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New Music Book Publications - 25th January 2021
25th Jan 2021by James Longstaffe
An updated biography of Mozart; an exploration of Puccini's La bohème; an analysis of the ballet collaborations between Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins; a discussion of the issues facing pianists when performing historical repertoire on modern instruments; an examination of fugue in the sixteenth century; and books on music and liturgy in the Iberian Peninsula and fourteenth-century northern France.
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New Music Book Publications - 11th January 2021
11th Jan 2021by James Longstaffe
Biographies of Mozart and Chinese composer Chen Yi; essays on the organ works of Bach; a handbook illustrating the essential nature of singing through the millennia; philosophical discourse in relation to music in the Roman Empire; an analysis of the solfeggio tradition in the eighteenth century; the politics of opera from Monteverdi to Mozart; a collection of interviews with prominent oboists; and a critique of music and musicians in modern Turkey.
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New Music Book Publications - 14th December 2020
14th Dec 2020by James Longstaffe
Books on composers including Mahler, Arvo Pärt, Stravinsky, Thomas Adès, and George Frederick Bristow; a guide to the Baroque Violin & Viola; examinations of Occitanian Crusade Songs and American Hymnody in the antebellum period of the United States; an exploration of the Big Band years of Louis Armstrong's career; and an account of the revitalisation of Broadway in the mid-1970s.
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Presto Book Awards 2020
10th Dec 2020by James Longstaffe
We are very pleased to announce our inaugural Presto Music Book Awards! We have chosen five of the most outstanding publications from the past twelve months.
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New Music Book Publications - 16th November 2020
16th Nov 2020by James Longstaffe
Three introductions to music history for children; a study of how music creates emotion; a guide to twenty-first century vocal repertoire; an examination of the compositions of Johann Joseph Fux; handbooks on music in social media and the operatic canon; and a biography of dancing legend Gene Kelly.
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New Music Book Publications - 2nd November 2020
2nd Nov 2020by James Longstaffe
Books on composers such as Richard Strauss, Delius, Britten, and Fauré; tips and techniques on producing classical recordings in the Decca tradition; a biography of experimental musician Wendy Carlos; a guide to writing music for video games; and a discusson of Bolivian popular music.
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New Music Book Publications - 19th October 2020
19th Oct 2020by James Longstaffe
Biographies of Thomas Tallis and Michael Tippett; a celebration of 150 years of the Royal Albert Hall; a collection of essays in honour of early music scholar Christopher Page; books on the guitar in Georgian England and music in North-East England; the importance of music-making to people on the autism spectrum; and an analysis of performance practice issues in nineteenth-century violin repertoire.
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New Music Book Publications - 5th October 2020
5th Oct 2020by James Longstaffe
Several volumes marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth; an analysis of Brahms's violin sonatas; the history and construction of minimalist music; a guide to making your own bassoon reeds; the life and legacy of jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon; the latest edition of the Rare Record Price Guide; and a handbook on teaching music to students with autism.
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New Music Book Publications - 21st September 2020
21st Sep 2020by James Longstaffe
Two volumes on Richard Wagner, including the latest book from best-selling author, Alex Ross; an updated biography of Bach from the Master Musicians series; the memoirs of song accompanist, Helmut Deutsch; a companion to more than 400 orchestral works; an historical survey of the Renaissance flute; a collection of essays discussing the concept of rhythm; and a guide to singing in Mandarin.
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New Music Book Publications - 7th September 2020
7th Sep 2020by James Longstaffe
An introdution to Renaissance polyphony; a memoir by Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason on raising a family of musicians; an examination of the position of music in Tudor and Stuart England; a study of the songs of Johanna Kinkel; the life and music of Nat King Cole; the stories behind the songs of Jimi Hendrix; and collections of photographs of David Bowie and The Beatles.
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New Music Book Publications - 24th August 2020
24th Aug 2020by James Longstaffe
Books on the life and music of Beethoven and Chopin; the history of the flageolet in England; a guide to compositional techniques in twenty-first century music; an analysis of the power of the singing voice; an overview of percussion music in the twentieth century; the story of popular music in Japan; punk rock as a reaction to 1980s America; and a look at the economics of the music industry.
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New Music Book Publications - 10th August 2020
10th Aug 2020by James Longstaffe
A biography of Hollywood composer, Max Steiner; essays on the music of James MacMillan; a pair of books on Nadia Boulanger; an exploration of the popularity of Bizet's opera, Carmen; a guide to improvisation at the piano; an examination of the performances of gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson; and a new paperback edition of a biography of Gershwin.
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New Music Book Publications - 27th July 2020
27th Jul 2020by James Longstaffe
An exploration of the life of Beethoven through nine of his pieces; a compendium of composers and their works; a guide to John Cage's Concert for Piano and Orchestra; an analysis of form and harmony in rock music; the autobiography of Don Black; a biography of Peggy Lee; and a new edition of the Very Short Introduction to World Music.
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New Music Book Publications - 13th July 2020
13th Jul 2020by James Longstaffe
Books on the music of Poulenc, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Georges Auric, and John Cage; an assessment of the legacy of Bach's music; thoughts on listening to music by conductor John Mauceri; an examination of the Codex Buranus; an analysis of chromatic harmony and desire; a handbook of yoga as a teaching aid; a study of the compositions of Charlie Parker; and books on Latin jazz and Latin-American music.
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New Music Book Publications - 29th June 2020
29th Jun 2020by James Longstaffe
A companion to Beethoven's Eroica symphony; a look at the making of the film version of West Side Story; biographies of Florence Price and Isaac Stern; a new paperback edition of Stephen Hough's reflections on music; a guide to tuba technique; the history of the symphonic poem in Britain from 1850-1950; and a handbook on teaching singing.
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New Music Book Publications - 15th June 2020
15th Jun 2020by James Longstaffe
Biographies of composers Alma Mahler and Engelbert Humperdinck; analyses of Allegri's Miserere, Bizet's Carmen, and Beethoven's Piano Sonatas; a handbook of music and medievalism; a survey of music and drama in Early Modern English schools; an examination of the relationship between music and time; a biography of pop sensation, Billie Eilish; and a collection of essays exploring music in India.
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New Music Book Publications - 1st June 2020
1st Jun 2020by James Longstaffe
An analysis of self-quotation in the music of Schubert; a biography of American composer Augusta Browne; an examination of gender politics in French Baroque opera; a consideration of the cultural context of the polyphonic Mass; a study of the relationship between music and the sublime; and a guide for singers on various mind-body awareness techniques including yoga, Alexander Technique, and the Feldenkrais Method.
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New Music Book Publications - 18th May 2020
18th May 2020by James Longstaffe
A exploration of Wagner's final opera, Parsifal; books on the music of Shostakovich and Brahms; the long-awaited final volume of Henry-Louis de La Grange's monumental biography of Gustav Mahler; a collection of the writings of Peter Maxwell Davies; and essays on the impact of Benjamin Britten on contemporary British music.
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New Music Book Publications - 4th May 2020
4th May 2020by James Longstaffe
A guide to the instruments of the orchestra courtesy of Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO; a biography of American composer Samuel Barber; a collection of essays by Richard Taruskin; the first biography of Ravi Shankar; the history of the Eurovision Song Contest; and an overview of British musical films between 1929 and 1945.
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New Music Book Publications - 20th April 2020
20th Apr 2020by James Longstaffe
A biography of Poulenc; the memoirs of pianist András Schiff; essays looking at British music after Benjamin Britten; music in theory and practice during the fourteenth century; the impact of changing copyright laws on performance; a guide to buying pianos; and an exploration of music and sound in the films of Charlie Chaplin.