This Companion provides a comprehensive introduction to the life, music and compositional aesthetic of French composer Maurice Ravel (1875SH1937). Leading international scholars offer a powerful reassessment of this most private and elusive musician, examining his work in detail within its cultural context. Marking the 125th anniversary of Ravel's birth, the volume explores the full range of his work--piano repertory, chamber works, orchestral music, ballets, songs and operas--and concludes by analyzing the performance and reception of his music, including previously untranslated reviews.

Often considered the father of twentieth-century music, Debussy was a visionary whose influence is still felt. This Companion offers new insights into Debussy's character, his environment and his music, including challenging views of the roles of nature and eroticism in his life and music. While works in all genres are discussed, they are considered through the themes of sonority, rhythm, tonality and form, with closing chapters considering the performance and reception of his music in the first years of the new century.

Stravinsky's work spanned the major part of the twentieth-century and was engaged with nearly all its principal compositional developments. Reflecting the breadth of his phenomenal achievement, this Companion contains a wide range of essays in three broad sections covering the contexts within which Stravinsky worked--Russian, modernist and compositional, with his key compositions--Russian, neoclassical and serial, and with the reception of his ideas--through performance, analysis and criticism. The volume concludes with an interview with the composer Louis Andriessen and a major re-evaluation...

The vibrant world of jazz may be viewed from many angles, from social and cultural history to music analysis, from economics to ethnography. It is challenging and exciting territory. This volume of nineteen specially commissioned essays offers informed and accessible guidance to the challenge, taking the reader through a series of five basic subject areas--locating jazz historically and geographically; defining jazz as musical and cultural practice; jazz in performance; the uses of jazz for audiences, markets, education and for other art forms; and the study of jazz.

This comprehensive, accessible guide to Bartok and his music contains up-to-date research by a new generation of Bartok scholars. Part I sets the cultural, social and political background in Hungary at the beginning of the twentieth century, and considers Bartok's research into folk music. Part II surveys his compositional output in all genres, relating changes in style to broad aesthetic issues, his folk music studies, and his activities as a pianist, music editor and teacher. The final part considers various aspects of reception and the variety of responses to Bartok's music in Europe and...

American composer John Cage (1912-1992) was without doubt one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century music. He spent much of his career in pursuit of an unusual goal--"giving up control so that sounds can be sounds," as he put it. As well as composing around 300 works, he was also a prolific performer, writer, poet, and visual artist. This Companion celebrates the richness and diversity of Cage's achievements and provides readers with a fully rounded portrait of a fascinating figure.

Several generations before Schubert, the Lied emerged as domestic entertainment destined to move beyond the home to the symphony hall. This introductory chronicle of this fascinating genre analyzes the Lied in its musical, literary, and cultural contexts--with chapters devoted to focal composers; influence of the Lied on other musical genres; use as a musical commodity and issues of performance. The volume includes a chronology and a comprehensive bibliography.

This guide to the orchestra and orchestral life combines orchestral repertory history with critical thought. It includes topics such as the art of orchestration, scorereading, conducting, international orchestras, recording, and becoming an orchestral musician, educator or informed listener.

This collection of specially commissioned essays on one of the most influential opera composers is divided into four parts, each exploring an important element of Rossini's work and his world. Chapters by specialists chart the course of Rossini's life and career through analysis of his reception; operatic texts and non-operatic works; and the individual works: Tancredi, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Semiramide, and Guillaume Tell.

This Companion provides an up-to-date introduction to the life and music of Finland's greatest composer, Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Divided into four sections, it explores Sibelius's early career, his major musical achievements, historical reception and influence, and the performance and interpretation of his work. Sibelius emerges as one of the most striking figures in twentieth-century music. The book will be of interest to performers and the general public as well as serious scholars.