Author Martin Roach reveals how the band members met, played their early gigs, financed their own early EPs and how, with four hit albums under their belt; they still continue to maintain a tight degree of control over their output.
This superb new collection of photographs shows a fascinating variety of blues, folk and rock performers as they appeared at events across North America during the second half of the 20th century.
Seven years after their unprecedented arrival in the UK, The Kings of Leon are finally making a name for themselves overseas. This biography of Kings of Leon presents their history.
This book is the first comprehensive study of the music and career of contemporary composer Kaija Saariaho. Born in Finland in 1952, Saariaho received her early musical training at the Sibelius Academy, where her close circle included composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. She has since become internationally known and recognized for her operas ......
Without London band Wire, punk rock might never have developed beyond primitive three-chord thrash and cliched songs. This book tells the story of this crucial transitional band, from their early days dodging hostile crowds, up to their split in 1981 and beyond their mid-80s return and their various solo projects.
Rudolf Friml (1879-1972) is best known as the composer of romantic 1920s operettas. Beginning in 1912 he wrote music in different styles for Broadway, and in 1914, along with Irving Berlin and Victor Herbert, he became a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Skilled at evoking far-away times and ......
Dudley Buck (1839-1909) was a composer, conductor, and music teacher who helped establish the organ in American musical life. N. Lee Orr's introduction to Buck's life and career details his stint as teacher to Charles Ives, organ recital tours around the Midwest, and work composing music for church organs. His Grand Sonata in E Flat became a great ......
An Australian, Malcolm Williamson was the first non-Briton to hold the post of Master of the Queen's Music. He was appointed in 1975 as a composer. By the time of his death in 2003 he was unproductive and largely forgotten. This work tells his story, sifting fact from fiction and offering a case for re-evaluating this multi-talented musician.
John Sibelius was considered Finland's greatest composer, one of the most distinctive and appealing musical voices in the first half of the 20th century. His example led to an unprecedented cultural flowering in his homeland. This book examines over 80 orchestral pieces, from his songs and choruses to symphonies, overtures, and theatrical music.
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) is an American icon. Most famous for his military marches, the composer bandmaster led a disciplined group of devoted musicians on numerous American tours and around the world, shaping a new cultural landscape. Paul Bierley has spent forty years documenting every aspect of the ''March King's'' band: its history, its ......
Provides an analysis of Dmitri Shostakovich's 21 symphonies and concertos, work by work, explaining not just why they are significant documents of their time and place, but why they are great music. This work offers readers an understanding of why Shostakovich's music enjoys the support of performers and listeners alike.
Since its original publication, Composing a World by Leta E. Miller and Fredric Lieberman has become the definitive work on the prolific California composer Lou Harrison, often cited as one of America's most original and influential figures. Composing a World presents a compelling and deeply human portrait of an exceptionally beloved pioneer in ......
Colin McPhee was a performer, writer, and pioneer among Western composers in turning to Asia for inspiration. A close friend of Aaron Copland, Carlos Chavez, Henry Cowell, and Virgil Thomson, he played a vital role in new music activities in New York in the 1920s, but his most important accomplishments came from his devotion to the music of Bali. ......
Garry O'Connor's critically acclaimed biography, now expanded and revised, is a warm and revealing portrait of an actor famous not only for his acting gifts but for his eccentric charm. Drawing on archives of the Old Vic and on many conversations with Sir Ralph and those around him, O'Connor has not only chronicled the events of a long, ......
Here is a skillful tracing of two tracks in the evolution of musical genres that have evolved from black religion. Songs of protest developed from the spiritual through social-gospel hymnody to culminate in songs of the civil-rights movement and the blues. Born in rebellion, they envision the Kingdom of God. Songs of praise, by contrast, ......