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By: Aubertine Woodward Moore (1841-1929) | |
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For Every Music Lover
A series of essays for music lovers, covering many topics. From music appreciation, to violin and symphony, music education, to piano and, in fact, the very origins of music, there is sure to be something for everyone. |
By: Alexander Wheelock Thayer (1817-1897) | |
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Life of Ludwig Van Beethoven, Vol. 1
The first of three volumes of the first scholarly biography of Ludwig van Beethoven. Covers the years 1770-1802. - Summary by Zain Solinski |
By: Alice C. (Alice Cunningham) Fletcher (1838-1923) | |
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Indian Games and Dances with Native Songs | |
By: Amy Fay (1844-1928) | |
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Music-Study in Germany from the Home Correspondence of Amy Fay |
By: Aristotle (384-322 BC) | |
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Poetics
Aristotle’s Poetics from the 4th century B.C. aims to give a short study of storytelling. It discusses things like unity of plot, reversal of situation, and character in the context of Greek tragedy, comedy and epic poetry. But it still applies today. It is especially popular with screenwriters as seen in many script gurus’ how-to books. |
By: Arthur Elson (1873-1940) | |
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Woman's Work in Music |
By: Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) | |
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Musical Memories | |
On the Execution of Music, and Principally of Ancient Music |
By: Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) | |
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The Merry-Go-Round |
By: Charles Annesley | |
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The Standard Operaglass Detailed Plots of One Hundred and Fifty-one Celebrated Operas |
By: Charles Edward de la Poer Beresford (1850-1921) | |
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Happy New Year and Other Verses
This is a collection of 27 poems, some seasonal to New Years and Christmas, but others on themes of religion, nature and home. |
By: Charles Klein (1867-1915) | |
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The Music Master Novelized from the Play |
By: Charles Rogers (1825-1890) | |
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Modern Scottish Minstrel
Subtitled "Songs of Scotland of the Past Half-Century, with Memoirs of the Poets, and Sketches and Specimens in English Verse of the Most Celebrated Modern Gaelic Bards." |
By: Christopher Wilson (1874-1919) | |
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Shakespeare and Music
Shakespeare's plays are full of music: love songs, comic ditties, serious ballads, and songs for witches and spirits. Over the centuries musicians and composers have also created musical adaptations based on Shakespeare's plays. Composer Christopher Wilson's Shakespeare and Music (1922) documents the musical history of each play across various genres, including opera and incidental music. |
By: D. A. (David Alva) Clippinger (1860-1938) | |
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The Head Voice and Other Problems Practical Talks on Singing |
By: David C. (David Clark) Taylor (1871-1918) | |
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The Psychology of Singing A Rational Method of Voice Culture Based on a Scientific Analysis of All Systems, Ancient and Modern |
By: Edmund S. (Edmund Simon) Lorenz (1854-1942) | |
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The Otterbein Hymnal For Use in Public and Social Worship |
By: Edward Bellasis (1852-1922) | |
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Cardinal Newman as a Musician |
By: Edward MacDowell (1860-1908) | |
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Critical and Historical Essays Lectures delivered at Columbia University |
By: Edward Marshall (1870-1933) | |
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The Old Flute-Player A Romance of To-day |
By: Edward W. (Edward Woodall) Naylor (1867-1934) | |
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Shakespeare and Music With Illustrations from the Music of the 16th and 17th centuries |
By: Edwin Mims | |
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A Biography of Sidney Lanier |
By: Eleanor Mary Smith-Dampier | |
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Norse King's Bridal
In these translations from the Danish the author attempted to adhere strictly to the metres of the original, however in some, where this was not possible, she developed her own interpretations. |
By: Ellye Howell Glover (1868-) | |
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How the Piano Came to Be |
By: Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950) | |
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The Eurhythmics of Jaques-Dalcroze |
By: Enrico Caruso (1873-1921) | |
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Caruso and Tetrazzini on the Art of Singing |
By: Ethel Home | |
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Music As A Language Lectures to Music Students |
By: Florence Akin (1878-) | |
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Opera Stories from Wagner |
By: Francis E. (Francis Edward) Howard (1858-) | |
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The Child-Voice in Singing treated from a physiological and a practical standpoint and especially adapted to schools and boy choirs |
By: Francis Jameson Rowbotham | |
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Story-Lives of Great Musicians |
By: Franz Hoffmann (1814-1882) | |
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Mozart's Youth
This short account of the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is part of the “Life Stories for Young People” series. It is written in an engaging dialogue format beginning with the young Mozart’s first notes on the piano keyboard at age three to his admission to membership in the Accademia Filarmonica at Bologna, Italy, ten years later. This child prodigy astounded the musical world of Europe to become one of the most cherished of all classical composers. |
By: Franz Liszt (1811-1886) | |
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Life of Chopin
Chopin was a romantic era Polish composer. This work is a memoir by Liszt who knew Chopin both as man and artist. This memoir gives a unique understanding to the psychological character of the compositions of Chopin. It also offers Liszt's insight into some of Chopin's polonaises, especially the grand polonaise in F sharp minor. Liszt explains the strange emotion "ZAL" which is inclosed in his compositions. Then, presents a brief sketch on the lives of other great people in Chopin's circle. After that, Liszt discusses Chopin's fame and early life. Finally, Liszt gives a detailed account on Chopin's sufferings due to ill health and the unfortunate departure of the great composer. | |
Letters of Franz Liszt -- Volume 1 from Paris to Rome: Years of Travel as a Virtuoso | |
Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt — Volume 1 |
By: Frederick Herman Martens (1874-1932) | |
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Violin Mastery Talks with Master Violinists and Teachers |
By: Frederick Niecks (1845-1924) | |
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Frederick Chopin, as a Man and Musician |
By: Friedrich Johann Lehmann (1866-) | |
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A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons |
By: Friedrich Kerst | |
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Mozart, The Man and the Artist as Revealed in His Own Words
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His name is one of the most recognizable names in history and one of the most enduring of composers. At age 5, this “wunderkinder” took to the stage and began his life as a prolific and celebrated creator-genius of such luminous works the world has not known since. This collection of morsels taken from his personal letters is engaging and gives a look into the mind of the boy wonder. Was he mad? Was he miraculous? |
By: Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) | |
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Case of Wagner / Nietzsche Contra Wagner / Selected Aphorisms
A collection of three of Nietzsche's writings concerning the music of Wagner. In particular, he relates Wagner's music as degenerate, unrefined and unintelligent and relates it to a gradually degenerating German culture and society. The translator provides a detailed introduction. |
By: Friedrich Wieck (1785-1873) | |
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Piano and Song
This book talks about teaching, learning and performing on the piano in a delightful style, alternating between conversation and instruction. As he was the father of Clara Schumann and Robert Schumann's teacher, need I say more? |
By: G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
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The Ballad of the White Horse
An English epic poem that follows the exploits of Alfred the Great in his defense of Christian civilization in England from the heathen nihilism of the North. Following a string of defeats at the hands of the invading Danes, a vision from heaven in the river island of Athelney fills Alfred with joy and hope. Though it gives no promise of victory in the coming struggle, it inspires him to rally his chieftains for a last stand against the invading hordes. His adventures lead throughout the country... |
By: George Ainslie Hight (1851-) | |
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Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde"; an essay on the Wagnerian drama |
By: George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) | |
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The Perfect Wagnerite
The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the Niblung's Ring (originally published London, 1898) is a philosophical commentary on Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, by the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw. Shaw offered it to those enthusiastic admirers of Wagner who "were unable to follow his ideas, and do not in the least understand the dilemma of Wotan." He interprets the Ring in Marxian terms as an allegory of the collapse of capitalism from its internal contradictions. Musicologically, his... |
By: George Hart (1839-1891) | |
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The Violin Its Famous Makers and Their Imitators |
By: George Laing Miller | |
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The Recent Revolution in Organ Building Being an Account of Modern Developments |
By: George Manville Fenn (1831-1909) | |
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The Queen's Scarlet The Adventures and Misadventures of Sir Richard Frayne |
By: George P. Upton (1834-1919) | |
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The Standard Oratorios Their Stories, Their Music, And Their Composers | |
The Standard Operas (12th edition) Their Plots, Their Music, and Their Composers |
By: George Sampson (1873-1950) | |
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A Day with Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy |
By: Gertrude Hall Brownell (1863-1961) | |
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The Wagnerian Romances |
By: Gilbert Seldes (1893-1970) | |
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Seven Lively Arts
“... But, beside those great men, there is a certain number of artists who have a distinct faculty of their own by which they convey to us a peculiar quality of pleasure which we cannot get elsewhere; and these, too, have their place in general culture, and must be interpreted to it by those who have felt their charm strongly, and are often the objects of a special diligence and a consideration wholly affectionate, just because there is not about them the stress of a great name and authority.” - Summary by Walter Pater |
By: Gladys Davidson | |
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Stories From The Operas
"Owing to the appreciation which has been accorded to my three series of "Stories from the Operas," it has been decided to re-issue the collection in one volume, and to include in this additional stories of new and popular operas recently produced in England.The plan of the work, as before, is to present all the incidents of each libretto in the clear, readable form of a short story; and it is hoped that the combined volume will continue to prove of interest, not only to opera-goers but to all lovers of dramatic tales. The three volumes have been entirely reset and re-collated in a manner which it is hoped will make them easier for reference." - Summary by Gladys Davidson |
By: Gustav Kobbé (1857-1918) | |
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How to Appreciate Music
Originally published in 1906, this book is essentially a how to guide on music appreciation. Includes sections on the pianoforte, orchestral, and vocal music. Good for anyone who wishes for a greater appreciation of the wonders of music. | |
The Loves of Great Composers | |
The Pianolist A Guide for Pianola Players |
By: H. Ernest (Harry Ernest) Hunt | |
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Spirit and Music |
By: H. R. (Hugh Reginald) Haweis (1839-1901) | |
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Parsifal Story and Analysis of Wagner's Great Opera |
By: Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) | |
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The Orchestral Conductor Theory of His Art |
By: Hélène A. Guerber (1859-1929) | |
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Stories of the Wagner Opera |
By: Henry Charles Lahee (1856-1953) | |
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Famous Violinists of To-day and Yesterday | |
Annals of Music in America A Chronological Record of Significant Musical Events |
By: Henry Edward Krehbiel (1854-1923) | |
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How to Listen to Music
This book is "not written for professional musicians, but for untaught lovers of the art". It gives broad instruction on composers, styles, instruments, venues - and when to believe the critics. | |
A Book of Operas Their Histories, Their Plots, and Their Music | |
A Second Book of Operas | |
Chapters of Opera Being historical and critical observations and records concerning the lyric drama in New York from its earliest days down to the present time |
By: Henry Lawson (1867-1922) | |
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Verses Popular And Humorous (Version 2)
Verses, Popular and Humorous was the second collection of poems by Australian poet Henry Lawson. It features some of the poet's earlier major works, including "The Lights of Cobb and Co", "Saint Peter" and "The Grog-An'-Grumble-Steeplechase". Most of the poems in the volume had been written after the publication of In the Days When the World was Wide and Other Verses in 1896. The original collection includes 66 poems by the author that are reprinted from various sources. Later publications split the collection into two separate volumes: Popular Verses and Humorous Verses, though the contents differed from the original list... |
By: Henry Saint-George (1866-1917) | |
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The Bow, Its History, Manufacture and Use 'The Strad' Library, No. III. |
By: Henry Theophilus Finck (1854-1926) | |
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Chopin and Other Musical Essays |
By: Herbert Francis Peyser (1886-1953) | |
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Joseph Haydn; Servant And Master
Haydn, barring a few hardships in his youth, lived an extraordinarily fortunate life and had abundant reason for the optimism which marked every step of his progress.... Haydn was a master by the grace of Heaven and a servant only by the artificial conventions of a temporary social order... About the vast number of symphonies, the magnificent string quartets, the clavier works, the songs there can here be no question. - Summary by Author's Foreword | |
George Frideric Handel
Handel’s long career resembles a gigantic tapestry, so bewilderingly crowded with detail, so filled with turmoil and vicissitude, with vast achievements, extremes of good and ill fortune, and unending comings and goings that any attempt to force even a small part of it into the frame of a tiny, unpretentious booklet of the present sort is as hopeless as it is presumptuous.... Handel was time and again a composer of exquisitely delicate colorations, and sensuous style, not to say a largely unsuspected master of many subtle intricacies of rhythm... | |
Mendelssohn And Certain Masterworks
In the compass of the present pamphlet it is impossible to give more than a cursory survey of Mendelssohn’s happy but extraordinarily crowded life. He was only slightly less prolific a composer than such masters as Bach, Mozart or Schubert, even if he did not reach the altitude of their supreme heights. But irrespective of the quality of much of his output, the sheer mass of it is astounding, the more so when we consider the extent of his travels and the unceasing continuity of his professional and social activities, which immensely exceeded anything of the kind in the career of Schubert or Bach. - Summary by Author's Foreword | |
Richard Strauss
There was not much truly spectacular about the course of [Strauss's] life, which was most happily free from the material troubles which bedeviled the existence of so many great masters... If “Salome” and “Elektra”, “Ein Heldenleben” and “Till Eulenspiegel” were in their day scandalously “sensational” did not the whirligig of time reveal them as incontestable products of genius, irrespective of inequalities and flaws? However Richard Strauss compares in the last analysis with this or that master he contributed to the language of music idioms, procedures and technical accomplishments typical of the confused years and conflicting ideals out of which they were born... | |
Robert Schumann, Tone Poet Prophet And Critic
[This is] the sketchiest outline of Robert Schumann’s short life but amazingly rich achievement. Together with Haydn and Schubert he was, perhaps, the most completely lovable of the great masters. It is hard, moreover, to think of a composer more strategically placed in his epoch or more perfectly timed in his coming. Tone poet, fantast, critic, visionary, prophet—he was all of these! And he passed through every phase, it seemed, of romantic experience. The great and even the semi-great of a fabulous period of music were his intimates—personages like Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt, Moscheles, Ferdinand David, Hiller, Joachim, Brahms... |
By: Horace Petherick (1839-1919) | |
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The Repairing & Restoration of Violins 'The Strad' Library, No. XII. |
By: Horatio Alger (1832-1899) | |
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The Young Musician ; Or, Fighting His Way |
By: Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832-1899) | |
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Grand'ther Baldwin's Thanksgiving, with Other Ballads and Poems
Horatio Alger, better known for his juvenile fiction, also penned some great poetry. His Ballads, including the 8 war poems and his odes, are collected in this volume. |
By: Hubert G. (Hubert Gibson) Shearin (1878-) | |
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A Syllabus of Kentucky Folk-Songs |
By: Isaac Watts (1674-1748) | |
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A Short Essay Toward the Improvement of Psalmody |
By: Israel Zangwill (1864-1926) | |
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Merely Mary Ann |
By: J. Cuthbert (James Cuthbert) Hadden (1816-1914) | |
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Haydn |
By: Jack London (1876-1916) | |
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The Acorn-Planter A California Forest Play (1916) |
By: James Francis Cooke (1875-1960) | |
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Great Pianists on Piano Playing Study Talks with Foremost Virtuosos |
By: James Huneker (1860-1921) | |
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Chopin: The Man and His Music
A biography of the Polish composer and virtuoso pianist Frédéric Chopin and a critical analysis of his work by American music writer and critic James Huneker. | |
Old Fogy His Musical Opinions and Grotesques | |
Melomaniacs |
By: James T. (James Thomas) Lightwood (1856-1944) | |
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Charles Dickens and Music |
By: Jennette Lee (1860-1951) | |
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Unfinished Portraits Stories of Musicians and Artists |
By: Jessie Fothergill (1851-1891) | |
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The First Violin
May Wedderburn is a quiet provincial girl, living in small and seemingly boring Skernford. Underneath the dull exterior, there is mystery, suspicion and fear in this little town, surrounding the austere local wealthy landowner who is very interested in marrying poor May. It looks as though she will have to marry him whether she likes it or not until an unsuspected alliance is formed between her and a respected old lady. They both escape to Germany where music and excitement await them. |
By: Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908) | |
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Uncle Remus
Bearing a striking resemblance to Aesop of Aesop's Fables fame, American author Joel Chandler Harris' Uncle Remus is also a former slave who loves to tell simple and pithy stories. Uncle Remus or to give it its original title, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings was published in late 1880 and received instant acclaim. The book was reviewed in hundreds of journals and newspapers across the country, leading to its immense success, both critical and financial. “Remus” was originally a fictional character in a newspaper column... |
By: John Addington Symonds (1840-1893) | |
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Wine, Women, and Song Mediaeval Latin Students' songs; Now first translated into English verse |
By: John D. Shortridge | |
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Italian Harpsichord-Building in the 16th and 17th Centuries |
By: John F. Runciman (1866-1916) | |
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Old Scores and New Readings Discussions on Music & Certain Musicians | |
Richard Wagner Composer of Operas | |
Purcell | |
Wagner |