In 1805, a 56-year-old immigrant disembarked in Philadelphia carrying only a violin. Before dying in New York 23 years later, he would find New World respectability as a bookseller, then as the first Professor of Italian at Columbia University. The many lives of Lorenzo da Ponte - librettist of Mozart's three great operas - begin in Venice, linger in Vienna and London and wind up in New York. An engrossing biography of the extraordinary life of Mozart's collaborator.
CITY OF FALLING ANGELS
by John Berendt
The City of Falling Angels opens on the evening of January 29, 1996, when a dramatic fire destroys the historic Fenice opera house. The loss of the Fenice, where five of Verdi's operas premiered, is a catastrophe for Venetians. Arriving in Venice three days after the fire, Berendt becomes a kind of detective-inquiring into the nature of life in this remarkable museum-city-while gradually revealing the truth about the fire.
PRIVATE PASSIONS
by Michael Berkeley
Private Passions is one of the BBC's most successful radio programs of recent years. Presented by the distinguished composer Michael Berkeley, and recorded in a spare bedroom in his house, guests from all walks of life are invited to discuss their innermost musical likes and dislikes. A fascinating mix of celebrities, from Elvis Costello to Isaiah Berlin and from Joanna Lumley to George Steiner, reveal their musical tastes.
FIERCE FRIENDS
by Louise Lippincott & Andreas Bluhm
An intriguing book which looks at humankind’s relationship with the animal kingdom as depicted in art. Ranging across the mid-18th to the early 20th century, the authors discuss paintings, sculptures, prints, and photographs by a multitude of artists including Audubon, Kandinsky, Rousseau, and Van Gogh. World-renowned animal behaviourist Desmond Morris has written the foreword.
MOZART AND HIS OPERAS
by David Cairns
Using the operas as his guide, David Cairns traces the steady deepening of Mozart's musical style; from his beginnings as a child prodigy, through his coming of age with Idomeneo, to the later genius displayed in the three comic operas, followed by the final and greatest triumph of his career The Magic Flute. An engaging narrative, which puts Mozart's operas in the context of his life.
JAZZ ENCYCLOPEDIA
by Richard Cook
A complete A-Z guide to the artists and bands that have shaped jazz. Richard Cook also includes articles about the history of jazz and its changing styles. Accessible and often trenchantly witty, it is ideal reading for jazz novices and aficionados alike – whether they wish to know about the life of Miles Davis, or why John Ellis is a very different animal to Herb Ellis.
GEORGES BRAQUE
by Alex Danchev
If an ‘ism' can be said to be invented by a person, Cubism was invented by Georges Braque. Together with Picasso and Matisse, he is one of the three great pillars of 20th century art. In life, a combination of heroic soldier and Zen master, he seemed to survive everything, even the shattering of his skull on the Western Front in 1915. Alex Danchev's accomplished biography illuminates one of the most influential figures in modern art.
GUSTAV MAHLER: LETTERS TO HIS WIFE
by Henri-Louis de la Grange
Alma Mahler-Werfel’s book Gustav Mahler: Memories and Letters (1940) includes 159 of Mahler's letters, yet only 37 of these were published in their original, unedited form. Alma's omissions, abridgements and alterations were all part of the legend, and reveal that it was her intention to present herself in as flattering a light as possible. This new edition restores the original texts, and includes a further 188 letters as well as other, hitherto unpublished documents.
ROBERT DOISNEAU: PARIS
by Francine Deroudille & Annette Doisneau
As a photographer, Robert Doisneau was renowned for his ability to infuse images of Parisian street life with poetic nuance that imbued his work with an enduring popular appeal. More than 600 photographs, many of which have never before been published, are assembled in this beautiful volume to create a unique portrait of the city he loved.
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BRITAIN'S BEST MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES
by Mark Fisher
An illustrated guide to the very best of Britain's museums and galleries, from the very great to the very small, showing familiar museums and well-loved treasures in a new light, as well as introducing readers to museums they didn't know existed. An essential handbook for anyone who is interested in Britain's heritage and culture, and worth the investment.
STEPHEN FRY'S INCOMPLETE AND UTTER HISTORY OF CLASSICAL MUSIC
by Stephen Fry
A potted and brilliantly rambling seven hundred year history of classical music and the world as we know it. Stephen Fry throws in references to pretty much whatever takes his fancy on this reckless historical romp through classical music.
RUSKIN ON VENICE
by ROBERT HEWISON
January 2010
DAVID HOCKNEY PORTRAITS
by Sarah Howgate et al
This beautifully illustrated book examines Hockney’s portraits in all media—painting, drawing, photography, and prints. The authors reveal how Hockney’s creative development and concerns about representation can be traced through his portrait work: from his battle with naturalism to his experimentation with and later rejection of photography, and from his recent camera lucida drawings to his return to painting from life.
A YEAR IN JAPAN
by Kate Williamson
Kate Williamson's postgraduate fellowship took her to Kyoto for a year where she witnessed the nuances of Japanese life. This is a sketchbook of her observations of contemporary Japanese culture, beautifully and individually illustrated. Lovers of Japanese style will be delighted by the quirky, thoughtful sketches that fill Williamson’s journal.
CLARICE CLIFF
by Lynn Knight
One of the most significant ceramic designers of the 20th century, Clarice Cliff is an icon of Art Deco design. As a working-class woman, Cliff's journey from apprentice gilder to art director was remarkable. Lynn Knight's revealing biography of this talented, ground-breaking woman, draws a vivid portrait of Britain between the wars, fusing art, design and social history.
HONKY TONK PARADE
by John Lahr
From the distinguished New Yorker critic John Lahr, a brilliant collection of essays about some of the most provocative cultural icons of our time. His illuminating portraits weave together biography, anecdote, and shrewd interpretation. Lahr at his trenchant best.
EGON SCHIELE Landscapes
by Rudolph Leopold
While Egon Schiele is largely revered for his provocative paintings of women, these works were just one aspect of his artistic expression. Schiele's landscapes represent an important facet of his career and are a valuable contribution to the school of European nature painting.
THE STONES OF EMPIRE
by Jan Morris
This book, just reissued with a new introduction by Simon Winchester, was the first to describe the whole range of British imperial architecture in India. The text and photographs illustrate these buildings not simply as physical objects, but as reflections of an empire's mingled emotions, charting a unique enterprise in architecture, engineering, and social adaptation.
PICASSO Art Can Only Be Erotic
by Diana Widmaier Picasso
Diana Widmaier Picasso, granddaughter of Pablo Picasso and Marie-Thérèse Walter, discusses the artist's erotic masterpieces. Nearly every woman Picasso loved has been immortalized in his work, from the classical nudes to the more frankly sexual paintings. Diana Widmaier Picasso comments on these works and offers intimate revelations and insights about the artist.
REGENCY COUNTRY HOUSES From the Archives of Country Life
by J.M. Robinson
Architectural historian J. M. Robinson provides a comprehensive survey of the key English country houses from 1800 to 1830 - from princely palaces such as Brighton Pavilion to nobleman's houses such as Eastnor Castle as well as gentleman's houses like Sheringham in Norfolk.The book also encompasses work by leading country houses architects such as John Nash, Humphry Repton and Sir John Soane.
BOOK OF LIEDER
by Richard Stokes
This unique volume contains, in parallel translation, a thousand of the most frequently performed Lieder, both piano-accompanied and orchestral. Composers are arranged alphabetically, with their songs appearing under poet in chronological order of composition. Richard Stokes provides illuminating short essays on each composer's approach to Lieder composition, as well notes on all the poets who inspired the songs.
