The Great Composers & Their Music

This fabulous collection of 65 magazines and 65 CDs was published by Marshal Cavendish in the 1980’s. The collection is divided into 5 sections detailing music from: The Romantic Era, The Baroque & Classical Era, The Nationalism Era, The Twentieth Century Era & The Great Operas. The contents of these five sections are shown in Photos 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9. Each 24 page full colour magazine is laid out with the same format of: • Biography containing intimate facts on the composer's life. • Composition process, first performance events, and critical reaction. • A Listener’s Guide to the performance. • Understanding Music such as: What is a Symphony/what is a Sonata/what is a Concerto/What are the duties of a First Violinist etc. • The historical background in which the composer lived. • Each magazine back cover features orchestral issues ranging from the layout of an orchestra to details on all of the musical instruments employed. In some ways, the magazines have a greater value than the CDs as the information in the magazines provides unique and intimate insights into the composer’s family life, social background as well as musical content. This detail helps to remove the perceived snobbery associated with classical music and leads to a better understanding of classical music. For example: Beethoven appeared anti-social in his later years because of his deafness which was probably caused by severe beatings in his childhood from a drunken father. Tchaikovsky, like Oscar Wilde, was denounced for homosexuality which led to his suicide. Mahler and his wife after attending the opera could not remember the middle section of the Merry Widow waltz. He was too proud to be seen buying the music sheet the next day for a mere waltz. So he distracted the shop assistant in the music shop to allow his wife to quickly read the music sheet on display but not to buy it. Brahms, at the age of 13 played piano for food and minimal payment in dockland brothels and the sordid atmosphere affected his lifetime relationships. However, even though Brahms is considered second only to Beethoven, he was not a musical snob and openly proclaimed that he wished he had composed “The Blue Danube” waltz. This collection is a must for anybody studying or beginning a career in classical music. Both CDs and Magazines are not new but in excellent condition.