist, onealbum, blow-by-blow and track-by-track, delivered straight from theoriginal sources. Performers, producers, DJs, and b-boys-includingBig Daddy Kane, Muggs and B-Real, Biz Markie, RZA, I

If the opera world is full of " intrigue, double meanings, anddevious dramatics, " then no place exemplifies this more than theworld-famous Metropolitan Opera, where politics, ambition, andoversized egos have traditionally taken center stage along withsome of the world' s richest music. Drawing on her fifteen years asits press representative, Johanna Fiedler explodes the traditionalsecrecy that surrounds the Met in this wonderfully entertainingaccount of its tumuluous history. Fiedler chronicles the Met' searly days as a home for legends like Toscanini, Mahler, andCaruso, and gives a fascinating account of the middle years whenhaughty blue-bloods battled stubborn adminstrators for control of acompany that would emerge as America' s premiere opera house. Shetakes us behind the grand gold-curtain stage in more recent yearsas well, showing how musical superstars like Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and Kathleen Battle have electrified performances andscandalized the public. But most revelatory are Fiedler'

《不朽的小提琴家》再现了历史上不朽小提琴家的魅力，简要而有趣地叙述其生活、个性与事业。作者就他们对作曲者、公众品味的影响以及演奏技巧的贡献等各个方面，讲述了这些小提琴家的特殊成就。作者玛格丽特·坎贝尔参阅了大量的书信和私人文件，并且访问许多著名音乐家，很多人为《不朽的小提琴家》提供了从未发表过的回忆录和珍贵照片。《不朽的小提琴家》是一本献给音乐会听众、唱片收藏者（有“唱片目录”）、弦乐演奏者和学生等所有爱好小提琴演奏艺术者的书。

These free-wheeling, often exhilarating dialogues—which grewout of the acclaimed Carnegie Hall Talks—are an exchange betweentwo of the most prominent figures in contemporary culture: DanielBarenboim, internationally renowned conductor and pianist, andEdward W. Said, eminent literary critic and impassioned commentatoron the Middle East. Barenboim is an Argentinian-Israeli and Said aPalestinian-American; they are also close friends. As they range across music, literature, and society, they openup many fields of inquiry: the importance of a sense of place;music as a defiance of silence; the legacies of artists from Mozartand Beethoven to Dickens and Adorno; Wagner’s anti-Semitism; andthe need for “artistic solutions” to the predicament of the MiddleEast—something they both witnessed when they brought young Arab andIsraeli musicians together. Erudite, intimate, thoughtful andspontaneous, Parallels and Paradoxes is a virtuosiccollaboration.

Turquoise and silver is an icon of the American Southwest. Forgenerations, people have ogled these gemstones in pawn shops,jewelry shops and antiques stores, looking for a special piece ofNative American jewelry that speaks to their heart. Southwestjewelry is now valued and collected around the world. Photographs of collectible pieces reveal what the attractionis about. Whether in shades of pale aqua or deeper aquamarine, blueor jade green, Mary Emmerling reveals that the collector's hunt isabout color. And beyond jewelry, the color turquoise appearsthroughout the Southwest in architecture and decoration. After all,it's the color of calm.

The Renaissance holds an undying place in our imagination, itsgreat heroes still our own, from Michelangelo and Leonardo to Danteand Chaucer. This period of profound evolution in European thoughtis credited with transforming the West from medieval to modern andproducing the most astonishing outpouring of artistic creation theworld has ever known. But what was it? In this masterly work, theincomparable Paul Johnson tells us. He explains the economic,technological, and social developments that provide a backdrop tothe age’s achievements and focuses closely on the lives and worksof its most important figures. A commanding short narrative of thisvital period, The Renaissance is also a universally profoundmeditation on the wellsprings of innovation.

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Puccini is the most beloved composer of opera in the world: onequarter of all opera performances in the U.S. are of his operas,his music pervades movie soundtracks, and his plots haveinfiltrated our popular culture. But, although Puccini's art stillcaptivates audiences and the popularity of such works as "Tosca, LaBoh?me, " and "Madama Butterfly" has never waned, he has long beena victim of critical snobbery and cultural marginalization.In thiswitty and informative guide for beginners and fans alike, WilliamBerger sets the record straight, reclaiming Puccini as a seriousartist. Combining his trademark irreverent humor with passionateenthusiasm, Berger strikes just the right balance of introductoryinformation and thought-provoking analysis. He includes abiography, discussions of each opera, a glossary, fun facts andanecdotes, and above all keen insight into Puccini's enduringpower. For anyone who loves Puccini and for anyone who just wonderswhat all the fuss is about, "Puccini Without Excuses" is funny,challe

The definitive study of heavy metal culture that "does for metalwhat Greil Marcus's Lipstick Traces did for the Sex Pistols" (-Chicago Sun-Times ).. Few forms of music elicit such strongreactions as does heavy metal. Embraced by millions of fans, it hasalso attracted a chorus of critics, who have denounced it as acorrupter of youtheven blamed it for tragedies like the murders atColumbine. Deena Weinstein argues that these fears stem from a deepmisunderstanding of the energetic, rebellious culture of metal,which she analyzes, explains, and defends. She interprets allaspects of the metal worldthe music and its makers, its fans, itsdress code, its lyricsand in the process unravels the myths,misconceptions, and truths about an irreverent subculture that hasendured and evolved for twenty years.

There are beautiful doodles, and there are fabulous doodles.This doodle book brings them into fashion! An ever-popular topicamong young girls, fashion continues to form our culture at large.Whether we design ourselves to fit in or stand out, this bookoffers over 100 pages full of creative prompts for innovativedesigns. Aspiring fashionistas—and anyone with a fascination forfabulous clothing and accessories—will be inspired to find theirown style and express it.

Jazz is thriving in the twenty-first century, and The NewFace of Jazz is an intimate, illustrated guide to the artists,venues, and festivals of today's jazz scene. This book celebratesthe living legends, current stars, and faces of tomorrow as theycontinue to innovate and expand the boundaries of this greatmusical legacy. In their own words, artists such as McCoy Tyner, Arturo Sandoval,Diane Schuur, Terence Blanchard, Charlie Hunter, Nicholas Payton,George Benson, Maria Schneider, Christian McBride, Randy Brecker,Jean-Luc Ponty, Joe Lovano, Lee Ritenour, and more than 100 othersshare intimately about their beginnings, musical training,inspiration, and hard-earned lessons, creating a fascinating mosaicof the current jazz community. Photographer Ned Radinsky contributes 40 amazing black-and-whiteportraits of these musicians doing what they do best—playing. Anappendix offers resources for jazz education; an exclusive readinglist; and the lowdown on those organizations and societies doingtheir par

It is perhaps the greatest story never told: the truth behindthe most-enduring works of literature in the English language,perhaps in any language. Who was the man behind Hamlet? Whatpassion inspired the sonnets, whose words were so powerful that“not marble, nor the gilded monuments Of princes, shall outlivethis powerful rhyme"? In Shakespeare’s Lost Kingdom, criticallyacclaimed historian Charles Beauclerk pulls off an astounding feat,humanizing the Bard who for centuries has remained beyond ourgrasp. Beauclerk has spent more than two decades researching theauthorship question, and if the plays were discovered today, heargues, we would see them for what they are--shocking politicalworks written by a court insider, someone with the monarch'sindulgence, shielded from repression in an unstable time of armadaand reformation. But the author's identity was quickly swept underthe rug after his death. The official history--of an uneducatedmerchant writing in near obscurity, and of a virginal queen ma

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The moral of this book is that behind every great engineeringsuccess is a trail of often ignored (but frequently spectacular)engineering failures. Petroski covers many of the best knownexamples of well-intentioned but ultimately failed design in action-- the galloping Tacoma Narrows Bridge (which you've probably seentossing cars willy-nilly in the famous black-and-white footage),the collapse of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel walkways -- andmany lesser known but equally informative examples. The line ofreasoning Petroski develops in this book were later formalized intohis quasi-Darwinian model of technological evolution in TheEvolution of Useful Things , but this book is arguably the moreilluminating -- and defintely the more enjoyable -- of these twotitles. Highly recommended.

Plug your music career into the lucrative new income streamsof the digital marketplace Record deals are so twentieth century. Today, music licensing isthe fastest route to widespread exposure and a steady income.Creators of films, television shows, commercials, video games,ringtones, podcasts and other digital-age media hunger for musicperfectly suited to their projects—providing endless, lucrativeopportunities for savvy musicians. Whether you’re an unknowncomposer, an up-and-coming songwriter, an independent-labelperformer, or a big label star, there’s a place for you in thisfast-growing field—as long as you learn to master thegame. How does music licensing work? Where are the most abundant andrewarding opportunities? Find the answers in this authoritative,up-to-the-moment overview of one of the most effective ways tomarket your talent. It’s all here: ul li The key players in the music licensingbusiness and the best ways to make contacts and bring your music totheir atte