The New Grove Haydn (Grove Music Composer Biography Series) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195169042 ISBN 13: 9780195169041

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2003

Synopsis

The son of an 18th century Austrian wheelwright, Haydn is acknowledged for refining the symphony and string quartet and praised for his oratorios and masses. Deeply involved in the evolution of the Classical style, its subsequent growth can be seen in his own music. Indeed, he is considered to be one of the most significant composers of the Classical Period. Under his care the symphony and string quartet came to life, and the oratios and masses of his late years belong to the consummation of the classical spirit in music.
This biography of Joseph Haydn is one in a new series of composer biographies, derived and adapted from the second edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. These newly written biographies bring the best of the book-length pieces in The New Grove to a wider audience.
Each title provides fresh new insights into the life and works of a major composer, derived from the most recent scholarship. In addition to a detailed and informative view of the subject's life and works, written by an expert in the field, each book includes comprehensive, tabular work-lists and a fully revised and updated bibliography.

About this title

About the Author

James Webster is Goldwin Smith Professor of Music at Cornell University. He has written on many aspects of Haydn's works as well as on Beethoven's chamber music, Schubert, opera buffa, and Brahms. His writings include Haydn's 'Farewell' and the Idea of Classical Style (1991). Georg Feder was director of the Joseph-Haydn-Institute in Cologne from 1960 until his retirement in 1990.

From Library Journal

In the early 1980s, Grove issued a "Composer Biography" series, with material taken from the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Likewise, these slim volumes are spin-offs of the second edition (LJ 3/15/01); consequently, the same new scholarship, fresh perspectives, and updated bibliographies that mark the NGII mark these books the first releases in the new series. For the first time, Stravinsky gets a title of his own. To some extent, the updates have been edited to appeal to a lay audience. For example, in the NGII article on Haydn, there is a section titled "Style, Aesthetics, and Compositional Method," which in the biography is reworded "Style and Method." In the NGII's coverage of Stravinsky, the dictionary section is titled "Posthumous Reputation and Legacy," but here it appears as "Then and Since." However, the texts themselves have not been dumbed down. Each book contains a works list, a bibliography, an index, and 12 pages of black-and-white illustrations (not seen); at press time, the publisher could not confirm whether the illustrations will be the same ones used in the NGII. As with the earlier editions, the work lists include page numbers where pieces are discussed in the text. Excellent for students and scholars, these manageable biographies are recommended for libraries where the earlier editions circulated well. Bonnie Jo Dopp, Univ. of Maryland Libs., College Park
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0195169042
• ISBN 13: 9780195169041
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 208
• Editor: Webster James, Feder Georg