Ten masterpieces of music / Harvey Sachs.
| Author/creator | Sachs, Harvey, 1946- author. |
| Format | Book |
| Edition | First edition. |
| Publication | New York : Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W. W. Norton & Company, 2021. |
| Description | xvi, 366 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Subjects |
| Variant title | 10 masterpieces of music |
| Contents | Part I. 1789: Before and after. Il catalogo e questo: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17, in G Major for Piano and Orchestra, K. 453 (1784) ; His Imperial Highness's sore finger: Ludwig van Beethoven: Trio in B- flat Major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 97, "Archduke" (1811) -- Part II. The romantic century. A quartet that's about nothing: Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 15 in G Major, Op. posth. 161, D. 887 (1826) ; In the wondrously disturbing month of May ; Robert Schumann: Dichterliebe (Poet's Love), Op. 48 (1840) ; A monument reimagined ; Hector Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust : Légende dramatique, Op. 24 (1846) ; The crown, the cross, and the cruelty of love: Giuseppe Verdi : Don Carlos (1867) ; Almost a tale of joy : Johannes Brahms: String Quintet No. 2, in G Major, Op. 111 (1890) -- Part III. The age of uncertainty. Europe, a prophecy?: Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 4, in A Minor, Op. 63 (1911) ; Creative suffering: Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, Op. 84 (1944) ; An ice-cold question mark: Igor Stravinsky: Requiem Canticles for Contralto and Bass Soli, Chorus, and Orchestra (1966). |
| Abstract | Some pieces of music survive; most fall into oblivion. What gives the ten masterpieces selected for this book their extraordinary vitality? In this magisterial volume, Harvey Sachs, author of the highly acclaimed biography of Toscanini, takes readers into the heart of ten great works of classical music--works that have endured because they were created by composers who had a genius for drawing music out of their deepest wellsprings. These masters--Mozart and Beethoven; Schubert, Schumann, Berlioz, Verdi, and Brahms; Sibelius, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky--communicated their life experiences through music, and through music they universalized the intimate. By expanding our perceptions of these ten pieces--composed in the years between 1784 and 1966--Sachs, in lush, exquisite prose, invites us to consider why music stimulates, disturbs, exalts, and consoles us. He has lived with these masterpieces for a lifetime, and his descriptions of them and the dramatic lives of the composers who wrote them bring a heightened dimension to the musical perceptions of readers who may be casual listeners, students, professional musicians, or anyone in between. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| LCCN | 2021033585 |
| ISBN | 9781631495182 hardcover |
| ISBN | 1631495186 hardcover |
| ISBN | electronic book |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Stacks | ML193 .S23 2021 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |