Great Composers

The Genius of Johann Sebastian Bach: A Life in Music By Richard Fleischman Primaviolista Press Discover the extraordinary life and enduring brilliance of the man who reshaped music forever. Johann Sebastian Bach wasn’t just a composer—he was an architect of sound, a mathematician of melody, and a storyteller whose music still speaks to the soul centuries later. In The Genius of Johann Sebastian Bach: A Life in Music, music professor, performer, and international lecturer Richard Fleischman takes readers on an inspiring and immersive journey through the life and works of one of ...

The first volume of Famous Composers, written by Darren Henley and read by Marin Alsop, the American conductor, won a prestigious Audie in the US. Here, Henley and the Naxos AudioBooks team bring the combination of an entertaining but informative "life" and numerous musical selections to a further set of six composers.

Ludwig van Beethoven, a genius composer, one of the most recognized and influential of all composers. Ludwig van Beethoven is a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Classical music. Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe.

The Great Depression and Broadway: Finding Light in the Darkest Hours By Richard Fleischman Step into the heart of Broadway during one of the most challenging eras in American history. In The Great Depression and Broadway: Finding Light in the Darkest Hours, Richard Fleischman takes you on an unforgettable journey through the iconic musicals that lifted the spirits of a nation struggling to survive. From the glitzy lights of Radio City Music Hall to the stage of the Great White Way, Broadway became a sanctuary of optimism, providing both a temporary escape and a lasting sense of hope. This ...

Following on the success of The Story of Classical Music, Darren Henley and Marin Alsop combine forces again to tell, in more detail, the lives of six key composers: Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorak, and Shostakovich. Their colourful lives and their love of music are told against the backdrop of some of their finest works, an ideal combination.

Imagine being alongside one of the greatest bands in the history of rock, touring the globe, and being there as they perform at some of the best and biggest music venues in the world. Peter Hince didn't have to imagine. For more than a decade, he lived a life that other people can only dream of as he worked with Queen as the head of their road crew. In this intimate and affectionate book, Peter recalls the highlights of his years with the band.

In Revolutionary Requiems, renowned author and music scholar Richard Fleischman takes readers on an extraordinary journey through the hauntingly beautiful and profoundly moving history of requiem music. This monumental work explores how composers from Mozart to the present day have used the requiem mass as a powerful tool to memorialize the dead, reflect on grief, and navigate the complex relationship between life, death, and the divine. From the iconic Requiem of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to the modern, avant-garde works of composers like Britten, Penderecki, and Schnittke, this book delves ...

Through compelling new research and interviews, Sunday Times best-selling biographer Sean Smith reveals what life was really like for five fiercely independent and ambitious young women who were propelled to international fame in the '90s with unstoppable momentum. Quickly establishing themselves as the biggest success in British pop music since The Beatles, they were adored and admired in equal measure: the Spice Girls made a connection with millions of young women across the globe who were inspired by their enthusiasm for life and their famous Girl Power philosophy.

The Great Gate of Kiev resounds to the tumultuous bell rings that end Pictures an an Exhibition, one of the most magnificent and virtuosic of all piano pieces. However, to some of his contemporaries, Modest Mussorgsky was ‘insane’ and ‘a perfect idiot’. Born into a wealthy land-owning family, what drove this tormented man and why did he suffer psychological breakdowns and alcoholism? How did he achieve his command of the realist idiom in his stage works? d, of course, Pictures at an Exhibition.

“Paul is dead.” It was the late 1960's, the Beatles hadn’t toured since 1966, and some truly bizarre indications began appearing, pointing to the unthinkable: Paul McCartney had been killed in a car accident and replaced by a look-alike. The Walrus Was Paul unearths every single clue from one of rock ’n’ roll’s most enduring puzzles and takes you on a magical mystery tour of baffling, yet fascinating, hints for solving this mystery.

Lisa Marie Presley, Tochter der amerikanischen Musiklegende Elvis und aufgewachsen in Graceland, erzählt erstmals ihre ganze Lebensgeschichte. Eine einzigartige und ungeschönte Autobiografie, die von ihrer Tochter Riley Keough aufgeschrieben wurde Ende 2022 bat Lisa Marie Presley ihre Tochter Riley Keough, ihr bei der Fertigstellung ihre lang erwarteten Memoiren zu helfen. Nur einen Monat später verstarb Lisa Marie überraschend - und konnte ihre Geschichte, die sie in ihren eigenen Worten erzählen wollte, nicht mehr vollenden.

Gary Barlow is one of the most successful British musicians and songwriters of all time, but 15 years ago, as he himself admits, he hit rock bottom - he was out of shape, out of work, depressed. Food for him had become an addiction, a means not only of comfort but almost of self-medication as he grappled with the cruel twists of fate of musical stardom. In 2003, as he struggled with the disappointment of an underperforming solo career alongside the tireless media taunts; Gary turned to food.

Born to an American myth and raised in the wilds of Graceland, Lisa Marie Presley was never truly understood...until now. Before her death in 2023, she'd been working on a raw, riveting, one-of-a-kind memoir for years, recording countless hours of breathtakingly vulnerable tape, which has finally been revealed by her daughter, Riley Keough.

Dive into the enchanting world of opera where musical mastery meets literary brilliance! In "From Page to Stage: The Literature Behind Great Operas," seasoned violist and longtime principal player of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Richard Fleischman takes readers on an illuminating journey through the rich tapestry of stories that have inspired some of the most beloved operatic works in history. Drawing on decades of experience performing works by iconic composers like Mozart, Verdi, and Puccini, as well as witnessing the evolution of new operas—including the Grammy-winning Cold Mountain ...

This is a story from the Famous Composers collection.

Probably the most naturally gifted musician the world has ever known, Mozart began his career early as a child prodigy. By the age five, he was already proficient on the violin, the harpsichord, and piano keyboard, and had begun composing music that had integrity. He was a showman as well, according to contemporary documents, and charmed many of the crowned heads of Europe with his performance and his manner.

In Simply Stravinsky, Professor Pieter van den Toorn takes a fresh look at the composer and his legacy, providing a compact, exciting, and accessible introduction to the 20th century’s most celebrated composer and his timeless music. From Stravinsky’s apprenticeship in St. Petersburg to his life among the émigré community in Southern California, Professor van den Toorn shows how the composer’s music was tied to his personality and how it came to influence artists from Aaron Copland to Philip Glass.

Let Osvaldo Mouszee guide your children through the life and work of three of the greatest classical composers: Beethoven, Berlioz, and Brahms. The book explains their life and works. Not only that, but you can hear their works included in the recording after learning about the composer. This is great way to educate children on classical composers and bring their works to life!

Beatlemania had struck North America, creating a musical and pop culture phenomenon unlike anything the world had ever seen. At the center of it all was John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the principal songwriting duo who were instrumental in creating the soundtrack of the 1960s, while producing some of the world's most timeless classics. Together with George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Lennon and McCartney propelled The Beatles to unprecedented heights, experimenting with their sound in ways that revolutionized rock and inspired bands across various musical genres.

Whatever you do or don't know about being a musician, this no-holds-barred tour through the hilarious and brutal realities of life inside the music industry is as informative as it is entertaining. Written for musicians and general public alike, Byron Fry's story imparts hard-learned, hard-hitting truths from his wild ride through life as a musical pinball. His journey is a dizzying study of how many hats one person can wear, and he places each of them on your head.