Showing results for "Amadeus" in History & Criticism

In this biography, written long before the significance of Mozart's work was fully realized, Holmes reveals the musician's character and genius, his struggles, his influence on art, and the brilliant reputations that surrounded him.

Set against the music we know and love, Mozart, Beethoven, and many more come alive through their correspondence. Poignant, funny, revealing, informative and so often direct and honest, these letters offer a fascinating insight into the personalities that created our Western musical tradition.

Derived from a popular series of lecture-recitals presented by Carol Montparker over the past several years, The Composer's Landscape features eight insightful essays on the piano repertoire. Each chapter focuses on a single composer: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Chopin, and Mendelssohn. Montparker uses landscape as a metaphor for the score, whether it's a well-tended garden of Mozart or the thorny thickets on a Schumann page.

Barrington saw the eight-year-old Mozart perform in London. He then met with Mozart and his family, and he recounts that meeting, describing Mozart's skill at sight-reading and improvisatory composition demonstrated at the meeting, as well as describing elements of the young composer's personality. He also conveys the results of his research into Mozart's other early activities and compares Mozart's precocious talents to other well-known child prodigies of his era.

In Michael Rabin: America's Virtuoso Violinist, Anthony Feinstein tells the poignant story of the life and career of one of history's greatest violinists. As a child prodigy, Rabin had the classical music world at his feet. Notable successes included a coveted EMI contract, recording the soundtrack for an Elizabeth Taylor movie, and guest appearances on The Milton Berle Show and The Bell Telephone Hour.