No composer has ever achieved the amazing artistic progression that Haydn has. He invented the string quartet as we know it became known as 'the Father of the Symphony' and mentored the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His creative life was one of ceaseless experimentation and invention. Author David Hurwitz shows readers how to more fully enjoy Haydn's music acquainting them with the master's innovative melodic creativity revolutionary use of musical form and important characteristics of his personal style such as his genius for writing in minor keys and creating comedy in his music. Hurwitz explores Haydn's vocal music and instrumental masterpieces that fall outsidethe mainstream as well as his principle instrumental works. A special chapter of letters and quotations by the composer himself introduces the reader to Haydn the man. Four appendices list all of his symphonies string quartets Piano sonatas and Piano trios and specify their distinguishing characteristics. Two accompanying Naxos CDs provide more than two and a half hours of beautiful music keyed to pieces described in the book.

Maria Callas was almost as famous for her personal life - her jet-setting her staggering weight loss her tigress-like temperament - as she was for her singing.Of Greek parentage the New York-born internationally famous Callas was the most influential soprano of the 20th century reviving a school of singing - bel canto - that had been forgotten for 75 years. Unlike most of her generation of sopranos she was a superb actress both vocally and physically: her voice encompassed many colours and she embodied each character she portrayed. After seeing or hearing her in a role it was said it was difficult to imagine another singer attempting it so fierce was herindividual stamp. Her status went beyond cult; her triumphs and failures appeared on the front page of newspapers all over the world.This profusely illustrated musical biography covers Callas's life and career. A final third of the book analyzes the tracks on the two CDs describing what made Callas unique what made Callas Callas. Listen for yourselves to La Divina ('the divine one') as the Italians dubbed her and be amazed.

The Beatles' Solo Years 1970-1980-In the years following the 1960s Beatle fans around the world were twice-stunned: in 1970 when their beloved group disbanded and ten years later when the murder of John Lennon ended a decade of hope that somehow the Fab Fourwould reunite. Fab Four FAQ 2.0 picks up the story where the acclaimed Fab Four FAQ left off. Loaded with images of rare period ephemera including periodicals single sleeves and movie stills this is the firstcomprehensive biography of all four ex-Beatles. This book covers everything from their recording careers in the decade after the band's dissolution to the musicians they played with the bands they influenced the manifestationsof latter-day Beatlemania and the constant clamor for reunion expressed by fans and – sometimes – by the four themselves.

The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter-Author Mary Lou Sullivan sat with Johnny Winter for hours of exclusive no-holds-barred interviews covering the guitar slinger's entire career. From toughing it out in Texas to his appearance at Woodstock his affair with Janis Joplin his stadium-filling tours and washing out on drugs and the temptations of the road before finally fulfilling his dream of becoming a 100-percent pure bluesman resurrecting the career of Muddy Waters and winning a Grammy Award for his effort this is a raucous roller coaster of story.Rolling Stone magazine has called Johnny Winter one of the greatest Guitar players of all time. Ripped off and beaten down by unscrupulous managers strungout living the extreme highs and extreme lows of an uncompromising musician Johnny is a true rock 'n' roll survivor. Signing with Columbia in 1969 for the largest advance ever paid a musician (which led to his appearance at Woodstock recently reissued in the deluxe Woodstock Experience box set) he has jammed with Guitar heavies Hendrix Clapton and the Allman Brothers. He is a legend and an icon paving the way for fellow Texas superstars Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top. Along the way he has gone from boom to bust and back again but has never lost his lust for his own brand of blues. Still on the road playing hundreds of gigs a year to his devoted adoring fans Johnny like this book is the real deal.

Ever since his father gave him a disc recorder at the tender age of 10 Bruce Swedien has known what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.The names of the people he has worked with are too many to list but when one mentions musicians like Count Basie Duke Ellington Oscar Peterson Sarah Vaughan Eddie Harris Quincy Jones Jennifer Lopez and even Michael Jackson a great deal is immediately understood.In this book Swedien generously gives away detailed information from his lifetime in the studio - from a musical technical and very personal perspective.This book has something for everyone who is interested in music especially those curiousabout the stories behind the scenes of some of the best music to ever come out of the recording studio.

Carlos Santana is one of Guitar Player's most frequently covered artists. Revered by guitarists for his tone and brilliant sense of melody Santana has been extremely giving in his Guitar Player interviews sharinghis gear secrets technical approaches musical influences and the building blocks of his sound. Here collected in one volume are all of Santana's interviews from his first post-Woodstock discussion to detailing the popularjuggernaut that was 1999's Supernatural to the masterful seminar he gave on creativity in 2008. Also included are style lessons and licks from Guitar Player's respected staff of music writers and transcribers thatreveal all the voodoo that explodes from Santana's fingers.

La Résurrection de Johnny Cash raconte l'histoire de peut-être le revirement le plus remarquable dans l'histoire musicale. Ainsi que la reconnaissance de drogue Cash, boire et déboires religieux dans les années cinquante et soixante, le livre creuse beaucoup plus profond, en se concentrant sur ??un moins connus mais non moins remarquable période de sa vie: la chute sans gloire post-1970 et la renaissance quasi biblique dans son ans plus tard. Se focalisant sur la période de dix ans entre 1986 et 1995, La Résurrection de Johnny Cash raconte en détail l'histoire de la chute humiliante de Cash de la grâce et de son renouveau sans précédent- sa lutte avec une variété cruelle des maladies- ses batailles en cours avec la dépendance, son de recherche pour trouver la direction dans sa carrière- sa renaissance éventuelle à la fois comme un artiste et un homme, et son héritage très influent. / Livre

Cette extraordinaire collection de photographies et de textes raconte la carrière exceptionnelle du Maestro James Levine plus de quatre décennies au Metropolitan Opera. Beaucoup de grands artistes de l'opéra tels que Pierre Boulez, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Robert Lepage, Leontyne Price, Teresa Stratas, et Franco Zeffirelli donner un aperçu des remarquables musicalité Levine et l'art singulier. Inscrit avec des essais critiques, leurs commentaires colorés seront complétées par des réflexions de Levine sur son travail, ses intenses collaborations artistiques, des jalons au Met, et des réalisations comme la construction de l'orchestre de renommée Met et élargir le répertoire Met. Le livre est richement illustré de centaines de photographies de spectacles Met, les répétitions, les appels de rideau, et les coulisses tirs. James Levine: Quarante ans au Metropolitan Opera explore le corps profondément le conducteur légendaire de travail au cours de quatre décennies de direction musicale, en offrant un regard inhabituel et personnels à l'un des plus influents de l'histoire figures artistiques à la tête de la maison du monde le plus grand opéra. / Livre

Compositeur, bon vivant, pianiste, enseignant, showman superstar, conteur, écrivain, entrepreneur, ladies' man, philanthrope et prêtre, Franz Liszt est largement considéré aujourd'hui non seulement comme un grand compositeur, mais aussi comme le plus grand pianiste du XIXe siècle. Pourtant son corps énorme de musique pour piano, tour à tour poétique, étincelant, acrobatique, prophétique, profonde et obsédant, échoua à commander le succès qu'il mérite de son vivant. Dans Liszt, John Bell Young faut examiner de près à cette musique opulente, illuminant ses multiples facettes et défis du pianiste engagés perspective. Jamais sorti des enregistrements des cinq extraordinaires jeunes pianistes sont inclus sur un CD qui l'accompagne. / Piano