Literature for composer study??

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  • February 12, 2012 at 2:14 pm
    greenebalts
    Participant

    Does anyone have suggestions for high school living books/great literature about various composers?  Everything I’ve seen looks very elementary/middle school.  

     

    Thanks,

    Melissa

    http://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/

    February 12, 2012 at 2:54 pm
    missingtheshire
    Member

    Hi this site is quite good for Baroque composers – you might want to check it out, not living books unfortunately but not bad bios on the composers…

    http://www.tafelmusik.org/flash/learningcentre/tafel.html

    In high school I used less of the living books and used other books and the link above as I could not find any living books that were geared toward the older teens. Maybe someone else has other ideas. Hope you find what you are looking for. Linda

    February 12, 2012 at 3:05 pm
    missingtheshire
    Member

    Forgot to mention some of the books I used – along with watching opera, operetta and classical music in general…also when finances allowed we visited the symphony and theater to see performances.

    Here are the books:

    100 Great Operas and Their Stories Act by Act Synopses by Henry W. Simon

    and

    Classical Music 101, A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Classical Music by Fred Plotkin

    and

    The Classical Music Experience by Julius H Jacobson II, MD includes 2 audio CDs narrated by Kevin Kline

    Depending on your sensitivities you may need to vet the odd chapter…I don’t know what worries people with their teens but neither of the above books is shocking in anyway and I had no problem with it.

    also

    Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers [Paperback]

    Patrick Kavanaugh

    February 12, 2012 at 3:15 pm
    pianogirl363
    Participant

    One book to consider is The Lives of the Great Composers by Harold C. Schonberg. It is comprised of a series of interesting, lively biographies of the most famous composers in our Western culture of music. 

    ~Anna

    February 12, 2012 at 3:42 pm
    missingtheshire
    Member

    Thanks Anna, yes that is another book in our library I had forgotten about…it is very good and as Anna says lively and interesting. Linda

    February 12, 2012 at 5:56 pm
    greenebalts
    Participant

    Thanks Ladies….I’ve just ordered some up from the library.  

     

    Has anyone heard of or read any composer titles by Omnibus Press?

     

    Blessings,

    Melissa

    February 12, 2012 at 10:34 pm
    zillymom
    Member

    Yes, definitely Anna’s suggestion for Lives of the Great Composers. Love that one.

    I reallllllly enjoyed reading Evening in the Palace of Reason by Gaines. It’d be great for a study on Bach. It gives a good picture of what was going on historically at the time, the movement from the baroque to classical periods, and the absolutely genius of Bach.

    A couple of other favorites of mine:

    Beethoven’s Hair by Russell Martin

    Chopin’s Funeral by Benita Eisler

    I’m thinking older high school students (or ones who are enthusiastic readers) would have no trouble reading these.

    February 13, 2012 at 12:08 am
    TailorMade
    Participant

    I found these five titles in the music section of All Through the Ages, by Christine Miller.

    Music of the Great Composers, by Pateick Kavanaugh (the classics explained)

    Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers, ” (profiles 20 composers)

    Mozart, by Manuel Komroff (Austrian composer, 1756-91)

    Beloved Friend, by Catherine Bowen (biography of Txhaikovsky, 1840-93) Let the Authors Speak suggested book

    Gift of Music: Great Composers and Their Influence, by Jane Smith, Betty Carlson (lives, philosophies, music) Veritas Press suggested book

    Hth,

    Becca<><

    February 13, 2012 at 3:22 pm
    Sonya Shafer
    Moderator

    I found Stories of the Four Great Composers quite nice. It covers Mendelssohn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn and shows how their lives intertwined.

    February 13, 2012 at 3:40 pm
    missingtheshire
    Member

    Thanks Sonya, I had not seen that one – I will enjoy reading hat myself, four of my favorite composers. Linda

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