Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) is one of the most playful, life-affirming, and awkward voices in twentieth-century music. His work resists easy stylistic categorisation or containment, yet its melodic rich
Perhaps no twentieth-century composer has provoked a more varied reaction among the music-loving public than Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Originally hailed as a new Beethoven by much of the Anglo-Saxon
While Grieg's music continues to enjoy a prominent place in the concert hall and recording catalogues, it has yet to attract sustained analytical attention in Anglo-American scholarship. Daniel Grimle
Jean Sibelius has gradually emerged as one of the most striking and influential figures in twentieth-century music, yet his work is only just beginning to receive the critical attention that its importance deserves. This Companion provides an accessible and vivid account of Sibelius's work in its historical and cultural context. Leading international scholars, from Finland, the United States and the UK, examine Sibelius's music from a range of critical perspectives, including nationalism, eroticism and the exotic, music and landscape, reception and musical influence. There are also chapters on recording and interpretation that offer fascinating insights into the performance of Sibelius's work. The book includes much material, drawing on scholarship, as well as providing a comprehensive introduction to Sibelius's major musical achievements.
Few composers have responded as powerfully to place as Frederick Delius (1862–1934). Born in Yorkshire, Delius resided in the United States, Germany, and Scandinavia before settling in France, where he spent the majority of his professional career. This book examines the role of place in selected works, including 'On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring', Appalachia, and The Song of the High Hills, reading place as a creative and historically mediated category in his music. Drawing on archival sources, contemporary art, and literature, and more recent writing in cultural geography and the philosophy of place, this is a new interpretation of Delius' work, and he emerges as one of the most original and compelling voices in early twentieth-century music. As the popularity of his music grows, this book challenges the idea of Delius as a large-scale rhapsodic composer, and reveals a richer and more productive relationship between place and music.
Edward Elgar occupies a pivotal place in the British cultural imagination. His music has been heard as emblematic of Empire and the English landscape. The recent success of Anthony Payne's elaboration of the sketches for Elgar's Third Symphony has prompted a critical revaluation of his music. This Companion provides an accessible and vivid account of Elgar's work in its historical and cultural context. Established authorities on British music and scholars new in the field examine Elgar's music from a range of critical perspectives, including nationalism, post-colonialism, decadence, reception and musical influences. There are also chapters on interpretation, including his own (Elgar was the first major composer to commit a representative quantity of his own work to record), and on Elgar's relationships with the BBC and with his publishers. The book includes much new material, drawing on original research, as well as providing a comprehensive introduction to Elgar's major musical achiev
Few composers have responded as powerfully to place as Frederick Delius (1862–1934). Born in Yorkshire, Delius resided in the United States, Germany, and Scandinavia before settling in France, where he spent the majority of his professional career. This book examines the role of place in selected works, including 'On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring', Appalachia, and The Song of the High Hills, reading place as a creative and historically mediated category in his music. Drawing on archival sources, contemporary art, and literature, and more recent writing in cultural geography and the philosophy of place, this is a new interpretation of Delius' work, and he emerges as one of the most original and compelling voices in early twentieth-century music. As the popularity of his music grows, this book challenges the idea of Delius as a large-scale rhapsodic composer, and reveals a richer and more productive relationship between place and music.
Perhaps no twentieth-century composer has provoked a more varied reaction among the music-loving public than Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Originally hailed as a new Beethoven by much of the Anglo-Saxon
