Music: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments and the Great Composers - Softcover

Wade-Matthews, Max; Thompson, Wendy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0754812359 ISBN 13: 9780754812357

Publisher: Lorenz Books, 2003

Synopsis

Spanning the musical world from the Middle Ages to the present, this authoritative guide features a history of music-making and the orchestra, with extensive coverage of all the different types of instrument past and present, from strings, woodwind and brass to percussion, keyboards and the voice, as well as historical, rare and non-Western instruments. This book lists over 100 of the most famous classical composers, from Bach to Xendakis, encompassing all styles of composition. The text features concise, at-a-glance fact boxes that summarize key information about instruments, performers and composers' key works. Fully illustrated with over 1000 photographs of musical instruments, musicians and composers, the places where they lived and worked, scenes from their ballets or operas, and examples of their handwritten manuscripts.

About this title

About the Author

Max Wade-Matthews is a freelance writer and historian. For four years he was the editor of the American Civil War magazine, House Divided, and he is the author of several history books. His main areas of writing are music and genealogy. Wendy Thompson studied piano and violin at the Royal College of Music, London, and then musicology and French Baroque opera at King's College, London. She has published several books, including biographies of Handel and Grieg. She provides program notes on a regular basis for the BBC and the Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Edition details

• Publisher: Lorenz Books
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0754812359
• ISBN 13: 9780754812357
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 512