Sergei Rachmaninoff
A Lifetime in Music
Sergei Bertensson and Jay Leyda, with the assistance of Sophia Satina
With a new introduction by David Butler Cannata
An indispensable and captivating document, now back in print

Throughout his career as composer, conductor, and pianist, Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 1943) was an intensely private individual. When Bertensson and Leyda s 1956 biography appeared, it lifted the veil of secrecy from several areas of Rachmaninoff s life, especially concerning the genesis of his compositions and how their critical reception affected...

..". intriguing collection... a recommended study for anyone interested in the habits and personalities of great minds." ForeWord

This compilation of reminiscences about Tchaikovsky the man is unprecedented in English. The memoirs, diary entries, and interviews written and conducted by his contemporaries show us both the public and the private figure: the law student, the professor, the philanthropist, the loving brother and uncle, the intrepid traveler, and of course the composer and conductor. In more than 50 documents some laudatory, others not Tchaikovsky s contemporaries speak...

This compilation assembles previously published and unpublished essays by Schnittke and supplements them with an interview with cellist and scholar Alexander Ivashkin. The book is illustrated with musical examples, many of them in Schnittke's own hand. In A Schnittke Reader, the composer speaks of his life, his works, other composers, performers, and a broad range of topics in 20th-century music. The volume is rounded out with reflections by some of Schnittke's contemporaries.

..". a joy to read." --Choice

..". spiritedly written... " --Music and Letters

Although the Russian piano concerto had inauspicious beginnings, its development during the19th century laid superb artistic foundations for the monumental concerti of the 20th century. Insights gained here will help performers and teachers to understand later developments in concerto writing.

In its scope and command of primary sources and its generosity of scholarly inquiry, Nikolai Findeizen's monumental work, published in 1928 and 1929 in Soviet Russia, places the origins and development of music in Russia within the context of Russia's cultural and social history.

Volume 2 of Findeizen's landmark study surveys music in court life during the reigns of Elizabeth I and Catherine II, music in Russian domestic and public life in the second half of the 18th century, and the variety and vitality of Russian music at the end of the 18th century.

In its scope and command of primary sources and its generosity of scholarly inquiry, Nikolai Findeizen's monumental work, published in 1928 and 1929 in Soviet Russia, places the origins and development of music in Russia within the context of Russia's cultural and social history.

Volume 2 of Findeizen's landmark study surveys music in court life during the reigns of Elizabeth I and Catherine II, music in Russian domestic and public life in the second half of the 18th century, and the variety and vitality of Russian music at the end of the 18th century.

The first modern biography in English of Russian composer-pianist Anton Rubinstein, this book places Rubinstein within the context of Russian and western European musical culture during the late 19th century, exploring his rise to international fame from humble origins in Bessarabia, as well as his subsequent rapid decline and marginalization in later musical culture. Taylor provides a balanced account of Rubinstein's life and his career as a piano virtuoso, conductor, composer, and as the founder of Russia's first conservatory. Widely considered the virtuosic heir to Liszt, and recognized...

Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina (1931 ) has achieved international acclaim for her unique musical oeuvre which draws on Eastern and Western musical traditions and reflects a deep-rooted belief in the mystical and religious qualities of music.

Kurtz s biography of Gubaidulina is the first in any language. Based on her papers and extensive interviews with Gubaidulina, her colleagues, and family, the book places her life and the evolution of her work within the broader cultural and political context of the post-Stalin Soviet Union. For the English edition, the text has been revised...

Ludmila Korabelnikova recounts the life and times of Alexander Tcherepnin, a prolific and often emulated composer who produced four operas, 13 ballets, four symphonies, numerous orchestral and chamber works, and more than 200 piano pieces. He was born in Russia in 1899 to a family of musicians and artists. However, Aaron Copland referred to him as "an honorary American composer" and Toru Takemitsu called him "a father figure of Japanese music." Korabelnikova focuses not only on the biographical elements of Tcherepnin's story, but also on his music and its technical innovations. She...

Claudia R. Jensen presents the first unified study of musical culture in the court and church of Muscovite Russia. Spanning the period from the installation of Patriarch Iov in 1589 to the beginning of Peter the Great's reign in 1694, her book offers detailed accounts of the celebratory musical performances for Russia's first patriarch--events that were important displays of Russian piety and power. Jensen emphasizes music's varied roles in Muscovite society and the equally varied opinions and influences surrounding it. In an attempt to demystify what has previously been an enigma to...