Composers: Their Lives and Works

by D.K. Publishing

Introduced with a stunning portrait of each featured composer, more than 90 biographical entries trace the friendships, loves, and rivalries that inspired each musical genius and their work.

Profiles offer revealing insights into what drove each individual to create the musical masterpieces - symphonies, concertos and operatic scores - that changed the direction of classical music and are still celebrated as masterpieces today.

Lavishly illustrated with paintings or photographs of each composer, alongside original musical scores and personal correspondence, images of their homes and where they worked, and personal effects and other important artefacts, the book introduces the key influences, themes, and working methods of each individual, setting their works within a wider historical and cultural context.

Charting the development of classical music and music movements across the centuries, Composers provides a compelling glimpse into the personal lives, loves, and influences of the giants of the classical music canon.

Genres: Music, History, Biography, Art, Nonfiction, World History, Reference

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

DK's beautiful anthology of composers (in the Western classical music tradition) starts in the Middle Ages and ends in the early 21st century. I was pleased to see Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann given their own profiles instead of being mentioned only in connection with their male relatives, as has long been the case. A couple of composers whose talent went beyond the classical genre - George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein - are included as well. At the end of each chapter, a directory gives brief biographies of other relevant composers of the era. A glossary of musical terms is included at the end to aid non-musicians. This is a valuable resource for music students and aficionados.

[Susan Liston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not terribly deep, of course, because it's basically a coffee table book, but it's a lovely one, and there is plenty of good information.

[Jonathan Pickett · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always with Dorling Kindersley books, this gets 4 stars for the quality of the publication, nicely produced and illustrated and a lovely reference book. I wanted to expand my knowledge of composers so listened to their works as I read the book. I did skip the lesser known artists but I was amazed how many I had actually heard of. Not being an aficionado I was not too bothered with their full life story so in terms of enjoyment I would give it 3 stars but as a reference book on the shelf it it difficult to fault.

[Rosewater Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Осталось пробежать каких-то 9 именитостей, среди каковых о двух наслышана: Gorecki & Reich (Райхов как-то много в истории искусств и наук, Папа Римский не даст мне соврать) - а уже спешу признаться, что ни за что бы не истратила предполагаемых, например, "Книжковим арсеналом" до президентського візиту 600-800 за переклад розчарування мовою of Any of Whole Lotta New Ages we listen to since "Mea Culpa". Навіть якби гроші мені була видані на вході і ще більша сума була обіцяна після виконання сорту "бойового завдання", specifically special task for the Forces of Inner Ntelligence (FIN).
Главная причина - отсутствие хотя бы столовой ложки углубления в то, что обозначено в названии как 'works'; for some kind of radioactive listeners it certainly works, but..по пути наименьшего сопротивления (как немцы, по слухам, к французам когда-то):
1) "There are enormous forces lurking in each person, but many people die without having discovered this"
2) "It is cruel..that music should be so beautiful"
3) "I care nothing for politics - I’m a composer first and last"
4) "People should know my tunes and whistle them"
5) "I produce music as an apple tree produces apples"
6) "I am sure my music has a taste of codfish in it"
- теперь..кто готов определить по этим пчхитатам (представленные - не тонзура и не мозоли на пятках изобретательности) грандов мирового композиторства со втопол-ХІХ и до 29 января 2024 не на шутку позеленевшего дракона?
Если же упростить задачу:
1) Grieg
2) Шнитке
3) Saint-Saëns
4) Britten
5) Schoenberg
6) Прокофьев
- чи стане зв'язок між словами та (хоча б) вустами чи знервованими ковтками карпатського чаю більш прозорим?
Шнитке, допустим, уверен, что его партитура пахнет рыбой, так как минувшим вечером он всплывает из волжской толщи памяти своей протягивающим все свои симфонии, причём по-нотно, двумя с половиной левыми руками какой-то рыжебородой даме с обнажённым, татуированным арабской вязью плечиком и термоядерной грудью, на шариатных куполах которой как раз, если то был таки не сон, покоилась нечто аппетитно-полуобъеденное с хвостом, совсем не наталкивающим на сухопутные либо воздухоплавающие образы; в конце концов, это был вечер рыбных рестораций. И не была ли дама самим Михаилом Сергеевичем? Композитор не помнил главного - пятна; а бороду с пятном он и после необработанной фуги, маринованной в кетамине, не спутал бы. Бы не спутал, jawohl!
Прокофьев, с другой стороны (клавесина), [всё ещё] хочет, чтоб его мотивы насвистывали пролетариане. "Кто ж не хочет?" - спрашивает редколлегия клопедии у потупившегося читателя, не рассчитывая на внятный ответ, потому как оный (ответ) искренне заинтересованных в ненаписанном лиц взволновать может разве что бабушкино малиновое варенье, опрокидывающееся на несвоевременно потерявшего подвального младенчества бдительность кота.
Что тот или другой вариант сообщает мне о принципах творчества, влиянии, оказанном творениями на современников, аудиторию, тенденции в технике и моду, в конце концов, на самое существо композитора, не говоря уже о замкнувших его в четырёх стенах соседях, признавшим в существе ни много, ни мало, Жильца?
"Благо, не живца!" - замечает редколлегия, не замечая, уравновешиваясь вселенски, что одна из 320 её редколлегиумных ножек сама по себе взяла и воспламенилась.
...
It's great that we have 'History Changers' which change history by reminding us in Spamdemic times that Our World is still Music; yet you (Dr.Klimbersday) should take care not to write about Her Soundlessness’ priests, initiates and zealots with less passion than you write about Henry Ford, von Hayek, Che Guevara or Viktor Orban.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful book that some will buy to have as a coffee table book, and not a bad choice at that. But it is actually very readable and informative as well. One could flip through it as a reference or read it straight through. The writing is very crisp, with a surprising amount of information packed into a small space (though those of us with weaker eyes will need good lighting or reading glasses!). The authors indicate when something they present is disputed or controversial, but don't go into great depth on such matters (they brush pass Richard Strauss' relationship with the Nazi regime without examining it even at a surface level, for instance). The editing could be a little tighter in a few spots, but generally is both good and consistent. Images of original materials enrich the book considerably, but they are small, so if you want to make out detail, bring along the magnifying glass. The book also includes contextual information, which is helpful. They don't always define every word as they use them, but for those who are not PhD music theorists, they have a small glossary at the back. There may not be a lot new for a true enthusiastic here, but the images are nicely done.

For those used to classical music being about old-looking white men and "Ancient," Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and "Modern," this book takes a different tack. The periods are broken up into Before 1600, 17th & 18th Centuries (so Baroque and early Classical), Early 19th Century (Late Classical and early Romantic) Late 19th Century (Late Romantic), Early 20th Century (Early "Modern"), and Late 20th and 21st Centuries (the rest). It includes some women composers, going back as far as Hildegard of Bingen, and also incorporates non-European/American composers. Mostly the reader feels like all the composers presented belong here, though a few are included with descriptions bland enough to make one wonder why (for instance--nothing against Bedrich Smetana, but you really didn't sell it, at least not for me). There is a "directory" at the end of each of the sections, with the also-ran runner-up composers that didn't make their own larger entries. Again, some may quibble that some in the directory ought to have been pulled out for their own entries, or some with their own entries ought to have been relegated to the directory.

The 16th-17th centuries section had 15 composers, 9 of whom had one page of text in their entries, 4 that had three pages, and 2 (Bach and Mozart, who else?) had 5. The early 20th century alone had 23 composers, 12 of which had three pages. So one can see that the publisher prefers the more recent composers to the older. For the composers before 1600, that may have been stemming from a lack of more information being available, but most of the composers since then have ample material to work with for the depth and breadth of the entries here.

As always when I read a good book about classical music, it makes me realize what pieces I need to add to my collection, however good I thought it might have been... I am not a classical music expert, but not completely new to the subject either, and I enjoyed reading it and learned things from every entry. Definitely a good read and a beautiful book to have hard copy.

[Adysnewbox · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a classical-music nerd like myself, the resource/coffee-table book "Composers: Their Lives and Works" will be just the book for you. It's beautifully designed & organized, thoroughly researched, and chock-full of facts. If there are faults in this book, they are of omission, not commission: I wanted more!

Rather than dividing the book into four sections according to the accepted "periods" of classical music (Baroque; Classical; Romantic; Contemporary/20th Century onward, etc.), "Composers" instead is broken into chapters that cover centuries of time (sometimes multiple centuries) instead. This makes for more evenly sized chapters, and allows the reader to see the subtle ways music styles shift over time, gradually "bleeding" from one period of music to the other. It is also interesting to me to see the ways in which the "center of power" in the musical composition world shifts, moving from Italy to Austria to Russia, etc.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the coverage of each composer. Each biography is at least one page; some of the "greats" run 2-3 pages. Each feature lovely portraits of the composer, as well as a lot of art/photography significant to that composer. Each feature article is a solid combination of historical/cultural context; personal background & characteristics of the composer (at least, as much as is available or relevant); listing of significant works; and musicology analysis. For the most part, each article did a good job convincing me WHY that particular composer deserved to be highlighted (although there were a few exceptions). Each chapter also had a "Directory" at the end, highlighting a number of "lesser" but still notable composers, who for one reason or another didn't warrant the full-article treatment.

I appreciate this book's efforts to bring attention to more female composers (and there are some very good ones here!), despite so many of them being lost to history...classical composition has been a "boys' club" for centuries and it has been slow to change. The biggest debate/controversy about this book's content is which of the "Directory" composers deserved more coverage, and which of them could conceivably be swapped out with some of the featured composers. I don't really have the space or time to get too heavily into that here, but I'm sure others have elsewhere! I will say that there seemed to be a bit of an excess of British composers (particularly in the 20th century onward), and shockingly few American composers featured prominently. I mean, Aaron Copeland AND John Cage end up in the Directory section, but Judith Weir gets a full article? I know the book is trying to be inclusive of women, but how well-known is Weir outside of Britain? Choices like this seem to reveal the Brit-centric bias in the text to me...which makes sense, seeing as how DK Publishing is based out of London. However, these are fairly minor quibbles about an otherwise informative, dense, attractive, & enjoyable book.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Composers: Their Lives and Works from DK Publishing is a beautiful and informative book that will look great on display.

In its own way this is a history of western music told through highlighting important composers. It is also interesting as mini-biographies simply because we see how the lives and livelihoods of composers changed over time. Though this is told as a series of profiles, there are boxes inset with categories that help to connect the history in other ways. The boxes are titled: In Context, On Technique, and In Profile. The first two of those are pretty self-explanatory while the third usually profiles a key person in that composer's life or career. At the end of each section, which is a time period, there is a section called Directory which briefly mentions other important composers of the time.

There are more female composers included than I expected, which helps to make this a far more well rounded account. These run from Hildegard of Bingen to Judith Weir. Like any story of this nature, some composers were no doubt left out. But overall it covers a wide range from roughly 1000 until the present.

I want to mention one thing I was pleased by in the short profiles. Many books that use this approach tend to use a standard format for each entry. It can work but not every person's life or contribution to a field fits neatly into an outline. Here we do still get the basic information about each composer but space is given to what is important for each. If one was famous, or infamous, in their day and that is a big part of their story, it gets the space it needs. If a composer's chief contribution to the history of music was as an influence on later composers, that is given more space. In other words, there are a lot fewer entries that seem to contain filler information just to keep to a format. Or, to put it another way, while each entry is similar each is also made to conform to the composer's personal story and contributions.

Highly recommended for anyone who tends, as I used to do, to think about periods of time but only remember a few of the major names. As I have learned more about the music I have slowly developed a better appreciation for both periods and individuals. This also serves as a nice reference for those familiar with most of the composers but who might want to periodically refresh their memories of where in the chronology they may fall. And of course anyone who loves music and having a beautiful book to display.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Jamie Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Book for Classical Music Lovers

I so enjoyed this book! It is broadly divided into time periods starting pre-1600 composers and continuing through the modern day, with two chapters given over to 19th-century composers. The publishers give two- or four-page spreads to the most famous of the respective eras—though Johann Sebastian Bach is given six pages!—and a final end-of-section directory that highlights other important composers of the era. Each composer section tells some of his or her life, key works, and particular struggles and triumphs. I loved, too, that there were plenty of sidebars, like the “In Context” section that gave historical context for the composer's music or profiled someone important in the composer's life, whether personally or professionally. As you progress through the book, you also get a sense of how music notation changed over time as well as the development of certain instruments, like the piano. The book is full of photographs, paintings, and drawings, some from the era itself and contemporary photos showing how the composer’s music is alive today, say, an opera being staged or an orchestral performance. I loved how the publishers spotlighted female composers when they could, like Felix Mendelssohn's very talented sister Fanny and 17th-century Barbara Strozzi (who was “a key figure in the rise of the cantata and the aria”). As someone who has loved classical music, and even played some, from a very early age, this is a book I absolutely savored and one that I will certainly return to again and again. If you enjoy classical music of any era, this is the book for you.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com

[Ivancevic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading this book for over a year. To me its not a book where you just read about the composers. Its a book to show you how music evolved over the centuries. Personally the 20th century music took a huge dive and some music that was created gives me literal nausea while listening to it...just horrible.
Anyway, the book has a lot of interesting composers and their most notable works along with some brief information about them I assume based on how much was available to the authors. Some composers baffle me as to why they are even mentioned. This book helped me realise which style best matches my character and I'm thankful for it.

My recommendation how to read this book is:
1. Read the composers name (stop)
2. Open up the composers music and listen to it for a few hours, days, weeks (as much as you can to get the feeling about the music)
3. Come back and read the information about the author

All, in all a wonderful book with a lot of wonderful composers and a few random people.

[Chris Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love DK books and I love classical music, so this is a book occupied a sweet spot on my daily reading routine over the last year and a half. A beautiful, informative, and fun book to read, I thoroughly enjoyed taking bite-size tastes each day, learning and re-learning about the composers of some of the world's best music. The best part was finding daily inspiration for new and old favorite music to add into my rotation.

This book doesn't go particularly deep, but is still a joy to read. Definitely recommended to any fan of classical music, or anyone who would like to be.

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping to learn more about composers, the relationships and common themes or differences in their music across the epochs. Maybe some analysis of the instruments they employed and their effect on the music. A disappointing read, that seems more like a concatenation of 500-word long Wikipedia articles, roughly structure by lifetimes of the composers. They don’t relate to each other nor tell a coherent story. 1 star for the effort to look up all the composers and copy paste their articles in this order.

[Nattapon Chotsisuparat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Composers: Their Lives and Works by DK. I listen to almost all kinds of music, including classical. I love it. I listen to classical music with my in-ear headphones, and it's an amazing experience. I love Tchaikovsky, he's my favorite composer. I've gone to concert halls to hear live symphonies many times and it's always a special experience. So, I bought this book to learn more about composers and classical music. It never disappoints. The book is packed with details about music and composers, along with stunning pictures.

I love it. DK has done it again, as always

[Ceylan (CeyGo) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher DK for this advance reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a fan of classical music but don’t necessarily have a lot of insight into the composer’s themselves - although I have been to Mozart’s home. I loved this book that provided a list and a brief overview of the lives and works composers from early 1600s to 21st century, some of he more famous composers get a few extra pages.

This book is a great introduction for music lovers

[Emily Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing format, really love the timelines and great focus on graphic appeal to all age levels. I wish this was longer and also covered other types of composers since it mostly focuses on classical ones. A solid edition to add to anyone's homeschool library. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a textbook. I bought the audiobook hoping to learn something, but it's dull to just listen to it. It would've been better if they had included snipits of the composer's most popular peices or something. As it was, it's very easy to zone out. I just let it play in the background while I cooked for a couple months.

[Zoombini Pedicini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely dry to the point of being ploddingly pedantic. See The Lives of the Great Composers by Harold C. Schonberg for a *far* more engaging book about classical composers. If your idea of a good read is cracking open a sport's almanac, then DK Publishers is the one for you.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good timeline and introduction to different composers from before 1600 to today. Not fully in depth about them but a decent intro.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good summary of just about any composer you can imagine. It is well done and I learned a good amount from this book.

[Emir Efe🌈🌱 · Rating 4 out of 5]

TURKISH:

Klasik müzik ile arayabileceğiniz temel bilgiler, erken dönemden başlayarak en önemli bestecilerin yer aldığı; büyük bir araştırmanın kitaplaştırılmış hali.

[Diana Manevskaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great encyclopedia about composers from early times up until now. Great presentation, interesting facts, and nice images. Enjoyed reading it.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who loves playing the piano, I think this book does an excellent job of informing readers about various composers. I enjoyed learning about music history and found the author's teachings about the significance of composers to be well-done. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the history of music.

[Nouran Qamish · Rating 5 out of 5]

تحفة تحفة تحفة تحفة تووووووحححححفففففااااااههههه ❤️❤️❤���❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Len · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a nice overview of all the major Classical composers. The format is fun with "boxes" of information and timelines. Enjoyable.

[Sandra Schmidt]

Loved it. Just the info I was looking for.

[Caroline Duggan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best encyclopaedic volume of composers I have read in a long time. Loved the use of artwork, photographs and images of manuscript. Thanks to the writers who acknowledged the personal and the politicised personal in so many of the composers' lives.