Music

J. S. Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin have been central to the violin repertoire since the mid-eighteenth century. This engaging volume is the first comprehensive exploration of the place of these works within Bach's music: it focuses on their structural and stylistic features as they have been perceived since their creation. Joel Lester, a highly regarded scholar, teacher, violinist, and administrator, combines an analytical study, a full historical guide, and an insightful introduction to Bach's style. Individual movements are related to comparable movements by Bach in other media and are differentiated from superficially similar works from later eras. Lester employs descriptions of historical and contemporary recordings, as well as accounts of nineteenth-century performances and commentaries on historical editions, to explore these works as they evolved through the centuries. Wherever possible, he uses analytic tools culled from eighteenth-century ideas, key notions originally developed for the specific purpose of describing the repertoire under consideration. Beginning with an overview of the solo violin music's place within Bach's oeuvre, this study takes the Sonata No. 1 in G minor as the paradigm of Bach's compositional strategy, examining each movement in detail before enlarging the discussion to cover parallel and contrasting features of the A-minor and C-minor sonatas. Next, a chapter is devoted to the three partitas and their roots in various dance-music traditions. The book concludes with a summary of form, style, and rhetoric in Bach's music, in which Lester muses on these masterpieces with an overall command of the music, criticism, and history of the 1700s that is quite rare among scholars. A novel and unprecedented investigation of a particular portion of Bach's accomplishment and a particular aspect of his universal appeal, Bach's Works for Solo Violin will help violinists, students, scholars, and other listeners develop a deeper persona more...

Price: $60.00

The story of Bad Boy Entertainment is the story of the American Dream - an up-close and personal account of America's biggest rap mogul and the people, the money, and the creative process that made it all come true. It is a story of friendship, greed, and betrayal in the music industry - a story Sean 'Puffy' Combs would prefer you didn't know. more...

Price: $17.99

Bandalism [ban-dəl-i-zəm] n .: the willful or malicious destruction of, or damage to, the fabric of a rock/pop/indie group brought about by one or more of its members. Axl Rose's monumental meltdowns . . . Kurt Cobain's tragic band-slaying suicide: The long history of platinum-selling überband implosions is more dramatic than a Russian novel. But even local cover bands can suffer the ill effects of the limelight. Multi-rock-band veteran Julian Ridgway's Bandalism is a can't-miss guide to rock 'n' roll survival, offering sage advice on how to avoid the pitfalls that can doom your group. Here's how to:.:.; Find nonpsycho band members.; Craft the perfect band image.; Choose a name that doesn't suck. And much more, including the handy Healthy Band Checklist, an ideal MySpace profile generator, and the Second Album Venn Diagram. more...

Price: $10.99

A biography of legendary and reclusive diva Barbra Streisand offers a detailed study of her personal life and extraordinary career while revealing the real-life woman behind the mystique. more...

Price: $10.95

This book tells the intriguing story of Bela Bartok's viola concerto, a work left unfinished at his death in 1945. Drawing on interviews and documents it discusses the commission, the reconstruction by Tibor Serly, events leading up to the premiere, its reception over the second half of the 20th century, the revisions, and future possibilities. more...

Price: $65.00