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An Annotated Bibliography of Guitar Methods, 1760-1860: An Annotated Bibliography by Erik Stenstadvold, General Editor: Ardal Powell (Organologia: Instruments and Performance Practice Series, No. 4: Pendragon Press) In 1825, the French guitarist Charles de Marescot wrote in the introduction to his Methode de Guitare that "there is perhaps no other instrument for which there have been published so many methods as for the guitar". Marescot's observation appears to be correct: the present bibliography lists more than 300 different tutors by some 200 authors, published during approximately one hundred years, c.17601860; if re-issues and new editions are counted, the number of methods exceeds 400. This is a considerably larger number of tutors than for the piano or violin, and a surprising record for an instrument often considered second-rate by the musical establishment.
The period 1760-1860 is not arbitrarily chosen. The middle of the eighteenth century represents an important break in the history of the guitar in that staff notation was introduced in place of tablature. Accordingly, this survey begins with the very first guitar methods in staff notation, published in Paris in the late 1750s. Although the end point, 1860, does not represent a similar milestone, a termination date had to be set, and one hundred years is in itself a well-defined period. Equally important, however, is that from the middle of the nineteenth century the guitar fell more and more into oblivion as a serious instrument: it became mostly associated with popular songs and light music. Most of the relatively few tutors that were published after 1860 reflect that sad state of affairs. With their limited scope, they are generally of less interest to guitarists and guitar historians of today. More

Tuning the Soul: Music As a Spiritual Process in the Teachings of Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav by Chani Haran Smith  (IJS Studies in Judaica: Brill Academic) is an in-depth study of the function of music in religious experience according to Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav. It provides new insights on his unique doctrine of the “Good Points”, which represent the core of loving kindness and holiness in the human soul, and the musical context in which they become both a means and a metaphor for spiritual transformation. Drawing on midrashic and kabbalistic sources, the book explores Nahman’s perception of different types of “tzadiqim” (religious leaders), including himself, and the special role music plays in their leadership. It highlights the importance of creativity and renewal in the messianic process that involves both music and loving kindness. All those interested in key aspects of Nahman of Bratzlav’s world view and self-perception, the place and transforming power of music in human life, spirituality and religious leadership. More

Beethoven's Tempest Sonata: Perspectives of Analysis and Performance edited by P. Berge, W.E. Caplin, and J. D'hoe (Analysis In Context. Leuven Studies In Musicology: Peeters) For music analysts and performers alike, Beethoven's Tempest sonata (1802) represents one of the most challenging pieces of the classical and early romantic piano repertoire. This book is a collection of eleven essays, each dealing with this sonata from a different analytical perspective and investigating the possible connections between music analysis and the practice of performance. Under the editorship of Pieter Berge, Jeroen D'hoe and William E. Caplin, the book presents essays by Scott Burnham (hermeneutics), Poundie Burstein (Schenkerian approach), Kenneth Hamilton (history of performance), Robert Hatten (semiotics), James Hepokoski (Sonata Theory), William Kinderman (source studies), William Rothstein (tempo, rhythm, and meter), Douglas Seaton (narratology), Steven Vande Moortele (20th-century Formenlehre) and the editors themselves (motivic analysis and form-functional approach respectively). More

Music for Ear Training (with CD-ROM): CD-ROM and Workbook 3rd Edition [Spiral-bound]by Michael Horvit, Timothy Koozin, and Robert Nelson,  (Schirmer) When it comes to improving ear training and listening skills, choose the standard in ear training instruction.Taking a hybrid approach, the workbook and CD deliver a wealth of practical material designed to help you quickly improve your listening and ear training skills. The dual-format CD-ROM provides an easy-to-use interface for listening with varied general MIDI instrumental sounds. The dictation repertoire includes basic rudiments (intervals, chords, and scales), melodies, four-part harmonic settings, and varied textures from musical literature. More

Music for Sight Singing 5th edition[Spiral-bound] by Thomas E. Benjamin, Michael Horvit, Robert S. Nelson (Schirmer) Designed for the "musicianship" portion of the freshman theory sequence presents music that is carefully chosen to challenge--not overwhelm--the student.
Ease into sight singing, with this accessible text that offers an array of beginning-level pieces designed to build your musicianship skills and your confidence at the same time. The authors' multifaceted approach includes a variety of examples, exercises, and musical genres that ensure well-rounded skill development, from simple rhythms and melodies to duets and canons. More 

Original Hot Five Recordings of Louis Armstrong , includes audio CD by Gene Henry Anderson and Michael J. Budds (CMS Sourcebooks in American Music: Pendragon Press) Between 1925 and 1928 the Hot Five the incomparable Louis Armstrong and four seasoned practitioners of the burgeoning jazz style recorded fifty-five performances in Chicago for the OKeh label. Oddly enough, the quintet immortalized on vinyl with recent technology rarely performed as a unit in local nightspots. And yet, like other music now regarded as especially historic, their work in the studio summarized approaches of the past and set standards for the future.
Remarkable both for popularity among the members of the public and for influence on contemporary musicians, these recordings helped make "Satchmo" a familiar household name and ultimately its bearer an adored public figure. They showcased Armstrong's genius, notably his leadership in transforming the practice of jazz as an ensemble improvisation into jazz as the art of the improvising soloist.
In his study Professor Anderson-for the first time-provides a detailed account of the origins of this pioneering enterprise, relates individual pieces to existing copyright deposits, and contextualizes the music by offering a reliable timeline of Armstrong's professional activities during these years. All fifty-five pieces, moreover, are described in informed commentary. More

The Orpehus Myth and the Powers of Music by Vladimir Marchenkov (Interplay: Music in Interdisciplinary Dialogue: Pendragon) examines the key turning points in the history of the Orpheus myth as factors that shaped, and continues to shape, our conceptions of music's powers. From its beginnings in archaic Antiquity to the latest major opera based on it, the story of Orpheus and Eurydice has been used by poets, philosophers, and musicians to express an increasingly complex set of ideas about what music can do. The study follows three threads in the myth's history: changes in form, cultural status, and the resulting visions of the powers of song.
The most spectacular change in form is the role played by Eurydice who evolves from a generic, voiceless type into a rich music-philosophical symbol. Equally fascinating is the entangled issue of Orpheus's success and failure. In terms of cultural status, the story remains a genuine myth—even alongside its non-mythical forms—until the early modern period. Modernity problematizes the existence of myth but its mythophobia becomes a symptom of its own profound irrationality. Accordingly, the powers of music evolve from mythic omnipotence to screaming contradictions that demand, but fail to achieve, resolution. From Monteverdi and Striggio-to Birtwistle and Zinovieff, composers and librettists turn to Orpheus and Eurydice to express their sense of music's place in human existence. The undulating tapestry of their strikingly diverse answers points to the need to rethink, once again, the fundamentals of our musical culture. More

Beethoven's Orpheus Concerto: The Fourth Piano Concerto in Its Cultural Context by Owen Jander (North American Beethoven Studies: Pendragon) Beethoven composed his Fourth Piano Concerto in Vienna in the years 1803-06. In that period there was an unusually keen interest in the Orpheus legend; and so it is not surprising to learn that all three movements ... were undeclaredly—or better described, secretly—based on that famous story." So begins Owen Jander's Beethoven's "Orpheus" Concerto: The Fourth Piano Concerto in its Cultural Context. In this fascinating and controversial book, the author maintains—echoing the interpretation first suggested by Adolph Berhard Marx in 1859—that the three movements are based on the Classical versions of the Orpheus legend by Virgil and Ovid. Jander tells us the full story—from the opening phrase of the first movement to the last measure of the finale—of how the Orpheus legend informs every note of Beethoven's music. More

Music in Youth Culture: A Lacanian Approach by Jan Jagodzinski (Palgrave Macmillan) (Paperback) examines the fantasies of post-Oedipal youth cultures as displayed on the landscape of popular music from a post-Lacanian perspective. jagodzinski, an expert on Lacan, psychoanalysis, and education's relationship to media, maintains that a new set of signifiers is required to grasp the sliding signification of contemporary "youth." He discusses topics such as the figurality of noise, the perversions of the music scene by boyz/bois/boys and the hysterization of it by gurlz/girls/grrrls. Music in Youth Culture also examines the postmodern "fan(addict)", techno music, and pop music icons. Jagodzinski raises the Lacanian question of "an ethics of the Real" and asks educators to re-examine "youth" culture. More

Nicolas Slonimsky: Writings on Music (Four Volumes) by Nicolas Slonimsky, edited by Electra Slonimsky Yourke (Routledge) Nicolas Slonimsky (1894-1995) was an influential and celebrated writer on music. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1894, in his 101 years he taught and coached music; conducted the premieres of several 20th century masterpieces; composed works for piano and voice; and oversaw the 5th-8th editions of the classic Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Beginning in 1926, Slonimsky resided in the United States. From his arrival, he wrote provocative articles on contemporary music and musicians, many of whom were his personal friends. Working as a freelance author, he built a large file of reviews, articles, and even manuscripts for books that were never published. This collection brings together the cream of this material in 4 volumes. More

Exploring The Musical Mind: Cognition, Emotion, Ability, Function by John Sloboda (Oxford University Press) (Hardcover) In the 20 years since publication of John Sloboda's landmark volume The Musical Mind, music psychology has developed as a vibrant area of research - exerting influence on areas as diverse as music education and cognitive neuroscience. This new book brings together 24 selected essays and reviews written by an internationally acclaimed authority on music and the mind. Chapters are grouped into four main areas of study. These are, cognitive processes (including music reading, memory and performance), emotion and motivation, talent and skill development, and music in the real world (including functions of music in everyday life and culture). The book ends with a newly written chapter on music psychology and social benefits. The books brings together in one place a range of influential writings, whose links to one another provide a compendious overview of a subject that has come to maturity during the author's career, a career which has significantly contributed to the development of the field. More

Baroque Music by John Walter Hill (Norton Introduction to Music History: W. W. Norton & Company) In this colorful and comprehensive history of music during the Baroque period, John Hill illustrates how social, political, and cultural forces contributed to the development of Baroque musical styles and conventions. This text provides a balanced, well-illustrated account of the music from all decades of the seventeenth century and from all national cultures in western Europe. Excerpt: Music takes its place in The Norton Introduction to Music History series between the volumes entitled Renaissance Music and Classical Music, already published. Thus its scope and its title were determined by the overall plan of the series. The title is a conventional way to refer to the period marked off by the years 1580–1750 and limited to the high-culture art music tradition of Western Europe. More

People and Pianos: A Pictorial History of Steinway and Sons by Theodore E. Steinway (Amadeus Press) This is the story of how the Steinway piano came to be the instrument of choice for the world's greatest pianists. In 1953, Theodore Steinway wrote this narrative in longhand on yellow legal pads as a tribute to his father and to commemorate the first 100 years of Steinway and Sons. The book was a memento for employees and was never released to the public. This revised edition brings the history of this remarkable company to the present day through recollections of Henry E. Steinway, the last family member to remain involved with the company, and Peter Goodrich, vice president of concert and artist relations, who has been with the company for 30 years. In 1850, Henry Engelhard Steinway left Germany for New York City and established what was to become the standard of excellence in the piano world. Using photographs and anecdotes, this book chronicles the business from its beginnings through the Depression, when many piano manufacturers went out of business, through World War II, when the company was forbidden to make pianos, and through the advent of modern technology. Through it all the Steinway piano has prevailed as a symbol of quality. The Steinway artist roster is a living tribute to the company and its pianos. More than 1300 performers have publicly endorsed the Steinway because they believe in the quality of the instrument and will only play and perform on a Steinway.  More

The Classical Music Experience: Discover the Music of the World's Greatest Composers by by Julius H. Jacobson (Sourcebooks Mediafusion) This book is intended for those with little or no knowledge of classical music. As a surgeon, and not even an amateur musician, my only qualification is that I have been an avid listener of classical music since my teens. It has been one of the great pleas­ures of my life. I believe this to be the first book of its kind—largely a discussion of a beginning basic repertoire (those compositions most often heard at orchestral or chamber music concerts) with excerpts of each on the accompanying compact discs. The knowledge and personal experience of the listener inevitably colors their reac­tions to music. I have shared mine with you along with some medical stories and trivialities that I think you will enjoy. The lives of the composers are inextricably bound up with their work. When you remember that Beethoven was deaf when he wrote his Ninth Symphony, and that Brahms was in love with Schumann's wife, something extra is brought to the learning experience. You listen differently, and that listening is enriched! More

The Billboard Encyclopedia of Classical Music edited by Stanley Sadie (Billboard) Classical music finally has the reference it deserves: Authoritative, expertly written, and all-inclusive, The Billboard Encyclopedia of Classical Music is a comprehensive, affordable companion to a timeless genre. More

The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Opera edited by Stanley Sadie, Jane Bellingham (Billboard Books)  One of the most exciting and enduring forms of entertainment, opera has given rise to countless passions over the centuries. Inspiring a mixture of joy, rage, hope and despair in its audiences, as they engage with the characters through the combination of poetic libretto, beautiful singing and evocative music, the versatility of opera has seen it grow from a simple court entertainment to a complex art form which, for many, holds an almost spiritual significance. More

Meyerbeer Studies: A Series Of Lectures, Essays, And Articles On The Life And Work Of Giacomo Meyerbeer by Robert Ignatius Letellier (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press) This collection of essays investigates the life and the work of Giacomo Meyerbeer, the most famous exponent of French grand opera. They are both introductory and exploratory, biographical, analytical, and comparative studies in the achievement of this great figure of musical history. More

Adler's Orchestration

The Study of Orchestration, Third Edition by Samuel Adler (W.W. Norton); Study of Orchestration Enhanced CDs: Third Edition by Samuel Adler and Peter Hesterman, 6 CD-ROMs (W.W. Norton); Workbook for the Study of Orchestration by Samuel Adler (W.W. Norton) The third edition of this high successful orchestration text follows the approach established in its innovative predecessor: Learning orchestration is best achieved through familiarity with the orchestral literature; this familiarity is most effectively accomplished from the music notation in combination with the recorded sound. The text has been revised to reflect the most informed reactions to the first and second editions, as well as Professor Adler's revisions. For comprehensiveness, conciseness, and contemporaneity, The Study of Orchestration remains without peer.

Workbook for the Study of Orchestration is a usefulcompanion though it is uneven in its treatment of instrument sets. The serious student of orchestration and all musicians who want to become familiar with the process of "sounds" in the orchestra (symphony/small ensembles) as well as video presentations of string, woodwind, brass, percussion instruments will find the Study of Orchestration Enhanced CDs of exceptional utility. It become a useful way to develop through listening and writing practice, the "mind's ear and eye" relationships when scoring and getting music down in score paper. The workbook/text book/CD edtion combination is the helpful for orientation before actual classroom instruction. This work will enhance the study and learning process for the professional musican. An essential reference tool for the Composer and Orchestrator - I've read the second edition cover to cover, and dipped into it for information almost every week. This orchestration text works exceptionally well with the accompanying set of 6 CD's and Workbook. This is the more expensive package, but it will literally last a lifetime. With the CDs, you gain an aural idea of the sound or orchestral phenomenon that the musical examples and wording is trying to explain. For the young composer, this is a wonderful thing, as it builds up a collection of sounds in the imagination with which to composer, like a palette with which to paint. The Study of Orchestration has up-to-date orchestral technique, including comprehensive natural harmonics charts for strings, a contemporary notation guide, giving possible notation for microtones, distortion, white noise, and 'highest point on a string'-noteheads, etc.

Most of the instrumentation examples and orchestral extracts have a corresponding CD track, an immediate education for your musical ear. The 6 CDs make this book unique. I especially value this book for its Natural Harmonics charts which give the required string, node and resultant pitch for Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass. I consult these charts all the time. Recommended.

Author introduction: While I was working on the first edition of The Study of Orchestration, I was asked to give a lecture to a convention of composers on the subject. I titled my lecture "Where To, Now?" and brashly previewed what music of the 1980s and 1990s would be like. My prophecy, which I thought brilliant at the time, missed the mark completely; my prognostications have come back to haunt me over these past twenty‑odd years.

In 1979, I stated that music of the last quarter of the twentieth century would be even more complex and ever more experimental than in the decades since World War II. New methods of notation would be devised, new instruments would be invented, and possibly even new concert spaces would be created to accommodate the cataclysmic changes that I predicted would occur.

It is indeed an understatement to say that my soothsaying was dead wrong. In fact, the music composed during the last two decades is distinguished by a new simplicity‑a new love affair with a romantic, quite user‑friendly, and sometimes even popular style. I am not implying that all composers everywhere in the world now adhere to this formula; certainly many distinguished composers are still perpetuating the more complex traditions of our century, but generally the most‑performed younger composers use a much less stringent musical vocabulary to express their ideas.

A similar situation exists in the realm of orchestration. Although new notation and extended instrumental techniques were all the rage from the midtwentieth century through the middle 1970s, a more traditional approach to the orchestra seems to have regained a foothold, despite all of the previous focus on experimentation. A good case in point is the work of the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, who as one of the leaders of the postwar avant garde forged a powerfully new orchestral sound. Penderecki s orchestral works since the early 1970s can be characterized by their Romantic, almost Sibelius‑like orchestral writing. This is not a critical statement but rather one of fact. Younger composers, especially those in America , have profited greatly from experimentation with unusual playing techniques and their own experience with electronic music, but their love of the traditional orchestra and its early twentiethcentury masters (Mahler, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Bartok, and others) has perhaps influenced their orchestral expression even more. Where will these composers ultimately be heading? Where will the generation after them end up? It's anybody's guess.

 Having had the opportunity to examine dozens of orchestral scores by suc­cessful young composers several times a year, I find that their use of the orches­tra is both imaginative and effective. It also demonstrates their thorough knowl­edge of the traditional orchestral literature. These composers have indirectly served as the inspiration behind . The Study of Orchestration since its first edition; the book's goal has been to help as many students as possible achieve the suc­cesses that these young composers have achieved. The third edition has several new features designed to make this happen. Although most composition students may have a constantly expanding knowledge of the orchestral repertory, the average music student attending a school of higher learning may not. I have learned, in my own teaching as well as from the remarks of colleagues, that a tremendous gap exists between what the average music student should knew about even the most traditional orchestral repertoire and what they actually do. As a partial remedy I have added many more works to the lists of additional pieces for study at the ends of chapters (in most cases whole movements or entire works). I would like to advise instructors to give listening assignments over and above the regular orchestration projects that are found in the workbook. Only by listening and getting to know the repertory will a student sharpen his or her ear for orchestral sounds, and I believe that this listening component will help students expand their entire musical horizon.

This new edition retains many standard excerpts from the orchestral literature, as well as copious examples from twentieth‑century orchestral literature. The new edition cites many more references than the past two did to newer orchestral works, from which the experienced orchestrator will be able to glean valuable information.

As always, I have profited greatly from the suggestions and criticisms of many colleagues and other individuals. The chapters on the trombone, the harp, and the orchestral percussion section have been expanded, and the discussions of several string techniques, such as harmonics, which have presented problems for many students, have been clarified. In the Workbook for the Study of Orchestration quite a few new excerpts have been added and a great many substitutions have been made in works to be orchestrated.

One of the most significant changes is the accompanying Study of Orchestration Enhanced CDs, which not only contains recordings of all the music excerpts found in the book but also a CD‑ROM program that enables students to access professional‑quality videos of each instrument and instrumental technique used in the standard orchestra. The CD‑ROM also allows students to test themselves on a number of topics and helps them make more informed "orchestrational" choices by working through several different reorchestrations of well‑known orchestral works by Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, and Mahler. The reorchestration modules challenge students to apply their growing knowledge and individual taste to larger issues of orchestration. I hope that this kind of exercise will produce lively class discussions and encourage instructors and students to develop similar types of exercises. The CD‑ROM also contains composer biographies that focus on their particular methods of orchestration and that draw examples from their important orchestral works.

Since music is the art of sound, every topic connected with its study has to do with training the ear. To me, the technique of orchestration entails the abilities to hear instrumental sounds individually and collectively and to transfer these sounds into written notation as accurately and clearly as possible. The two distinct parts of this book go a long way toward accomplishing this goal.

Part One, Instrumentation, may be thought of as the rudiments of orchestration. The purpose of each chapter in Part One is to enable the stud?
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�29�:��~�A�V3�f����<|.�i������ ��d/� �j���2<�>���2�N�Ѡ0D���izTu��e2h����h�����9�i������ ��d/� �j���2<�>���2�N�Ѡ0D���izTu��e2h����h�����9��MO���V��N��end of Chapter 19 I have supplied a suggested listening list of twenty‑five works for wind ensemble, which may help the student learn how to score for that ensemble.

The appendices offer a quick reference chart of the ranges and transpositions of each instrument discussed in the book, as well as an up‑to‑date annotated bibliography of books on orchestration, notation, individual instruments, and electronic music. Concerning ranges, I have differentiated between the full (professional) ranges and those most often used by nonprofessionals, students, or amateurs. Appendix A also includes the names of orchestral instruments in four languages, their English abbreviations, and some frequently used orchestral terms in tabular format.

Even though I have omitted an extended discussion of electronic instruments in the body of the book rather than give superficial generalizations, I believe these instruments are of tremendous importance in today's sonic landscape. Therefore, in Appendix B I have provided a list of important books and periodicals in which these instruments are discussed. I recommend these books especially to the reader interested in popular and rock music.

Music in European Capitals: The Galant Style, 1720-1780 by Daniel Heartz (W.W. Norton) This second volume of the trilogy that began with the author's Haydan, Mozart, and the Viennese School, 1740-1780, takes a musical tour of Naples, Venice, Dresden, Berlin, Stuttgart, Mannheim and Paris. The text discusses how the galant style held sway in Europe for much of the 18th century. Composer's whose works and surroundings are considered include: Pergolesi, Vivaldi, C.P.E. Bach, Stamitz, Rameau, Gretry, Gluck and J.C. Bach. This book explores the events of Europe 's major capitals during a period of intense musical change.

Music in European Capitals continues the study of the eighteenth century begun in Haydan, Mozart, and the Viennese School, 1740-1780 (1995) by focusing on the capital cities other than Vienna that were most important in the creation and diffusion of new music. It tells of events in Naples, where Vinci and Pergolesi went beyond their pre-172o models to cultivate opera in a simpler, more direct manner, soon after christened the galant style. No less central was Venice, where Vivaldi perfected the concerto, on which were patterned the early symphonies and the newer kind of sonata. Dresden profited first from all these achievements and became, under Hasse's direction, the foremost center of Italian opera in Germany. Mannheim with its great orchestra did much to shape the modern symphony. A few years later, Paris became para­mount, especially for its Opera-Comique; dur­ing the 1770s the Opera provided Gluck with a stage on which`to cap his long international career. The book concludes with a description of Christian Bach in London, Paisiello in Saint Petersburg, and Boccherini in Madrid.

This long-awaited book offers a view of eighteenth-century music that is broad and inno­vative while remaining sensitive to the values of those times and places. One comes away from it with an understanding of the European context behind the triumphs of Haydn and Mozart.

Lavishly illustrated with music examples and reproductions, both in black-and-white and color, this master study will be of inestimable importance to scholars, cultural historians, performers, and all music lovers.  

Haydan, Mozart, and the Viennese School, 1740-1780 Heartz conducts a tour of musical Vienna during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa that involves meeting, besides the principals--Haydn and Mozart--the court composers and musicians who influenced them. To celebrate the name days of the members of the royal court and to otherwise entertain, Wagenseil (trailblazer for Haydn), Ditters, Salieri, and Gluck all composed symphonies, concerti, chamber music, theater works, operas, oratorios, and incidental music for plays. Heartz offers short biographies of these court composers and, sprinkling the text with examples from the period's major musical works, delineates the progress of musical form and style upon which Haydn and Mozart built. The survey peaks with Haydn, first in Vienna , then at Esterhaza, advancing the musical art of his predecessors, and ends with Mozart, who revered Haydn's compositions. Conductively to a journey that is both enjoyable and enlightening, Heartz writes in an easily read style. { 

Beethoven 

Beethoven`s Piano Sonatas: A Short Companion by Charles Rosen (Yale University) Rosen, whose legendary books of music criticism are among the most lucid and valuable in print; The Classical Style and Critical Entertainments were wide-ranging looks at music history., has produced yet another outstanding work: a performer's guide to Beethoven's piano sonatas. Beethoven's piano sonatas form one of the most important collections of works in the whole history of music. Spanning several decades of his life as a composer, the sonatas soon came to be seen as the first body of substantial serious works for piano suited to performance in large concert halls seating hundreds of people. In this comprehensive and authoritative guide, Charles Rosen places the works in context and provides an understanding of the formal principles involved in interpreting and performing this unique repertoire, covering such aspects as sonata form, phrasing, and tempo, as well as the use of pedal and trills. In the second part of his book, he looks at the sonatas individually, from the earliest works of the 1790s through the sonatas of Beethoven's youthful popularity of the early 1800s, the subsequent years of mastery, the years of stress (1812–1817), and the last three sonatas of the 1820s. Composed as much for private music-making as public recital, Beethoven's sonatas have long formed a bridge between the worlds of the salon and the concert hall. For today's audience, Rosen has written a guide that brings out the gravity, passion, and humor of these works and will enrich the appreciation of a wide range of readers, whether listeners, amateur musicians, or professional pianists.

Rosen divides the book into two equal parts. In the first, "Formal Principles," he discusses the musical elements of phrasing, tempo, and articulation as they pertain to all 32 sonatas. This is an enormously useful section, accompanied by copious musical examples, which the author himself illustrates on the companion CD. The second part deals with the sonatas individually. Here, Rosen departs from the traditional practice of dividing Beethoven's output into three large stylistic divisions: an early, a middle, and a late period. He argues as does pianist/author Robert Taub in his recent Playing the Beethoven Piano Sonatas and in the liner notes to his five-volume set of the complete piano sonatas for a more precise delineation of five categories, though his differs markedly from Taub's. Rosen labels his divisions "18th Century Sonatas" (Op. 2-22), "Youthful Popularity" (Op. 26-28), "The Years of Mastery" (Op. 31-81a), "The Years of Stress" (Op. 90-106), and "The Last Sonatas" (Op. 109-111). The text is rich in detail, and Rosen's prose is typically graceful and embracing. All admirers of this repertory will gain much from this book.

Playing the Beethoven Piano Sonatas by Robert Taub (Amadeus Press) For anyone who plays the piano, Beethoven's 32 sonatas loom as the mighty peak of the repertoire. Taub, a concert pianist who has played them all, gives a performer's-eye view of the experience. Taub sets the tone on the first page by declaring that pianists enter into "an implied moral contract" with the composer to understand and respect his intentions. What follows is a close, careful reading of every aspect of performance from fingering to tempo. Like Rosen, Taub does not follow the standard division of the sonatas, opting instead to describe them as "Epitomizing Classical Styles" (Op. 2-49), "Experimentation" (Op. 26-31), "Post-Heiligenstadt, Crossing the Rubicon" (Op. 53-57), "Compression, Homogeneity" (Op. 78-81a), and "Summation, Transcendence" (Op. 90-111). These are thoughtfully construed categories, but Taub is more persuasive when arguing that each sonata is unique, and the most fascinating part of the book for any performer is the division of the sonatas into nine distinctive programs (this reviewer finds the Tempest/Hammerklavier combination especially intriguing). Throughout, Taub is intelligent, informed, exhaustive (74 musical examples grace the text), and genial if sometimes a bit dry. Definitely a performer's guide (Rosen's study will probably work better for larger audiences), this is highly recommended for any library serving pianists, amateur or professional, who want to play Beethoven better.

Pianist's Landscape by Carol Montparker (Amadeus Press) Carol Montparker writes with insight, warmth, and sensitivity. She has great feeling for the difficulties and rewards of the pianist's vocation. She expresses appreciation to the famous pianists she has interviewed for Clavier Magazine, and yet she speaks of her students with respect, also. Her insights into the challenges facing a pianist and her reverence for the art form make this book eminently worth reading. She relates her experiences with music and people in a thoroughly engaging way. She begins with comments on her love of nature, how she works, and how music is a comfort, and with letters and mementos. She continues with her experiences giving recitals and comments on audiences, preparation, and her love for chamber music. Turning next to her love for teaching and to teaching's rewards, she also describes her techniques for drawing the best from her students. Finally, she talks about her many interviews with famous pianists and the difficulties she had with those interviews. Returning home in the last essay, she longs for "the music of thrushes, Bach, Carolina wrens, Beethoven." Her essays will be enjoyed not by musicians only, but by all music lovers who want to be swept away by an honest and warm description of an artist's life and its trials and rewards.