The Great Composers: The Lives and Music of 50 Great Classical Composers

by Jeremy Nicholas

Book Overview

The lives and works of the 50 greatest composers in the history of classical music are profiled here. The biographies not only describe the life, artistic development and creative output of each... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1847240135
• ISBN13: 9781847240132
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Quercus Books
• Length: 204 Pages
• Weight: 1.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.5" x 10.6"

Customer Reviews

Classical Composers Brief Bios & Musical Insights

This book is a pleasure to read. I read whilie listening to my iPod sample of the greatest works of these composers. I'm enjoying the process of using this book to help educate me on the great composers, where they came from, what made their musical style or works so unique/special. This book is just what I wanted to scratch the surface of each composer. Then by adding a sample of a song after reading each bio I can connect the dots a bit and begin to understand and associate the style with its composer. It has been a delightful process! Recommendations to publisher: 1- a digital e-book would have been great in addition to this printed copy 2 - consider making this book an interactive one... by adding audio or video samples to each chapter to share samples of the composers work today Thanks to the writer of the book - these kinds of books are so needed out there and presented in format that covers te basics for people like me who want to learn in an efficient format. This will help me read more in-depth biographies too!

A Satisfying Book on the Lives of 50 Great Classical Composers

Classical music was part of my family's DNA. My mother played classical music on the piano and required each of her six children to get some musical training. For me, it was classical piano and I must say, I did not readily take to it, quitting at the first opportunity I had - football. My dad, however, listened to classical music LPs each night when he returned from work and, I believe, this is where my love of classical music was rooted. I turned to active listening of classical music at age 38 and have never looked back. I have a library of books (hard copy and audio) on classical music, conductors, and composers; a vast collection of classical CDs; and have been a subscriber to the San Francisco Symphony for more than 20 years. I stumbled on Jeremy Nicholas' "The Great Composers" while in a nearby Borders book store within the past month. It appeared to be a great value at $9.99...sorry, Quercus and Mr. Nicholas! I bought the book and began reading it immediately. What a great book! While a steal at $9.99, it would be a great purchase at its cover price. In the "Great Composers," the author provides profiles ranging from 1-3 pages of the top 50 classical composers. While concise, the profiles capture the uniqueness of these extraordinary geniuses. This will make an excellent resource for moderately sophisticated classical music lovers, like me. The author admits that creating a list of greats followed weeks of indecision while one choice was weighed against another. In the end many great composers gave way to other great composers. While Nicholas admits this may lead to contention, most readers will find this a most worthy list and will be satisfied with their purchase.

Fun introduction to great composers

This coloring book is a fun way to introduce children 6-10 to some of the greatest composers. The captions are brief and intended only to provide some basic biographical information on a level appropriate for children. Coloring is a great way for kids to learn and these drawings are historically accurate, high-quality and fun to color.