Overview

In this magisterial volume, Harvey Sachs, author of the highly acclaimed biography Toscanini, takes listeners into the heart of ten great works of classical music?works that have endured because they were created by composers who had a genius for drawing music out of their deepest wellsprings. These masters?Mozart and Beethoven; Schubert, Schumann, Berlioz, Verdi, and Brahms; Sibelius, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky?communicated their life experiences through music, and through music they universalized the intimate. By expanding our perceptions of these ten pieces?composed in the years between 1784 and 1966?Sachs, in lush, exquisite prose, invites us to consider why music stimulates, disturbs, exalts, and consoles us. He has lived with these masterpieces for a lifetime, and his descriptions of them and the dramatic lives of the composers who wrote them bring a heightened dimension to our musical perceptions--whether we're casual listeners, students, professional musicians, or anyone in between.

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Reviews

""A fascinating, fluidly and entertainingly written rumination on great works in the canon...Sachs speaks lovingly about the music that has most affected him."" -- ""Simon Morrison, professor of music, Princeton University"" ""Harvey Sachs has the rare gift of conveying a great deal of knowledge with a clarity and wit that make it accessible to the student and lover of music while presenting the informed musician with ample food for thought."" -- ""Alfred Brendel, world-renowned pianist"" ""Music clips are not found in this audiobook. Instead, music historian Harvey Sachs offers some fascinating context on ten works that he considers to be masterpieces. Fans of great classical music will find Sachs's audiobook a delight, particularly as narrated by Paul Bellantoni...an engaging listen...This audiobook is certain to have listeners seeking out these masterpieces for a first or repeat listen."" -- ""AudioFile""

Author Information

Harvey Sachs is the author or coauthor of eleven books and has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Times Literary Supplement, among other publications. He lives in New York City and is on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Paul Bellantoni is an experienced voiceover artist and audiobook narrator who has worked on a wide range of projects. Also an award-winning opera singer, he has performed in opera houses across the United States and Europe--including at Carnegie Hall, where he held a solo concert. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

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