Tone Poems in Full Score, Series I: Don Juan, Tod Und Verklarung, & Don Quixote Review

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(More customer reviews)No music truly exists in a book.The composer puts his directions on paper, and the musician tries his best to do what the composer has directed to do.Play this note high, this note low, this note long, this note short, etc.Music is an art that really doesn't exist until it comes to life through the time it takes to perform it.Like a seed, the score of an orchestral work lies dormant until the musician(s) plant it, nurture it through performance.
For the few that can read a score like the rest of us read a newspaper, the music can come alive in the imagination of their inner ear.For the rest of us mortals, following the score while the music plays can help us 'see' the tree come to life with our ears and revel in all of the life and vitality it contains.
The tone poems of Richard Strauss are like vast, sprawling trees.There is no need to follow a score to admire the beauty of the trees.If that were so, symphony orchestras would pass out copies of the score to the audience and keep the lights on.But following the score is like climbing right up into the tree.You can see the diversity, the details, and even look down at the ground and realize where you are.
So to be able to appreciate these masterpieces on a different level, following the score can be a revelation.Dover's edition of these tone poems is inexpensive, of good quality, and I especially like the large format.If you try to follow a miniature score of these works, you best have really great eyes or a magnifying glass.These are vast, romantic works, and Strauss uses a very large orchestra. So the large format is much easier to read and follow.
So if you ever have the urge to get closer to these masterpieces, then by all means let the Dover edition of the scores be your guide.Your efforts to climb the tree will be well rewarded!

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Three of the most often performed and recorded works in entire orchestral repertoire, reproduced in full score from original editions. Study score.

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Antonin Dvorak SYMPHONIES NOS.8 AND 9 ("NEW WORLD") in Full Score Review

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(More customer reviews)While I strongly disagree with the reviewer who labeled classical music as "snooze-material" (how uncultured do we really wish to paint ourselves as being?), I do agree that the Dover score is a great and inexpensive purchase for anyone wishing to study either symphony.It's interesting to note that Simrock-Dvorak's usual publisher-and Dvorak were at odds over money when the 8th symphony was completed, so he had it published in London by Novello (it is because of this that the work is used to be called Symphony No. 4 and is often referred to as the "English" Symphony), but that all was back to normal by the time he had completed the 9th.Dover reprints both original imprints of the two scores: the 8th Symphony is a Novello reprint (1892) and the 9th Symphony is a Simrock reprint (1894).As is always the case with Dover scores the binding holds up well to backpack abuse and the pages don't tear when your theory professor goes ripping through them discussing formal construction with you.

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Two celebrated symphonies by the great Czech composer, the Eighth and the immensely popular Ninth, "From the New World" in one volume.

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Complete Concerti in Full Score Review

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(More customer reviews)Dover has done good job in this edition. Good quality reprint of complete works edition, it is easy to use and reliable. Only cons goes to the weight :)

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Brahms wrote only four concerti-all of which have become absolute staples of the concert repertoire. The works are: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2; Violin Concerto, Op. 77; Concerto for Violin and Cello, Op. 102. This Dover edition reproduces them directly from Breitkopf & Härtel's definitive Samtliche Werke edition, Volumes 5 and 6.

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Complete Sonatas for Solo Instrument and Piano (Viola Sonatas) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a very good edition which I recommend to any music lover. The music does not need any comment: Brahms' chamber music is always intense and melodic.
This edition has many benefits over other books: (1) it is quite cheap, (2) noteheads are large and clearly visible, (3) Hans Gal has made a very accurate edition, and in the introduction he lists every source text used together with interesting "alternative" passages found in Brahms' autographs.

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All seven sonatas-3 for violin, 2 for cello and 2 for clarinet (or viola) reprinted from the authoritative Breitkopf & Härtel edition. New translation of the original commentary by the distinguished Brahms scholar Hans Gal.

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Brahms - A Listener's Guide: Unlocking the Masters Series Review

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(More customer reviews)After reading otherbooks in this series, particularly those of Dave Hurwitz and John Bell Young's survey of the Beethoven Symphonies, I was eager to get my hands onthis latest volume about Brahms. As I am in the publishing business, I had been privy to some great "buzz"about this one from the book'spublicists, includingsuperlative recommendations of it from such august luminaries as Hugh Downs and the famous British pianist and MacArthur"genius grant" recipient, Stephen Hough. It seems that Hough is not the only one to be honored. The Kittredge Foundation out of Harvard University recognized Young with a grant of its own for this and the other books he wrote for the series. However, I also read an unfavorable review here at Amazon recently by a non-musician, who was evidently looking for amore run-of-the-mill biography or maybe something simple minded. He complained that Young's book is too technical and that he couldn't understand it. That's a legitimate complaint if you're unwilling to take the trouble to learn something new about something complex (this book is mostly about the composer's music, not his life), and that will require at least some minimum effort from the reader. It's a book for adults, after all, not four year olds. As I do have some background in music theory, that critiquedidn't worry me too much, though I have to admit to some bias. Even so, I enjoyed Young'sbook on Beethoven enormously so I thought I'd give this one a read, too.

I can say unequivocally that Young's prose style is phenomenal, even poetic; just have a look at his breathtaking description of the slow movement of the Violin Concerto. The CD attached to the book includes a performance of it with an amazing French violinist from the 1940s, Ginette Neveu, who I had never heard of until now. There are also performances by Furtwangler which, though beautiful,sound a bit worn and scratchy. There are also severalvery exciting performances by three newcomer pianists who Young praises in his introduction as worthy of attention. I have to agree, as they play beautifully. He explains in a brief sidebar that the "Unlocking the Masters" series is committed to providing opportunities to lesser known artists, rather than promoting famous names for the umpteenth time. That's commendable no matter how you slice it.

I fact, I found most of the book is exceptionally reader friendly, and even provocative (there's a lengthy and fascinating discussionabout Brahms's possible paternity, for example.) Where there is technical discussion of the music (its structure and harmony), it is laid out in such a way as to be self-explanatory, and eminently understandable; anyone who really loves music, and especially the music of Brahms, ought to be willing to make the effort if they want to learn something more substantial. I speak only for myself when I say that I read this book, and others in teh series, in order to learn something, not to be entertained. This is not a superficial study, though it IS a most enjoyable read.Young also provides a comprehensive glossary of musical terms at the end of the book, which clearlydescribes many musical concepts and terms in a way that anyone can understand. No one will have to run to a dictionary to look anything up, as the glossary includes everything you may need to know. It'sthe few minutes it takes to learn something more.He also makes a number of historical references that are both entertaining and relevant -- his discussion of gypsy culture and music and its influence on Brahms is particularly stimulating --and places Brahms in a context that helps us understand why he wrote the kind ofmusic he did.

For musicians and those who love the music of Brahms, this book is a must-have. Those who are looking for a simple biography, or who are not up to challenging themselves intellectually with a bracing read, had better look elsewhere. This book is not for them. For those who want to look deeply intoBrahms the composer and his music, Young's book is as good as it gets, and a tremendous asset.

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In this survey of Brahm's music, John Bell Young explores in depth the composer's private world of musical intimacies that infuriated Wagner, but inspired Schumann, Schoenberg, and millions of music lovers for generations to come. He also addresses a controversial issue long-neglected by biographers and critics: Did Brahms sire an illegitimate child, and in the absence of concrete evidence, did he leave behind clues in his allusion-rich music? Accompanying the book is a CD featuring rare performances of Wilhelm Furtwangler, alongside brand new recordings of three extraordinary pianists.

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Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 2 (Alfred Masterwork Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)I like the layout of this sheet music. However, I have not tried the cadenzas to be able to tell if I like them.

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Maurice Hinson's Masterwork Edition of Liszt's perhaps best-known Hungarian Rhapsody contains historic information and performance notes, as well as alternate cadenzas and ossia notations.

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