In this magisterial volume, Harvey Sachs, author of the highly acclaimed biography Toscanini, takes readers 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 universalised 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 the musical perceptions of readers who may be casual listeners, students, professional musicians or anyone in between.

About the Author
Harvey Sachs is the author or coauthor of eleven books, including Toscanini and Music in Fascist Italy. He lives in New York City and is on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.


Book Information
ISBN 9781631495182
Author Harvey Sachs
Format Hardback
Page Count 384
Imprint Liveright Publishing Corporation
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 682g
Dimensions(mm) 244mm * 165mm * 33mm