Books Recommendations
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The Brass Band Story
14th Jul 2026
Trombonist and academic Trevor Herbert combines pleasure and business in a new deep-dive into the history of British brass banding.
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The Brass Band Story
Trevor Herbert; Yale University Press; Hardback
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New Music Book Publications - July 2026
14th Jul 2026
The story of brass bands, a second volume of collected covers from the World Countdown newspaper, a guide to performing and understanding Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin, a new edition of a handbook on music research, a history of music in Spain, a discussion of European composers who undertook tours of the USA in the early twentieth century, and an investigation into how Mozart's music was used as propaganda by the Nazis in 1941 Vienna.
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There Is Sweet Music Here
16th Jun 2026
Published to mark Wigmore Hall's 125th birthday, Julia Boyd's insightful biography of the beloved venue is compelling reading for anyone with even a passing interest in London’s cultural life throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
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There is Sweet Music Here: The World of Wigmore Hall
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New Music Book Publications - June 2026
15th Jun 2026
Biographies of Brahms and Chopin, a history of Wigmore Hall, an anthology of reflections on the importance of Elgar, a biography of clarinettist Gervase de Peyer, an examination of environmental imagery in the operas of Wagner, a handbook for teachers and parents on neurodiversity in music, an exploration of tradition in classical music, and an updated guide to music written for film and visual media.
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New Music Book Publications - May 2026
12th May 2026
A biography of Bellini, a guide to the 2026 BBC Proms season, a toolkit for composers to help with Classical techniques and style, paperback editions of Michael Downes's book on Wagner's Ring cycle and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason's reflections on the power of music, discussions of minimalist music and the history of the microphone, and a handbook for teachers offering support for students with special educational needs.
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Bows and Arrows
11th May 2026
In the latest of our new monthly book reviews, Katherine delves into Julian Lloyd Webber's 'engaging, forthright and often laugh-out-loud funny' autobiography, taking in his childhood in a chaotic, ever-expanding household filled with music, collaborations with the great and not-so-good, and the devastating health issue which led to his premature retirement from performing and a second career as a music educator.
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Nocturnes and the Fascination of Night Music
14th Apr 2026
Our new monthly series of reviews continues with a look at a new book by Susan Tomes in which she takes us on a musical journey under cover of the night, bringing composers, performers and music to life against their social and historic backgrounds. From Field and Chopin, to contemporary commissions and everything in between, the musical knowledge and command of language make an immersive combination that will encourage further listening and playing.
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New Music Book Publications - April 2026
13th Apr 2026
The autobiography of noted cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, the second printing of a limited edition book covering British Jazz on Record, handbooks, biographies, and compendiums on composers including Shostakovich, Janáček, Barbara Strozzi, Telemann, Florence Price, and Smetana, a paperback reissue of Sir Antonio Pappano's memoir, and an exploration of When You Wish Upon a Star, the much-loved song featured in Disney's 1940 animated film, Pinocchio.
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New Music Book Publications - March 2026
16th Mar 2026
A history of the nocturne and the fascination of night music, an exploration of the art of choral conducting, an examination of Janáček's Sinfonietta, companions to folk music and French art song, a musical history of Vienna, a paperback edition of Anne Sebba's poignant account of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz, and the latest novel from Sunday Times bestselling author, Evie Woods.
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Hitchcock & Herrmann - The Friendship & Film Scores That Changed Cinema
13th Mar 2026
In the first of a new monthly series reviewing books on music, we take a look at Steven C. Smith's recent examination of the remarkable relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann, which began in 1955 with The Trouble with Harry and ended abruptly and acrimoniously in 1966 when Hitchcock rejected Herrmann's score for Torn Curtain, taking in celebrated collaborations such as Psycho, North by Northwest, and Vertigo along the way.
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New Music Book Publications - February 2026
10th Feb 2026
A discussion of Janáček's operas Káťa Kabanová and The Cunning Little Vixen, a paperback reissue of Simon Morrison's award-winning biography of Tchaikovsky, books on Clara and Robert Schumann, Wagner, Satie, Mendelssohn, and Fauré, the Sunday Times bestelling account of the tempestuous relationship between Paul McCartney and John Lennon, an exploration of the impact of sound on our experience of the world, and an industry guide to musical theatre auditions.
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New Music Book Publications - January 2026
13th Jan 2026
An examination of the extraordinary cinematic collaboration between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann, a portrait of celebrated cellist Pablo Casals, a collection of essays on Fanny Hensel and Felix Mendelssohn, an exploration of the life and music of composer Michel Legrand, a study of the healing power of music, the story of British choral singing from the medieval era to the present day, and a look at Stephen Sondheim's classic musical, Sweeney Todd.
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Presto Music Awards - Book Winners 2025
5th Dec 2025
After our awards ceremony in Leamington Spa last night, we are delighted to announce our top five music book publications of 2025.
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Music Books of the Year - Finalists 2025
20th Nov 2025
In anticipation of our upcoming Presto Music Awards on Thursday, 4th December, we have compiled our shortlist of fifteen music book titles all in contention for one of our five awards for Music Books of the Year.
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New Music Book Publications - November 2025
17th Nov 2025
The history of the world in fifty pieces from BBC Radio 3 presenter Tom Service, an exploration of Vivaldi's famous set of concertos, The Four Seasons, a journey through Western classical music with composer Robin Holloway, the hidden life of the metronome, a look at the contribution of the songs of the Sherman brothers to the making of the Walt Disney classic, Mary Poppins, curiosities from the history of music, and a study of opera-going in Britain.
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New Music Book Publications - October 2025
20th Oct 2025
A guide to the church cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, a new edition of Igor Stravinsky's 1939 Harvard lectures, a book of classical music puzzles, an exploration of the history of the Argentinian tango, an examination of the middlebrow musical in 1940s America, a collection of letters written by musicians through the ages, and a guide to the operatic aria repertoire.
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New Music Book Publications - September 2025
15th Sep 2025
The first biography of celebrated composer John Williams, a guide to movie music from noted film critic Mark Kermode, a paperback version of John Suchet's latest book exploring the life and music of Beethoven, a new edition of neurologist Oliver Sacks's examination of the power of music on the brain, diaries and memoirs from baritone Christian Gerhaher and oboist Albrecht Mayer, and the Boosey & Hawkes music diaries for 2026.
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New Music Book Publications - August 2025
12th Aug 2025
An examination of the film scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, a companion to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, a collection of letters by Broadway composer Frank Loesser, volumes dedicated to composers including Arnold Schoenberg, Bohuslav Martinů, and Pierre Boulez, essays by musicologist Susan McClary, a paperback edition of the memoir by composer and Master of the King's Music Errollyn Wallen, an exploration of the art of orchestration in musical theatre, an analysis of Dolly Parton's Jolene, and the debut novel by Harriet Constable.
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New Music Book Publications - July 2025
14th Jul 2025
Biographies of French composer Maurice Ravel and Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad, a cultural history of the baritone voice through the centuries, an analysis of musical forgeries, the story of pianist Stephen de Bastion as told by his granddaughter Roxanne, an examination of ruralness and national identity in Czech opera, a collection of interviews with composers of movie music, and a picture-book biography of cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
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New Music Book Publications - June 2025
17th Jun 2025
A selection of Hector Berlioz's music criticism, a paperback edition of a book exploring Rachmaninoff's life after moving to the USA, books on composers including Brahms, Purcell, Manuel de Falla and Margaret Bonds, an examination of the musicals of Cole Porter, a survey of the classical concert scene in Nazi Germany, plus a selection of recent music fiction books by Martha Jean Johnson, Michael Ball, and Will Fraser.
