The Art of French Piano Music: Debussy, Ravel, Faure, Chabrier - Hardcover

Roy Howat

4.27

11 ratings by Goodreads

9780300145472: The Art of French Piano Music: Debussy, Ravel, Faure, Chabrier

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300145470 ISBN 13: 9780300145472

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2009

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The Art of French Piano Music Suitable for scholars and performers, this study illuminates the piano music of four major French composers, in comparative and reciprocal context. It explores the musical language and artistic ethos of this repertoire, juxtaposing structural analysis with editorial and performing issues. It relates the author's four composers historically.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

"...I can only restate my own real pleasure in the book and recommend it for its richness and range."
--John York, Piano, 1st July 2009

"If you decide to acquire a copy, you will savour it for years to come." --Stephen Pruslin, International Record Review, July/August 2009

"An important work, surely destined for classic status, the book is also beautifully printed and presented."
--Jeremy Siepmann, Classical Music, August 2009

`This magnum opus is a tribute to Roy Howat's endless study of, and affection for, the finest French piano music.' --Bryce Morrison, Gramophone, 1st October 2009

`Outstanding...this ambitious enterprise [could] be in grave danger of drowning...a fate avoided by the clarity of writing and organisation.'
--Andrew Thomson, Musical Times, 1st December 2009

Synopsis:

An essential resource for scholars and performers, this study by a world-renowned specialist illuminates the piano music of four major French composers, in comparative and reciprocal context. Howat explores the musical language and artistic ethos of this repertoire, juxtaposing structural analysis with editorial and performing issues. He also relates his four composers historically and stylistically to such predecessors as Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, the French harpsichord school, and Russian and Spanish music.Challenging long-held assumptions about performance practice, Howat elucidates the rhythmic vitality and invention inherent in French music. In granting Faure and Chabrier equal consideration with Debussy and Ravel, he redresses a historic imbalance and reshapes our perceptions of this entire musical tradition. Outstanding historical documentation and analysis are supported by Howat's direct references to performing traditions shaped by the composers themselves. The book balances accessibility with scholarly and analytic rigour, combining a lifetime's scholarship with practical experience of teaching and the concert platform.

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