Listen to New Releases Audiobooks in Arts & Entertainment, Music

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Title: The Baroness

Author: Hannah Rothschild

Narrator: Hannah Rothschild

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-16-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

She seemed to have it all: children, a handsome husband, and a trust fund. But in the early 1950s, Nica Rotschild heard "Round Midnight" by the jazz legend Thelonious Monk; the music overtook her like a magic spell, and she abandoned her marriage to go and find him. She was shunned by society but the musicians gave her friendship. She gave them material and emotional support; her convertible Bentley was a familiar sight outside the clubs, her notoriety was sealed when Charlie Parker died in her apartment. But her real love was reserved for Monk, whom she cared for until his death in 1982.

Critic Reviews:

Startling . . . Hannah Rothschild tells this story with care, balancing narrative tension with a desire to lay out all the facts so readers can make up their own minds . . . Wholly gripping" (Rachel Cooke, Observer)

"Riveting, touching and insightful" (Daily Telegraph)

"A well-researched biography. It is one third a history of the Rothschild family, one third a portrait of Nica, and one third a biography of Monk. Nica comes across as a remarkable woman, strong, feisty and rebellious." (Sunday Times)

Members Reviews:

Not nearly as good as 'The Improbability of Love'

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Title: The Life and Works of Tchaikovsky

Author: Jeremy Siepmann

Narrator: Jeremy Siepmann, Malcolm Sinclair, Karen Archer, Teresa Gallagher, Stephen Thorne, David Timson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-31-12

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 20 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Tchaikovsky is one of the most popular composers of all time. His melodies are known to many people who may never have heard his name. They crop up on mobile telephones, alarm clocks and answering machines as often as on records and concert programs. Like his music, the man himself was widely loved, but his inner life was fraught with sufferings, confusions and a deep vein of self-doubt. The drama of his emotional life is vividly reflected in his music, letters and diaries, all of which play a major part in this intimate portrait-in-sound. Who was the man behind some of the most intensely emotional music ever written? Who were the influential figures in his life? In this production packed full of biographical detail and poignant musical extracts we are led through the course of Tchaikovskys eventful life. Jeremy Siepmann narrates throughout and Malcolm Sinclair portrays with sincerity this much-loved composer.

Members Reviews:

Loved this audible book

This clearly chronicles the conductors personal and professional life with recordings of his works during each phase. A much more enjoyable experience than I ever anticipated. Worth listening again and sharing. I will look for other composers done in this manner. A very complete experience and perfect for this format.

Comprehensive and Concise

What made the experience of listening to The Life and Works of Tchaikovsky the most enjoyable?

Musical examples were included in the audio, which made it very engaging and helped me understand the context of Tchaikovsky's compositions.

What other book might you compare The Life and Works of Tchaikovsky to and why?

As a Tchaikovsky biography, this one is rather short. Others are much longer and go more in depth, especially into musical analysis. This one is succinct enough for the average reader and sufficiently whets the appetite of someone wishing to study further.

What about the narratorss performance did you like?

The British gentleman who narrated did so clearly and as though he was talking to a friend, not reading a biography.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. In fact, it's so short I listened to it in just a few sittings.

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Title: Cavalleria Rusticana

Author: Thomson Smillie

Narrator: David Timson

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-26-12

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Cavalleria Rusticana is the short opera that has all the elements of a grand opera compressed into a single highly dramatic time span. The story of love, lust, blood-feud, and betrayal played out against the pageantry of the Easter celebrations in a Sicilian village delivers an emotional wallop because of the youthful vigor and musical wealth of its great score which includes the glorious "Easter Hymn" and the deeply moving "Intermezzo". Mascagni was never to repeat his youthful success but this brief work is enough to ensure his immortality.

Editorial Reviews:

Thomson Smillies series of Opera Explained audiobooks on individual operatic works is the perfect introduction for the would-be opera fan. Each title in the series runs about an hour, features plenty of recorded clips, and is narrated with pluck and good humor by David Timson. Your opera education starts here.

For those interested in opera but having a hard time buying the high-flying, opulent style associated with the baroque period, the late-19th century may be your era. The verismo style sought a greater realism than previous opera, including depictions of everyday life and common people. Cavalleria rusticana focuses on love and tragedy among a group of commoners in a Sicilian village on Easter morning. The music is impassioned and gorgeous. Note its famous "Intermezzo Sinfonico".

Members Reviews:

Enjoy the opera as it was meant to be

It surpassed my expectations .

I enjoyed listening to the opera much more after this explanation .

The historic comparison of Mascagni conducting to the more modern recordings is excellent as well showing the difference interpretations of the same piece.

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Title: La Traviata

Author: Thomson Smillie

Narrator: David Timson

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-26-12

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

La Traviata owes its enduring popularity to a superb story of young love and fatal sacrifice, set to music by Italys master melodist at the peak of his powers. Interest and poignancy are added by the fact that this is a true story - the baritone heavy is Alexander Dumas who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo. But it is the central figure, the heroine Violetta, the archetypal whore with the heart of gold who dominates the piece. It is her opera and we love her for it.

A superb human interest story, a captivating cast of characters, and music which is both enchanting and insightful: just some of La Traviatas ingredients explaining its enduring popularity. The characters are outlined with Smillies reliable blend of insight and originality: "Violetta, we must accept, is the proverbial Whore with the Heart of Gold, and this ravishing melody goes a long way towards melting the said heart." David Timson narrates throughout.

Editorial Reviews:

If ever you thought youd like to give opera a listen but it just seems too impenetrable, this is your chance to give it a go. Opera scholar and writer Thomas Smillie has put together a wonderfully approachable series titled, Opera Explained. In this edition, performed enthusiastically by the veteran, David Timson, Smillie explains the enduring story of romance and sacrifice from the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Combining entertaining insight with beautiful renditions of Verdis opera, Smillie makes Verdis La Traviata accessible to listeners from all backgrounds.

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Title: Tosca

Author: Thomson Smillie

Narrator: David Timson

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-26-12

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Tosca is Puccini at the peak of his theatrical power. The story of the jealous, impassioned opera singer Floria Tosca and her doomed love for the painter Mario Cavaradossi is played out against backgrounds both historically and geographically overwhelming. It is set in three great and historical locations of Rome during the Napoleonic era. Spectacle, sensuality, and cruelty battle for our attention in one of the most truly "action-packed" works of theatre.

Enticing us with just a couple of the "great tunes" from this deeply affecting opera, David Timson then begins setting the biographical and operatic scene. The enduring popularity of Tosca is quickly understood - its appeal generated largely from exactly the same elements which once caused academics to brand it a "shabby little shocker". The master of melody is at his finest, as David Timson illustrates with characteristic enthusiasm.

Editorial Reviews:

Thomson Smillies series of Opera Explained audiobooks on individual operatic works is the perfect introduction for the would-be opera fan. Each title in the series runs about an hour, features plenty of recorded clips, and is narrated with pluck and good humor by David Timson. Your opera education starts here.

Giacamo Puccini, sometimes called "the master of melody", set his opera Tosca in Rome at the turn of the 19th century, when Napoleans army was threatening to invade. The opera includes scenes of brutality, execution, and love, and is one of the most performed of all time.

Members Reviews:

Excellent introduction to Tosca

I thought I was just sitting down for an IPA at Cassell's in Los Angeles one afternoon, but wound up getting in a conversation with the bartender and a regular, who in about an hour taught me a lot of things I didn't know about jazz and opera (I'm a newbie at both). I had been studying Tosca as part of my one-per-month goal for 2016, and as I was leaving the bartender wrote down Thomson Smillie's name and recommended this recording. It is as good as he said, and I just bought the Smillie lecture for L'elisir d'amore for my next opera.

Excellent presentation as usual

As expected from this series by r Smiley , excellent explanation and excerpts giving an overall superb Tosca explanation .

A background of Puccini's style and works is represented as well.

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Title: Die Fledermaus

Author: Thomson Smillie

Narrator: David Timson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-26-12

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Die Fledermaus is one of the few operatic works to which the phrase "never a dull moment" can be truthfully applied. From the explosive opening of the famous overture - reminiscent of a volley of champagne corks - through the surging energy of the "Fledermaus Waltz" and the many comic numbers, of which the accelerando trio is the finest, up to such huge concerted numbers as the "Duidu" finale to Act II, this is an operetta which almost incarnates nostalgia.

Thomson Smillie and David Timson infuse their exploration of Die Fledermaus with as much life as the operetta itself. The most rewarding and memorable extracts are included, and the whole piece is tantalizingly introduced - a trip to see it has to be the next step! Timson begins, "'Nostalgia', as the saying goes, 'may not be what it used to be,' but thank goodness we still have Johann Strausss Die Fledermaus!"

Editorial Reviews:

Scottish music lover Thomson Smillie has made a career out of energetically sharing that love, whether he's producing operas or sailing around the world on elite, educational cruise ships in order to lecture rapt audiences on a libretto's finer points. In this installment of Smillie's Opera Explained series, cultivated actor David Timson discusses Die Fledermaus ("The Bat") by Johann Strauss II. The operetta premiered in 1874 and quickly became a sort of "second national anthem" to the Viennese. Listeners can practically see the ballrooms in which Strauss' dance music was performed while Timson gives his warm, guided tour of 19th-century music in Europe.

Members Reviews:

Revenge of the bat

Why is this opera called "The Bat?" In a nutshell, two gentlemen, Eisenstein and Falke, in the costumes of a butterfly and a bat, respectively, attend a winter masquerade. On the way back, Eisenstein, taking advantage of Falke's inebriated state, abandons him far from his home. When he wakes up, he has to walk through the town in his bat costume, to his undying embarrassment and the amusement of his fellow citizens. Naturally, he wants to get his own back, and it is for this reason the opera is called, "The Bat."

From this simple premise, the plot becomes "maddeningly complex," as the author rightly says. There are "multilayered and omnipresent infidelities," disguises, deceptions, drinking, dancing, and entirely too much carrying on. An opera featuring "Adele's Laughing Song" should be fun!

As with so many things that seem effortless, back-breaking work goes before. While Johann Strauss II hadn't much experience writing for the theatre before he composed this, you'd never know it. He has more than a few operatic tricks up his sleeve, including the masterful use of crescendo and accelerando. The author brings attention to Strauss' use of rubato, which he refers to as "stealing time to avoid schmaltz." Some of the roles require nothing less than a virtuoso performer. But the result is accessible, light-hearted, and fun.

A bottle of champagne to David Timson for his narration, and to you should you tackle "Die Fledermaus" during this, its rightful season!

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Title: Carmen

Author: Thomson Smillie

Narrator: David Timson

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-26-12

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Carmen is among the most popular operas for all the obvious reasons: great characters, a gripping story, and fabulous music. But what sets it on a pinnacle is an amazing combination of three factors: a sizzling Gipsy heroine (one of the most psychologically complex and compelling characters in all theatre), great atmosphere (Spain, hot sun, the bull-ring), and the prodigality of melodic invention - one great tune after another, at least a dozen of which are the staples of Madison Avenue and the animated cartoon.

Like a surprising number of opera-house staples, Carmen was not a success at its first performance. In fact, it is likely that its failure contributed to the early death of the composer. But as Thomson Smillie shows in his accessible introduction, the emotionally driven nature of its heroine and her admirers, Don José and Escamillo, makes Carmen unforgettable. As always in the Opera Explained series, the music itself plays an integral role.

Editorial Reviews:

Listeners will enjoy David Timson's animated performance as he narrates Thomson Smillie's analysis of why Carmen is among the most popular operas in history. Smillie has the scholarly earnestness of a music lover who simply wishes to share his delight with others, and Timson's wry and elegant voice is a perfect complement. Using musical extracts from Carmen, Smillie sets out to show how a combination of atmosphere, melodic ingenuity, and a seductive heroine produced an opera that continues to be a staple production despite its ignominious start. Listeners will find their own passion for opera ignited by this recording.

Members Reviews:

Passion, power, and truth

If you had crossed Bizet's path in 1875, the year "Carmen" was first staged, you would have met with a plump, bespectacled Frenchman who was forever nibbling sweet delicacies. But while you might overlook this unassuming person, you could not have ignored his music.

From early childhood, Bizet possessed prodigious talent. In the Conservatoire at nine, and winning every prize going, he worked his magic on a variety of instruments. At the age of 19, he won the Prix de Rome. With innate musical taste, judgment, and imagination, he stands above his contemporaries.

As this program points out, Bizet was no "one trick pony." He'd written most of his work before anyone had heard of "Carmen," and some of this sadly neglected work deserves rediscovery and appreciation, such as his opera "The Pearl Fishers."

Harold Schonberg wrote, "Carmen is an opera of passion, power, and truth, infinitely superior to the carefully arranged, prettily served canapés of Gounod and Massenet. They were skilled professionals. Bizet was a genius."

Tchaikovsky and Brahms were fans of "Carmen," too. Wagner, having heard it, said of Bizet, "At last, for a change, someone with ideas in his head!"

All this makes it the more stunning that this perennial favorite did not meet with immediate success.

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Title: L'elisir d'amore

Author: Thomson Smillie

Narrator: David Timson

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-26-12

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Lelisir damore, or The Elixir of Love, has remained popular for almost two centuries because of a touching tale and a galaxy of comic characters adapted from the traditional commedia dell arte. Above all Donizetti poured into the score all the warmth and tenderness of the Italian temperament. His melodic invention never ceases to charm whether in the jolly rustic choruses, the exhilarating patter numbers, or the sweet sadness of the beautiful arias, of which "Una furtiva lagrima", the great tenor showpiece, is the best known.

Editorial Reviews:

Thomson Smillies series Opera Explained is an ingenious and enchanting production that makes opera accessible to listeners of all types. In this edition, Smillie helps listeners achieve a higher understanding and appreciation for the comic opera Lelisir damore, by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. By mixing the beautiful pieces of music from the opera with Smillies insightful and entertaining examinations - performed expertly by veteran narrator David Timson - listeners are given the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful example from one of the more unapproachable forms of art.

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Title: Fidelio

Author: Thomson Smillie

Narrator: David Timson

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-26-12

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Fidelio is a work like no other. Beethovens only opera is about the joy of married love - by a man who never knew that pleasure. It is about heroism by a man who was often mean and petty in his human relations; it is about freedom by a man who was a prisoner of his own deafness; and ultimately it is about joy by a man who experienced precious little of it. Maybe there is a divine logic to that: feelings the artist could not experience but could express find their noblest manifestation in music of overwhelming power and majesty.

The most popular operas from the early 19th century are Italian - Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi. We know that Fidelio is important because it was Beethovens only opera, but it is not, on the face of it, as much fun as The Barber of Seville, or Don Pasquale. This is why Thomson Smillies introduction is so useful. He places the plot and the music against the background of Beethovens own turbulent life and suddenly we realise the importance and the uplifting nature of the themes he deals with - starting with fidelity, the name of the opera itself. This is a riveting preparation for seeing or hearing the whole opera.

Editorial Reviews:

There are few things more beautiful than Beethoven's Fidelio. Unfortunately, most modern listeners are without the context to truly appreciate all the nuances of Beethoven's only opera. The successful series Opera Explained, however, has put together a comprehensive and enlightening production for Fidelio. Veteran narrator, David Timson, introduces each piece of music with an engaging and thoughtful tone, and then listeners are provided samples from the opera. By providing context and insight into Beethoven's life, listeners will find a new appreciation for one of the most beautiful operas ever written.

Members Reviews:

Beethoven's only opera in all its glory

This is an outstanding title in the "Opera Explained" series, one free from a lot of extraneous detail and unneccessary introduction. We get right into the opera almost at once. And what an opera it is, containing as it does a political message, a paean to the joys of married love, and a score so demanding one wonders at the endurance of its performers. While the plot appears at first glance to be somewhat commonplace, it nonetheless shows the triumph of good over evil, justice over tyrrany, and hope over despair.

Furtwängler praised the opera, saying its political message and music "will always represent an appeal to conscience." But perhaps just as much, it is a monument to its composer's own statement: "Strength is the morality of the man who stands out from the rest, and it is mine."

Even if you're not a great fan of opera, if you love Beethoven, you're likely to enjoy this brief look at the incredible work he swore would win him "a martyr's crown" for his trouble. It is nothing less than a wonder to behold.

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Title: Verdi: Falstaff

Author: Thomson Smillie

Narrator: David Timson

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-26-12

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Verdis Falstaff repays careful study with real pleasure. It is operas happiest irony that the great Italian master should cap a career - distinguished for its blood-and-thunder tragic masterpieces - with the greatest comic opera in the Italian repertory. The genius of Shakespeare is harnessed (in a miracle of compression) by master-librettist Boito to give the 80-year-old Verdi a superb libretto, on which he lavished more wonderful tunes than most composers manage in a lifetime. Falstaff is the last great Italian comic opera and a worthy end to the tradition.

Editorial Reviews:

Narrator David Timson brings his vast knowledge of Shakespeare's much loved comic character and his energetic, talented voice to this discussion of the classic opera of Falstaff. Interspersed with bits of music, Timson interprets the work of Smillie to expound on the history of the work and why it still works for worldwide audiences. Timson's enunciation and rhythm perfectly match this in-depth study and add to his enthusiasm for the story and the music of the opera. Most interesting is the way Timson infuses his delivery with a compelling tone that draws the listener into this fascinating world.