The second part of the third volume to appear in the magnum opus of A. Peter Brown continues the geographical tour of the mid-19th-to early-20th-century symphony begun in Vol. 3A. Brown discusses works from England, Russia, and France-including those by Potter, Bennett, Stanford, Elgar, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Gounod, Bizet, Franck, Dukas, and many others. A single source provides a detailed analysis of stylistic traits and background material on the composition and performances of these masterpieces.

Brown's series synthesizes an enormous amount of scholarly literature in a wide range of languages. It presents current overviews of the status of research, discusses important former or remaining problems of attribution, illuminates the style of specific works and their contexts, and samples early writings on their reception. There are overviews of the symphony as a genre and in-depth analysis of particular aspects of the symphony (such as composer, period, or instrument). No other book or series of books allows for the in-depth musical analysis and historical context that Brown provides in each volume of The Symphonic Repertoire.

The definitive study of the Romantic British, Russian, and French symphony

About the Author

A. Peter Brown (1943-2003) was Professor of Musicology and Department Chair at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He authored more than 80 published articles and reviews and was known for his scholarship on Joseph Haydn.

Reviews

This third volume of a set that, completed, would be the most exhaustive study to date of the symphony in the Western tradition shares with its predecessors-The First Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony (CH, Apr'03, 40-4510), The Second Golden Age . . . (CH, Mar'04, 41-3953)-a brilliance of detail. It is divided into two parts: all of part A and two-thirds of part B are the work of the late Brown, whose untimely death leaves the fate of the volumes that would complete the survey uncertain. Like earlier volumes, this one includes complete analyses of each symphony, details of first performances, and rich bibliographic resources. Brown discusses formal and technical detail, placing each work in context. He analyzes the works of Franz Berwald, Joseph Joachim Raff, Mikhail Glinka, and other relative unknowns, as well as calling the reader's attention to, for example, the influence of Felix Mendelssohn as a mentor and Sergei Rachmaninoff as a contrapuntalist.Written with both scholarly appeal and wry good humor, this volume uncovers a rich world of previously underappreciated masterpieces. Serious students of music-including conductors, performers, and avid listeners-will find this both informative and readable. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.

-- M. Neil * Choice *

ChoiceChoice

-- M. Neil * ChoiceChoice *

This work is highly recommended for all larger public and academic libraries, and smaller libraries with specialized music collections. . . . conductors, musicologists, and others connected with symphonic music would certainly benefit from having these volumes in their libraries.

-- Robert L. Wick * American Reference Books Annual *

ChoiceChoiceSeptember 2008

-- M. Neil * Augustana College *



Book Information
ISBN 9780253348975
Author A. Peter Brown
Format Hardback
Page Count 864
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 1569g