The Lives of the Great Composers

by HaroldC.Schonberg (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1992

  $5.59

  This history of classical music, from Bach to Schoenberg, not only unravels the evolutionary patterns of musical development, but reveals the composers themselves - their lives and states of mind, their private defeats and public triumphs. From Schumann, who believed angels were dictating his harmonies, to J.S. Bach who had a cantata deadline to meet every Sunday in order to feed nine children, we can discern the various sources of inspiration. This book is designed to be used as a reference to many of the major composers and their music, but is also a source of relevant biographical detail.

• Used

  Paperback
  1991

  $3.21

• Used

  Hardcover
  1971

  $5.35

• New

  Paperback
  1998

  $17.60

  In the new edition of this highly successful book, Harold Schonberg traces the consecutive line of composers from Monteverdi to the tonalists of the 1990s through a series of fascinating biographical chapters. Music is a continually evolving art, and there have been no geniuses, however great, who have not been influenced by their predecessors. The great composers are here presented as human beings who lived and related to the real world. All of the important figures - Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Verdi, Wagner, Mahler, and many others - are included, their lives woven into a fabric rich in detail and anecdote. For this new edition, Schonberg has extended the book's coverage with informative and astute descriptions of later composers. What has not been changed is the character of the book, which remains an object of delight to all music lovers.