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Hardcover: 352 pages
In For the Love of Music, Steinberg and Rothe draw on a lifetime of listening to, living with, and writing about music, sharing the delights and revelatory encounters they have had with Mozart, Brahms, Stravinsky, and a host of other great (and almost-great) composers. At once highly personal and immediately accessible, their writings shed light on those who make music and those who listen to it--drawing readers into the beautiful and dangerous terrain that has meant so much to the authors.
"This is a graceful book by two music critics and fanatics that addresses the great question, Why do we love what we love? and leads us back to first causes, Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, the music that enthralled us sitting in the mystical fellowship of the concert hall. Their reminiscence of American composers of the 20th Century is not to be missed." --Garrison Keillor
"This kaleidoscopic book by Michael Steinberg & Larry Rothe is rich with autobiographical scenes, provocative viewpoints, and heartfelt appreciations--all centering around music and the artistic passion these authors share with and convey to the reader. It will long be treasured by professionals, novices, and all lovers of classical music." --Andre Watts
"The miracle of Michael Steinberg and Larry Rothe's new book is that music--perhaps the most difficult of the arts to describe and to write about well--is evoked with such eloquence and wit. This collection of essays presents its body of knowledge without pedantry, and as its authors take us on a tour of both major and minor works, using enlightening anecdotes and analyses, we are charmed and instructed, as the authors' love of their subject--announced in the title--makes itself clear." --Charles Baxter, author of The Feast of Love
"This is a delightful book--witty, fervent, and wide-ranging. The authors wear their erudition lightly, are unabashedly personal and celebratory, and manage the difficult feat of being both serious and entertaining. I enjoyed it immensely." --Richard Goode, Pianist
251 pages
5 3/5" x 8 3/5"
SKU: 9721
Bukovnik has created and generously donated art to the San Francisco Symphony for use since the 1981-82 season. This wonderful partnership continues today.
"The opportunity to work with the San Francisco Symphony these last 30 years has been both a privilege and life long dream come true." -Gary Bukovnik
Bukovnik’s collaboration with the Symphony first began with his depiction of Easter lilies on the poster announcing performances of Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion. In Bukovnik’s floral subjects, he captures a vibrant yet fleeting beauty that mirrors music itself.
Throughout the book children are referred to the accompanying CD so that they can hear examples as they read. Music on the CD includes Magic Flute (Mozart), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Williams), Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saëns), The Planets (Holst), Petrushka (Stravinsky), and Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev).
The San Francisco Symphony asked composer Nathaniel Stookey to write the music and the great storyteller Lemony Snicket to create the story. Edwin Outwater conducted the world premiere performance and recording of The Composer Is Dead with the SFS in July 2006.
by Lemony Snicket (Author), Carson Ellis (Illustrator)
With CD of music composed by Nathaniel Stookey, narrated by Lemony Snicket.
ALONG THE WAY YOU'LL LISTEN to the greatest works in classical music and HEAR each instrument of the orchestra and LEARN fun facts about the music, composers and musicians, including:
-Bach wasn't famous until 100 years after he died
-Some people think that years of playing the oboe can make you crazy
-Beethoven was totally deaf by the time he wrote the famous 9th Symphony
-The contrabassoon would be 16 feet tall if unwound
-Copland composed at night and on weekends and had a day job as an insurance agent
Illustrated in exquisite and colorful detail with over 100 original drawings and photographs, engaging text and delightful musical selections on the accompanying 70-minute CD lead children ages 8 to 12 (and parents, too!) on an exciting and educational tour through the instruments and music of the orchestra. The engaging text is broken into three sections: an introduction to each instrument of the orchestra from the cello to the timpani, the stories of famous composers from Bach to Stravinsky and an explanation of different musical styles from Baroque to Modern. Each step of the way, children can listen to actual musical examples of what they are learning about. Young readers will hear the sound of an actual violin as they study the instrument and enjoy the playful tune of a Mozart minuet as they read about the composer's precocious exploits as a child.
SKU: 8918
Ranging from Gregorian chant to Philip Glass, this well-balanced guide to historical and contemporary classical music examines major works by 500 composers worldwide. It focuses on exemplary recordings of symphonies, operas, concertos, choral pieces, chamber music, piano pieces and other works performed by an international spectrum of premier conductors, musicians and vocalists. Incisive, often anecdotal critiques define the distinctive style and interpretation of thousands of selected works and recordings. Composers profiled and reviewed include: Bach, Beethoven, Bernstein, Brahms, Chopin, Copland, Czerny, Debussy, Gershwin, Gilbert & Sullivan, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Prokofieff, Puccini, Reich, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Varèse, Wagner and hundreds of others.
SKU: 7789
Hardcover: 40 pages
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Illustrated by Marc Simont
In June 2000, MTT and the SFS stunned the music world with their American Mavericks festival, showcasing the music of composers with uniquely radical views. The festival was a defining event in the musical life of the Bay Area and the country. Now, from the University of California Press, comes American Mavericks: Visionaries, Pioneers, Iconoclasts, the story of the sweep of radical music in 20th century America, from the turn of one century to the turn of another, as exemplified by the composers spotlighted in the American Mavericks festival.
American Mavericks provides a permanent record of the Symphony's vision for audiences, scholars, and educators and tells a fascinating story—not about one individual or one institution, but about a cultural phenomenon that crosses geographic, chronological, and ethnic boundaries. The mavericks were as disparate in personality and musical style as the American landscape, but, as Michael Tilson Thomas says, "what these composers all have in common is their enormous excitement in the experience of sound itself."
This book presents an abundance of commentary from performers and a wealth of primary material—interviews, photographs, and rare performances. The voices of those who have experienced the music "from within" provide unique insight that complements the historical and analytical material. Among the artists considered in this volume are Charles Ives, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Duke Ellington, Aaron Copland, Lou Harrison, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Earle Brown, Meredith Monk, and Frank Zappa.
Contributors to this volume include MTT, composer John Adams, critic Alan Rich and SFS program annotator James Keller and contributing writer Michael Steinberg. Edited by American Mavericks festival coordinator Susan Key and SFS Publications Editor Larry Rothe, the book is generously illustrated and includes a companion CD with excerpts of music performed at the festival.
See what the reviewers have to say...
CD Track List
- Charles Ives: Quarter-tone Piano Piece No. 2, Allegro
- Michael Tilson Thomas and Lou Harrison: in conversation, June 9, 2000
- Henry Cowell: Opening of Piano Concerto
- George Antheil: Opening of Ballet Méchanique
- Lou Harrison: introducing his Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra
- Lou Harrison: Allegro from Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra
- Michael Tilson Thomas: introducing Cage's Credo in Us
- John Cage: Credo in Us
- Michael Tilson Thomas: introducing Feldman's Piece for 4 Pianos
- Morton Feldman: Piece for 4 Pianos
- Michael Tilson Thomas and Lukas Foss: in conversation June 9, 2000
- Michael Tilson Thomas and Lukas Foss: in conversation June 9, 2000
- Michael Tilson Thomas and John Adams: in conversation June 21, 2000
- Michael Tilson Thomas and David del Tredici: in conversation June 16, 2000
- David del Tredici: Opening of Adventures Underground
- Meredith Monk: on her stylistic development, June 9, 2000
- Michael Tilson Thomas and Steve Mackey: in conversation June 20, 2000
- Steve Mackey: "Intrigue" from Tuck and Roll
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