MU 312 - History of Music II

This classic reference work, the best one-volume music dictionary available, has been brought completely up to date in this new edition. Encyclopedia-length articles by notable experts alternate with short entries for quick reference, including definitions and identifications of works and instruments. More than 220 drawings and 250 musical examples enhance the text. This is an invaluable book that no music lover can afford to be without.

" ... an anthology of critical assaults upon composers since the time of Beethoven. The criterion of selection here is the exact opposite to that of a press agent. Instead of picking a quotably flattering phrase out of context from an otherwise tepid review, the Lexicon of Musical Invective cites biased, unfair, ill-tempered, and singularly unprophetic judgments."

The scandal over modern music has not died--while paintings by Picasso and Pollock sell for millions of dollars, works from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring onward still send ripples of unease through audiences. Yet the influence of modern music can be felt everywhere.

Despite much triumph in adversity, illness fueling composition is a misconception. The health - and especially deaths - of composers excite controversy. Much good previous scholarship has been sullied by unsubstantiated views, and many composers' reputations have been unfairly tarnished by scandalous commentary, often involving alcoholism or syphilis. This book, by a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, charts the disturbed physical and mental health of 70 great composers.

Gesualdo -- Lully -- Vivaldi ; Telemann ; Handel ; J.S. Bach -- Haydn -- Mozart -- Beethoven -- Rossini -- Schubert -- Donizetti -- Mendelssohn-Bartholdy -- Schumann -- Liszt -- Wagner.