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"ENCYCLOPEDIA of CONCERT MUSIC", DAVID OWEN ; HILL anD WANG, NOWY JORK 1959; stan : plus db : pieczątka; przesyłka polecona : 8,00 zł.
The Encyclopedia of Concert Music—a companion volume to the Encyclopedia of the Opera published in 1955—is an attempt by the editor to collate witbin a single volume all such information about serious concert music as will enrich the listening experience of concertgoers and record collectors.
This information covers many areas.
I. The Music. This volume presents a guide to, and an analysis of, approximateły 1,500 of the best-known compositions in all branches of instrumental musie, past and present (with the exception of the semi-classical or "pop" variety): symphonies, tone poems, overtures, and other orchestral works; concertos; musie for solo in-struments; chamber music.
While vocal and choral music do not come within the scope of this volume, some exceptions had to be made. There are works in the symphonic repertory that have vocal or choral sections, and they had to be considered: Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and Brahms' Alto Rhapsody, for example.
Besides this, the editor felt strongly that certain chorał master-works are basic to the repertory of symphony orchestras. Their exclusion from this book would have represented a serious gap to most music lovers. Consequently—even though this volume has not covered chorał musie as such—discussions have been included of about fifteen of the most important chorał works of the past: Handel's Messiah, for example, Bach's B minor Mass, and Mozart's Requiem.
From the field of opera, only those excerpts, episodes, overtures, preludes, or entr'actes that belong to the orchestral repertory have been considered. By the same token, only those ballets that have contributed suites to the orchestral repertory are commented upon.
II. The Composers. There are here over three hundred biographies of the world's foremost composers—not merely the facts of their lives and careers but also an estimate of their style and place in music history, and a listing of their major instrumental works. At the end of each biography will be found a reference to all works by that composer discussed in other parts of the book.
III. Performers and Performances. The biographies of musical performers in this volume embrace more than 150 conductors and 250 instrumentalists. In addition, brief histories are provided for over a hundred symphony orchestras, chamber musie ensembles, two-piano teams, music festivals, and summer concert series (European as well as American), and the foremost auditoriums in which these performances take place.
IV. Musical Terms. Over five hundred technical terms are explained. All leading musical instruments and all the basie techniques of musical composition are described.
V. History and Backgrounds of Musie. In addition to generał articles on various aspects of musie history (History and Structure of the Symphony Orchestra, Program Music, History of Concerts and Recitals, History of Conducting, and so forth), this volume explains all the important trends, movements, and schools of composers of the past three centuries: from homophony through Impressionism and Expressionism and the twelve-tone technique; from Baroque and Rococo to jazz and Concrete Music. The physiognomy of more than 125 forms of music is described together with the principal works in each of these forms.
VI. Theories and Theorists of Music. Numerous biographies are devoted to leading theorists of musie from Zarlino to Joseph Schillinger and Heinrich Schenker, with a discussion of their main contributions. Also th biographies embrace many important teachers, crities, historians, and musicologists.
VII. Literary and Artistic Sources. There are several hundred listings of the world's foremost writers from Aeschylus to Thomas Mann and the instrumental works that their literary creations inspired. A comprehensive article on Painters and Paintings does a similar service for art.
VIII. Special Articles. Certain generał subjects that throw additional light on specific aspects of music, music-making, and music history are treated in special articles. They include Humor in Music, National Anthems in Music, Jazz and the Blues in Serious Music, Negro Music, and History of Program Notes.
This book is designed for the layman who has only an elementary acquaintance with the technical phases of music. Consequently, wherever possible, material is presented in simple, non-technical language. Nevertheless, an effort has been made to adhere throughout to the highest principles of musical scholarship. Some of the basic biographical facts found in this book come from first-hand sources: birth and death certificates; programs and newspaper criticisms; information provided by the musicians themselves. In this, the editor has profited no end from material generously provided him by Nicolas Slonimsky, material gathered over a period of many years from all parts of the world. Where names, dates, or other facts in this volume differ from those appearing in other music reference works they do so because in the opinion of the editor the evidence he consulted made the changes necessary. |
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