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Throughout his career as composer, conductor, and pianist, Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) was an intensely private individual. When Bertensson and Leyda's 1956 biography appeared, it lifted the veil of secrecy on several areas of Rachmaninoff's life, especially concerning the genesis of his compositions and how he was affected by their critical reception.These pages are fabulously peopled. Here we find the Tchaikovsky brothers, Rimsky-Korsakov, Scriabin, Glazunov, and Stravinsky, as well as Chekhov, Stanislavsky, Chaliapin, Fokine, Hofmann, and Horowitz.This biography reflects direct consultation with a number of people who knew Rachmaninoff, worked with him, and corresponded with him. Even with the availabilty of such sources and full access to the Rachmaninoff Archive at the Library of Congress, Bertensson, Leyda, and Satina (Rachmaninoff's cousin and sister-in-law) were tireless in their pursuit of privately held documents, particularly correspondence. The wonderfully engaging product of their labours masterfully incorporates primary materials into the narrative. Almost half a century after it first appeared, this volume remains essential reading.
Delius was born in 1862, twenty-four years before the signing in 1886 of the Berne Convention, the international convention for the protection of literary and artistic works. During Delius's lifetime came the birth of the record industry, the development of exercising the performing right, the introduction of the mechanical right and the advent of films and broadcasting. Robert Montgomery and Robert Threlfall chronicle Delius's dealings with his publishers and the Performing Right Society (PRS) through his copious correspondence. This book provides a selection of translations of the letters, most of which have never been seen before, and offers a unique insight into how a leading twentieth-century composer earned his living from composition in the changing environment of the world of music.
Includes the society's Report
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"There are many biographies and articles about the life of Frederick Delius (1862-1934), but there has never been a comprehensive book about his music until now. He was an extraordinarily versatiles composer, equally at home with orchestral, instrumental, and chamber works as with choral works and songs; and Delius and his Music covers his entire output. Everything he published, from his earliest compositions and 'trifiles' to the mighty, ninety-minute A Mass of Life, is analysed here in nontechnical language. The history and background of each work and its critical reception are also examined, set within a biography, and against a backdrop of the English musical scene and some of its personalities during the seventy years of Delius's life. There are numerous musical examples and many quotations from contemporary newspapers and journals, as well as a complete list of Delius's works, with catalogue numbers, and a select bibliography. This book will appeal not only to students and Delian scholars, but also to everyone who already has an interest in Delius's unique music, or who would like to discover it for the first time"--Jaquette.
Lancaster, the county town of Lancashire, stands at the lowest bridging point of the River Lune. A chartered borough since 1193 and a city since 1937, it has had a long and turbulent history. Since the Roman army first saw the strategic possibilities of a low hill by the river it has housed garrisons and acted as a fortress. Its position on the main west-coast road to and from Scotland has on numerous occasions led to the passage of hostile armies. As county town and seat of the Assizes it has seen all the principal criminal cases for Lancashire tried in its magnificent Castle over the last eight centuries. Next to the Castle in a typical juxtaposition of Church and State stands the Priory church with its own history running back some twelve or thirteen centuries. In this book, based wherever possible on original sources, such as the rich resources of the borough records or the local newspapers, the author takes a thematic approach. In ten chapters he examines themes such as 'House and Home', 'Working for a Living' and 'Where do you come from?', the last of which is a study of all the people who over the centuries have come from other countries to live in Lancaster.