Music, according to Aaron Copland, can thrive only if there are "gifted listeners." But today's listeners must choose between classical and rock, opera and rap, and the choices can seem overwhelming at times. In The Essential Canon of Classical Music, David Dubal comes to the aid of the struggling listener and provides a cultural-literacy handbook for classical music. Dubal identifies the 240 composers whose works are most important to an understanding...

2005-0766.

In Stories Behind the World's Great Music, second edition published in 1940, renowned musical author Sigmund Spaeth recounts the many and varied exploits of the great composers and musicians from Bach to Tchaikovsky, Schubert to Brahms.

Noel McLoughlin presents an album of old and new Irish songs.

The first book in the English language on the history of baroque music does not need either apology or justification. Histories of music have been written usually as quick surveys of the entire field and if they specialize at all they concentrate as a rule on a single composer. It is a strange though incontestable fact that by far the great majority of music books deal with composers rather than their music. This attitude is a survival of the hero-worship...

Leading Tones is a glimpse into several aspects of the musical world. There are portions devoted to Leonard Slatkin's life as a musician and conductor, portraits of some of the outstanding artists with whom he has worked, as well as anecdotes and stories both personal and professional. Much of the book discusses elements of the industry that are troubling and difficult during this first part of the 21st century. Auditions, critics, fiscal concerns,...

Katherine Jenkins performs a collection of unforgettable songs from some of the world's best-loved movie moments, including Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany's; Pinocchio's When You Wish Upon a Star; and more.

An oboist looks back at her twenty-five year career, offering a glimpse into the world of classical music and providing details of substance abuse and the practice of trading sexual favors for jobs.