The Lives of the Great Composers

Posted on 23 February 2017 by Harold C. Schonberg

In this new edition, Harold Schonberg offers music lovers a series of fascinating biographical chapters Music, the author contends, is a continually evolving art, and all geniuses, unique as they are, were influenced by their predecessors Schonberg discusses the lives and works of the foremost figures in classical music, among them Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, the Schumanns, Copland, and Stravinsky, weaving a fabric rich in detail and anecdote He also includes the creators of light music, such as Gilbert and Sullivan and the Strausses.Schonberg has extended the volume s coverage to provide informative and clearly written descriptions of the later serialists such as Stockhausen and Carter, the iconoclastic John Cage, the individualistic Messiaen, minimalist composers, the new tonalists, and women composers of all eras, including Mendelssohn Hensel, Chaminade, Smyth, Beach, and Zwilich Scattered throughout are many changes and additions reflecting musicological findings of the past fifteen years. New Download The Lives of the Great Composers [ By ] Harold C. Schonberg [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr A good introduction to classical composers, but this guy gets unnecessarily catty at times, and if you re new to classical music and impressionable you may want to be wary of letting Schoenberg sway you against certain composers Another thing to consider pare this book with a premium Spotify subscription and you can build playlists to match what you re reading, without having to drop huge wads of money operas can get expensive Also, as you approach the late 19th century, consider augmentin A good introduction to classical composers, but this guy gets unnecessarily catty at times, and if you re new to classical music and impressionable you may want to be wary of letting Schoenberg sway you against certain composers Another thing to consider pare this book with a premium Spotify subscription and you can build playlists to match what you re reading, ...I rarely read biography, especially biographies of writers and other artists I assume anything worth knowing about them is in their art, that the source of their creativity is a different self from the person the artists friends and family and public know Also, artists are notoriously mistaken about themselves You could even say they know themselves less well than does the average person who would nothink of writing a poem or a symphony than s he would sign up to take a trip to the moo I rarely read biograp...Highly recommended This is one of my favorite books I used to own the 1st edition when I was a 20 something, but it was lost along the way I found this 3rd edition just recently and have loved revisiting these chapters.The value is the 10 15 page chapters devoted to each composer None o...5 13 read chapter 8, poet of music, franz schubert there s this whole bit about how beethoven was in vogue during much of schubert s life, and, despite a ridiculously huge and enormously beautiful catalog of music, was totally underappreciated during his life he died in 1828 it follows that it was robert schumann who unearthed schubert s ninth symphony, the great c major schumann had known of its existence and on new year s day of 1839 he visited schubert s brother ferdinand, who sho 5 13 read chapter 8, poet of music, franz schubert there s this whole bit about how beethoven was in vogue during much of schubert s life, and, despite a ridiculously huge and enormously beautiful catalog of music, was totally underappreciated during his life he died in 1828 it follows that it was robert schumann who unearthed schubert s ninth symphony, the great c major schumann had known of its existence and on new year s day of 1839 he visited schubert s brother ferdinand, who showed him piles of manuscripts ferdinand allowed schumann to depart with the scor of the c major symphony, and on march 29, 1839, mendelssohn conducted the world premiere in leipzig there is some evidence that the work was tried out in vienna in 1828, under schubert s supervision, and was shelved as being too difficult in a letter to clara wieck, schumann raved about the score it is not possible to describe it to you all the instruments are human voices it is gifted beyond measu...This is a very well written, informative overview of some of the most important composers of the Western tradition, from Bach to Webern Schonberg has the power to make the same bare facts of a particular composer s life that I ve read before in CD liner notes or reference book entries take on real drama and significance, without distorting the facts He writes well about music, succeeding in conveying the experience of the various pieces discussed without growing stale or sounding pretentious This is a very well written, informative overview of some of the most important composers of the Western tradition, from Bach to Webern Schonberg has the power to make the same bare facts of a particular composer s life that I ve read before in CD liner notes or reference book entries take on real drama and significance, without distorting the facts He writes well about music, succeeding in conveying the experience of the various pieces discussed without growing stale or sounding pretentious However, I do not always agree with him He is downright wrong about M...We are in contact with a mind, and we must attempt an identification with that mind This is Schonberg s stance on understanding music Music cannot be divorced from the mind that created it It is not simply structural or harmonic analysis So Schonberg attempts to relate to each composer and the world and culture that produced him as well as the make and personality that lent itself to the creation of classical music Therefore, it is largely biographical, in contrast with The Great Pianists We are in contact with a mind, and we must attempt an identification with that mind This is Schonberg s stance on understanding music Music cannot be divorced from ...This is a fantastic book, thoroughly researched, lucidly written and highly entertaining It contains details on the lives of all the great composers and many of theobscure ones as well The composer Charles Ives became one of my heroes after reading this One of my friends is currently writing an instructional book on playing the guitar titled, How to Become a Guitar Player from Hell, and he told me this book really inspired him and also influenced some of the musical ideas he decided to This is a fantastic book, thoroughly researched, lucidly written and highly entertaining It contains details on the lives of all the great composers and many of theobscure ones as well The composer Charles Ives became one of my heroes after reading this One of my friends is currently writing an instructional book on pla...I ve been reading this book to bits for decades now an earlier edition The only reservation I have about Schonberg is that he didn t always write about the composers themselves with respect But all his sins...I couldn t enjoy the book Although it was written in a slightly charming style, I found the author rather subjective and judgmental I don t know if this is the proper way to get people into the history of music, with journalistic idiosyncrasies.This witty and fascinating march through history didn t cure me of my hate for classical music in fact it reinforced my belief that these highbrow genres were always made by and for European or Europhile religious, political, and economic elites Yet it did grant me not only understanding and knowledge, but lots of gossip, dirt, rebellion, and insanity to chew on next time I deride classical as music for serial killers An excellent book, recommended for everyone everywhere even haters This witty ...

English
23 February 2017

Harold C. Schonberg