With their complex textures, rich harmonies and elaborate use of leitmotifs, the operas of Richard Wagner (1813 - 83) remain some of the most influential - and contentious - in …
Dmitry Shostakovich was one of the most successful composers of the twentieth century – a musician who adapted as no other to the unique pressures of his age. By turns vilified and …
A musical composer who dabbled in the Dada movement, a Bohemian gymnopediste of fin-de-siecle Montmartre, and a legendary dresser known as The Velvet Gentleman for his sartorial …
John Cage's contribution to twentieth-century music, literature and art not only established his place as a leading figure in the post-war avant-garde, but also guaranteed his …
This absorbing, wide-ranging and incisive biography unfolds the life and work of the much-loved twentieth-century composer Sergei Prokofiev, revealing a surprisingly optimistic …
Drawing extensively on Tchaikovsky's uncensored letters and diaries, this biography explores the composer's life in the artistic culture of nineteenth-century Russian society, …
Unquestionably one of the most popular composers of classical music, Sergei Rachmaninoff has not always been so admired by critics. Detractors have long perceived Rachmaninoff as …
The most radical and divisive composer of the twentieth century, Arnold Schoenberg remains a hero to many, and a villain to many others. In this refreshingly balanced biography, …
Leonard Bernstein was one of twentieth-century music's most successful and recognizable figures. In a career spanning five decades he conducted many of the world's leading …
'Art is the most beautiful deception', said French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918). Debussy was infused with the literature of his time and incorporated his favourite poems …
