The Art of Julian Bream (Book) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I finished reading this book yesterday.Definitely worthwhile as a fact-book, giving full details of JB's recordings, editions, commissioned works, and a hefty sampling of his recital programmes from 1946 to 2002.

What's missing is any real sense of humanity here. There's precious little biographical information given, not much at all about Julian Bream The Person except where it intersects with his touring schedule.Virtually no objective critiquing is provided other than numerous quotations from concert/recording reviews.It's a very factual approach, useful data but not very engaging to the reader.I get the sense that Wade is unwilling to offer any sort of personal opinions here other than referencing what is on the public record from magazines, newspapers, BBC broadcasts, and similar.

So: as a reference book, five stars.As an interesting book to read, 2 stars.

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Product Description:
This is the first book to present a detailed account of the musical achievements of Julian Bream. In a wide-ranging celebration of his artistry the book offers essential perspectives on vital elements of twentieth century guitar history and reveals how Julian Bream succeeded in establishing the instrument as a uniquely expressive force on the contemporary scene. As well as his phenomenal success in inspiring composers such as Britten, Tippett, Walton, Arnold, Berkeley, Henze, Brouwer, Takemitsu, etc., to write for the guitar, Bream is also renowned as the twentieth century's greatest lutenist and a passionate advocate of Elizabethan music.

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Benjamin Britten & Samuel Barber: Their Lives and Their Music (Amadeus) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Anyone interested in Barber's life and/or music should seek out the amazing bio by Barbara Heyman, Samuel Barber - The Composer and his Music (Oxford U. Press). As a lifelong student of the career & music of Barber, I was upset to read this recent book. It contains numerous inaccuracies, half-truths, ambiguities, and similarly misleading statements. And was there ANY attempt at editing the ms? The text is likewise marred byerrors in usage, punctuation, even vocabulary. The Britten section has the same problems. And while the recorded music samples on the attached cd are most welcome, they do not fairly represent the composers, either - it's all from the "middle period" of each man and don't properly represent either composer's stylistic breadth. The concept of a brief book introducing these composers to the lay listener, with listening excerpts provided in the package, is a fine one, which makes me doubly sad that this project is such a disappointment. P.S. Having heard from the author, I now understand why some of the above-mentioned faults exist - and must say I'm shocked that a publisher I once respected, Amadeus, would let something like this happen.It's a disservice to the author as well as the public and the subjects of the book.

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Product Description:

The second title in the Amadeus Press Parallel Lives series, this volume examines the lives and work of two giants of 20th century music. Both composers influenced countless others, and their works are performed often in today's concert and opera houses.

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