{"product_id":"the-symphony-a-listeners-guide","title":"The Symphony: A Listener's Guide","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the agile beauty of Mozarts \"Jupiter\" and the fierce power of Beethovens Fifth to the celebration of heroism in Shostakovichs \"Leningrad \" the symphony has long held a prime place in the Western musical pantheon. Now  in The Symphony  renowned teacher and critic Michael Steinberg offers music lovers a monumental guide to this most celebrated of musical forms  with perceptive commentaries on some 118 works by 36 major composers. Enriched by biographical detail  historical background  musical examples  and many finely nuanced observations  this volume is a treasury of insight and information. Readers will find illuminating discussion of the complete symphonies of Beethoven  Schumann  Brahms  Elgar  Sibelius  and Mahler  as well as of the most loved symphonic works of Schubert  Bruckner  Dvorak  Tchaikovsky  Vaughan Williams  Prokofiev  and others. We learn  for example  how to listen more sharply for Haydns humor  to Mozarts singular combination of pathos with grace  and to the evolution of Beethovens musical ideas in his epoch-making nine symphones. The range and variety of composers are remarkable--Schumanns musical poetry  Tchaikovskys melodic genius  Mendelssohns patrician elegance  Mahlers wild and beautiful innovations  Bruckners mighty cathedrals in tone  the brooding mysteries of Sibelius  Stravinskys fascinating engagements with the past  and Aaron Coplands ebullient American athleticism--and all are illuminated by Steinbergs deft  inviting  and intensely personal essays. The book boasts generous coverage of American composers  with sections on Howard Hanson  Walter Piston  Roger Sessions  Aaron Copland  William Schuman  and John Harbison. Steinberg gives us such a vivid portrait of each composers personality that we get the most immediate sense of how the work is a direct expression of the person from whose soul and brain it has sprung. Tracing the ways in which composers have dealt with the extraordinary musical challenges that have engaged them throughout the centuries  Steinberg takes us through the revolutions of expression  sound  and form that have shaped the symphonys remarkable history. Whether beginners or veterans  music lovers will listen to the symphony with enlivened interest and deeper understanding with Steinbergs masterful guide in hand.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44955771994165,"sku":"ByrdShop_0195061772","price":33.12,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780195061772.jpg?v=1770314516","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-symphony-a-listeners-guide","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}