Listen to Top 100 Audiobooks in Arts & Entertainment, Music

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Title: The Modern Scholar: Masterpieces of Western Music

Author: Jeffrey Lependorf

Narrator: Jeffrey Lependorf

Format: Original Recording

Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-22-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 88 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

This lecture series focuses on the very best of Western music, and as we progress through these lectures, the following are two important questions that we will seek to answer as we examine the various musical selections: What makes these works masterpieces? Why highlight these works?

In addition, the course highlights relevant details of the lives of the great composers and aids in developing a knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of Western music.

Members Reviews:

Excellent and solid listen

Listening to the lectures gave me so much pleasure. Prof. Lependorf teaches the listener to understand the music and create a mental map of the passages. Personally, it was like learning a new language in an insightful way. I'd say the lectures helped to develop my sensitivity.

You can download the accompanying guide and figure out what the lectures are about. In short, they cover the following musicians and their masterpieces:

A.Vivaldi 'The Spring' (Movement I), J.S.Bach 'Brandenburg Concerto No. 5' (Movement I), G.F.Handel 'The Messiah' (Evry Valley, All We Like Sheep, Hallelujah), W.A.Mozart 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' (Movement I), L. van Beethoven 'Symphony No. 5' (Movement I), H.Berlioz 'Symphonie Fantastique', F.Chopin 'Nocturnes' (Vol. 1, Nocturne in Db, Op. 27, No. 2), J.Brahms 'Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Händel' (Variations I, II, III, V, VI, Fugue), R.Wagner 'Prelude to Tristan', M.Mussorgsky 'Pictures at an Exhibition' ('Promenade', 'The Gnome', 'Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks', 'Great Gate of Kiev'), C.Debussy 'Prelude to The Afternoon of the Faun', I.Stravinsky 'The Rite of Spring' (Pt. 1), M.Ravel 'Mother Goose Suite', A.Copland 'Appalachian Spring Suite'.

Prof. Lependorf introduces such notions as tonic, ritornello, tutti, continuo, terraced dynamics, concerto grosso, pedal point, cadenza, oratorio, melisma, serenade, sonata-allegro, adagio, col legno, bel canto, arpeggio, da capo aria, tempo rubato, appoggiatura, hemiola, rounded binary, canon, cross-rhythm, two-against-three, leitmotiv, tremolo, ostinato, whole-tone scale, pentatonic scale, mode, gamelan, glissando, and syncopation, to name a few.

The lectures expanded my musical experience. I'll certainly listen to them again.

A joyful tour through the history of the classics!

Any additional comments?

I recommend this book to everyone! It is complex enough for those who know music and simple enough for beginners.

The sound quality of the musical examples is not the best, but you should buy and listen to the complete recordings of the pieces after the lecture anyway, if you don't already have them.

Also, Prof. Lependorf is not a professional voice artist, that is clear. However, his love and enthusiasm for the subject shines through and his delivery is very relaxed and friendly. Prof.

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Title: The Alan Cross Guide to Alternative Rock, Volume 2

Author: Alan Cross

Narrator: Alan Cross

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-24-08

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

In the second of four volumes, Alan Cross reveals the fascinating stories behind the music, focusing on the following top performers: Joy Division, New Order, The Cure, Depeche Mode, U2, Brian Eno, Skinny Puppy, and The Pixies.

Listen to

.

©2007 Alan Cross; (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Editorial Reviews:

Alan Cross expansive history of alternative music continues, with this second installment examining the genres 1980s progenitors from such far flung fields as punk, new wave, industrial, house, and electronica. The prolific radio broadcaster and music journalist delivers a fluid, informative, and fact-based rendering of his own work, presenting his vast body of knowledge with clarity and eloquence. Cross follows the late-'70s reemergence of independent music as a response to the bloated largesse of the eras mainstream rock, rife with macho posturing and gratuitous, self-indulgent guitar solos. Cross profiles a varied assortment of early alternative acts, including Kraftwerk, U2, Depeche Mode, and The Cure.

Members Reviews:

Behind the Alternative Music

Alan Cross does a wonderfull job at explaining why you should want to know the stories contained in the 3 volumes of this series. I found myself listening to several stories again as well as playing them for friends.

This book series is a must for anyone who loves alternative music.

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Title: Keyboard Conversations

Subtitle: The Romanticism of the Russian Soul

Author: Jeffrey Siegel

Narrator: Jeffrey Siegel

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-29-06

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel combine the virtuosity and poetry of a world-class pianist with entertaining commentary to create a magical concert experience. His lively, engaging insights and captivating performances make listening an enthralling experience for all music lovers. In this audiobook, Jeffrey Siegel discusses Rachmaninoff and other Russian composers, including:

By Rachmaninoff: Five Preludes

By Medtner: Three Fairy Tales

By Scriabin: Two Preludes, including Sonata No. 4 in F-sharp major, Op. 30

©2006 Jeffrey Siegel; (P)2006 Random House, Inc.

Critic Reviews:

"His performances were expressive and full of passion...This is an artist who means every note he plays." (The New York Times)

"Pianistic eloquence with a special gift for commentary." (The Washington Post)

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Title: Keyboard Conversations

Subtitle: The Power and Passion of Beethoven

Author: Jeffrey Siegel

Narrator: Jeffrey Siegel

Format: Original Recording

Length: 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-29-06

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 17 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel combine the virtuosity and poetry of a world-class pianist with entertaining commentary to create a magical concert experience. His lively, engaging insights and captivating performances make listening an enthralling experience for all music lovers.

In this audiobook, he discusses the power and passion of Beethoven, including the following pieces:

Critic Reviews:

"His performances were expressive and full of passion...This is an artist who means every note he plays." (The New York Times)

"Pianistic eloquence with a special gift for commentary." (The Washington Post)

Members Reviews:

Pretty Good!

The beautiful, engaging movieImmortal Beloved [Blu-ray] inspired me to research Beethoven and his music. Besides, I've always wanted to learn to enjoy classical music. This does all of the above.

I'm purchasing the other CD's from this set (it would be nice if Amazon offers this as an mp3 download)

Enjoyable

Jeffrey Siegel sharpens mind of the non-musical professional into listening to the detail and magic in the music. We have purchased Mr. Siegal's other CDs based upon our enjoyment of this CD.

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Title: Keyboard Conversations

Subtitle: Mozart and Friends

Author: Jeffrey Siegel

Narrator: Jeffrey Siegel

Format: Original Recording

Length: 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-29-06

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel combine the virtuosity and poetry of a world-class pianist with entertaining commentary to create a magical concert experience. His lively, engaging insights and captivating performances make listening an enthralling experience for all music lovers. In this edition, Jeffrey Siegel discusses Mozart and other classical composers, including:

By Johann Christian Bach:

Critic Reviews:

"His performances were expressive and full of passion...This is an artist who means every note he plays." (The New York Times)

"Pianistic eloquence with a special gift for commentary." (The Washington Post)

Members Reviews:

A FRAUD !!

"WHERE'S THE MOZART ??!! JUST OVER 5 MINUTES OF HIS MUSIC. EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED, MR "PIANIST"...

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Title: Conductor's Guide to Prokofiev

Author: Gerard Schwarz

Narrator: Gerard Schwarz

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-19-06

Publisher: Musically Speaking, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

According to Aaron Copland, who met Prokofiev several times in the 1920s, "He was boyish, easily bored, and even impolite at times... He was very bright and outspoken, and I can't imagine that he would ever hide how he felt about anything." Once, when accompanying a singer in a performance of his songs, he reduced her to tears by berating her effort in front of the audience.

Schwarz uses musical excerpts from Prokofiev's "Classical" Symphony, Piano Concerto No. 3, and Romeo and Juliet to demonstrate how Prokofiev avoided the large scale and sweeping gestures of late-Romantic orchestral music in favor of lean sonorities, textural clarity, and concise architecture.

Critic Reviews:

"Basic enough to be intelligible to musical beginners, and intelligent enough to interest even the connoisseur. Seattle Symphony fans of Gerard Schwarz's Sunday 'Musically Speaking' series know that Schwarz is one of the most articulate speakers on musical subjects." (Seattle Times)

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Title: Marian McPartland's Jazz World

Subtitle: All in Good Time

Author: Marian McPartland

Narrator: Marian McPartland

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-09-06

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

In a preface to this new edition, published originally as All in Good Time, McPartland extends her commentary to include details of her long-running National Public Radio show Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz and memories of her late husband, famed Chicago trumpeter Jimmy McPartland.

This production also includes special bonus audio of excerpts from Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, featuring interviews with Rosemary Clooney, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and Mary Lou Williams.

Critic Reviews:

"She has done her studying from the inside: as one of the few working jazz musicians to write about the music with any frequency, she offers a perspective on the men and women who play jazz for a living that seldom finds its way into print." (New York Times)

"Marian McPartland is that rare combination, a first rank jazz musician who also can write about her music, its milieu and musicians....[She] writes with wit, acumen, and vivacity." (San Diego Union Tribune)

Members Reviews:

A Piece of Jazz history

The book was mostly a collection of pieces Marian wrote for various publications during the 60's and 70's with updates written within the last couple of years.

She has some interesting insights to a rather small subset of all the jazz that was going on at the time.

A lot of the pieces were about players of the day such as Benny Goodman, Dave Brubek, Paul Desmond etc. Her naration was somewhat of a problem, because in many places it was unclear if what she was reading were her opinions or quotes from the people she was writting about.

A few good chapters

Would you try another book from Marian McPartland and/or Marian McPartland?

A wonderful musician, an NPR icon, and apparently a very decent person, Marion McPartland reads from some articles she wrote in the 70-80s, and then attaches some excerpts of radio shows comprise the last several chapters. I liked the introduction about her (read by someone else), and her own reading of her own reminiscences of her ten years of playing at the Hickory house, and the chapter the tells how the radio show got started (also one of the early chapters). I also like the little 10-15 second piano introduction to each chapter..

What do you think your next listen will be?

More about jazz/piano. I am wishing that there could be an audio book that maximizes the medium, by mixing description/explanation with demonstration/playing. But I guess that copyright issues prevent this?

What didnt you like about Marian McPartlands performance?

The excerpts can be found on Youtube and the articles (gushing tributes to a few great jazz artists she worked with) are not very revealing. When she adds a post-script from the 80-90s (most articles are from the 70-80s) she often repeats herself. The chapter on women in jazz is mind-numbingly repetitive and rambling. She never brings up race although it would seem a worthy topic for her reminiscences.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I felt disappointment. I guess it was easy for her to put this compilation together. But I wish that somebody had interviewed her instead, extracting more from her wealth of experience..

Any additional comments?

The chapter numbers of the book are not in sync with the Audible chapter headings.

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Title: Conductor's Guide to Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, In Nature's Realm, & Carnival

Author: Gerard Schwarz

Narrator: Gerard Schwarz

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-30-06

Publisher: Musically Speaking, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Dvorak's music took hold beyond his native country shortly after his marriage to one of his piano students, Anna Cermakova, whom he courted for years, when he was befriended and supported by Johannes Brahms. In 1892, Dvorak traveled to America at the invitation of Mrs. Jeanette Thurber of New York who offered a position at the National Conservatory of Music. There he created his Symphony No. 9, "From the New World".

Schwarz uses musical excerpts from Symphony No. 9, In Nature's Realm and Carnival to bring these hallmark works to life. Through these and his other works, Dvorak became the musical spokesman of his nation and one of the greatest classical composers of all time.

Members Reviews:

good style, but

i was looking for a more technical treatment, more of an analysis of structure and harmony; i found this guide was a bit heavy on the historical context.

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Title: Conductor's Guide to Chopin's Impromptu in C-sharp Minor, Nocturne in E-flat Major, & More

Author: Gerard Schwarz

Narrator: Gerard Schwarz

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-30-06

Publisher: Musically Speaking, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Chopin was a child prodigy, penning piano pieces as early as age seven. By the 1830s he was the reigning musician of Parisian high society. In 1836, Chopin began a romance with the author Aurore Dudevant, who went by her pen name of George Sand and was one of the most unusual personages of her day. But all accounts portray Chopin as exceptionally reserved and reticent, a quality that even George Sand found cause for complaint.

Schwarz uses musical excerpts from Chopin's piano music that include Impromptu in C-sharp Minor, Nocturne in E-flat Major, Ballade No. 3, Six Preludes from Opus 28, Fantaisie in F Minor and others to demonstrate Chopin's use of rhythm, melody and his exploitation of the richer piano sounds.

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Title: Conductor's Guide to Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, Das Rheingold, & More

Author: Gerard Schwarz

Narrator: Gerard Schwarz

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-30-06

Publisher: Musically Speaking, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Arts & Entertainment, Music

Publisher's Summary:

Like his music, Wagner's personal life was itself a grand spectacle. Wagner believed that by virtue of his genius, he deserved whatever material support he could cajole from his benefactors. King Ludwig II of Bavaria brought his country to the brink of financial ruin by supporting Wagner's grandiose operatic plans and lavish lifestyle.

Schwarz uses musical excerpts from The Flying Dutchman, Das Rheingold, Gotterdammerung, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg and Parsifal to illuminate Wagner's techniques and explain the development of his stories and the portrayal of those stories through music.