No one composer is at the centre of this fascinating story, but a larger picture emerges of a shift in musical scenery, from the world of the innocent Romanticism of Berlioz and Schumann to the more potent musical politics of Wagner, and of his antidote (as many saw him), Brahms. Why 1853? For many leading composers this year brought far-reaching changes to their lives: Brahms emerged from obscurity to celebrity, Schumann ceased to be an active composer, and both Berlioz and Wagner became active again after long silences. By limiting the perspective to a single year yet extending it to a group of musicians, their constant interconnections become the central motif: Brahms meets Berlioz and Liszt as well as Schumann; Liszt is a constant link in every chain; Joachim is close to all of them; Wagner is on everyone's mind. No one composer is at the centre of the story, but a network of musicians spreads across the map of Europe from London and Paris to Leipzig and Zurich. Music in 1853 shows how musicians were now more closely connected than ever before, through the constant exchange of letters and the rapidly expanding railway network. The book links geography and day-to-day events to show how international the European musical scene had become. A larger picture emerges of a shift in musical scenery, from the world of the innocent Romanticism of Berlioz and Schumann to the more potent musical politics of Wagner and of his antidote (as many saw him) Brahms. HUGH MACDONALD is Avis H. Blewett Professor Emeritus of Music at Washington University, St Louis. He has authored books on Skryabin and Berlioz and has previously published Beethoven's Century: Essays on Composers and Themes with Boydell/URP.

If you want your family enterprise to prosper and carry on your legacy after you're gone, then you need to learn The Metronome Method, a metaphor for the creation of a Family Agreement. Hugh MacDonald, owner and founder of the Canadian Succession Protection Company, provides a fun approach to succession and estate planning with this guidebook. Relying on his background as a musician, he uses the metaphor of music and the metronome to show that a family needs to compose its own songbook in the form of a Family Agreement and rehearse it before their opening performance as owners. There are simple steps you can take to get your house in order before you, the conductor, leave the stage. You can learn how to - prepare family members for the responsibility of ownership; - provide a framework for your enterprise to survive for centuries; - create a plan that establishes a shared vision for future generations; and - build consensus among family members in and outside the business. Help your family deal effectively with succession and estate planning, and have fun along the way by learning from an expert who has years helping family enterprises succeed.

Today Georges Bizet is most immediately recognized as the composer of the acclaimed opera Carmen. One of the most frequently performed operas for over a century, Carmen explores concepts such as the femme fatale and murderous jealousy with vivacity, color, and a wealth of melody. Yet it is only one act in Bizet's story. In Bizet, renowned musicologist Hugh Macdonald goes beyond the composer's most famous opera to take an in-depth look at his entire life and oeuvre. In so doing, Macdonald identifies a number of previously unknown pieces by Bizet, assembling the first comprehensive catalogue of the composer's work. Incorporating these little-known pieces with a thorough reading of primary sources, Macdonald considers the latest in Bizet scholarship to create a complete biography of the composer. Revealing the true extent of Bizet's work as arranger and transcriber, Macdonald sheds light on the composer's complex relationships with his contemporaries, and traces the strange misrepresentation of Bizet's work by French publishers and opera houses in the 1880s, when Carmen rose to worldwide popularity ten years after the composer's early death. The first biography of Bizet in the Master Musicians series in nearly four decades, Bizet will be essential reading for students and scholars of nineteenth-century opera, as well as for Carmen devotees and opera fans.

This is a book both by and about Berlioz, providing not only a translation but also an extensive commentary on his text, dealing with the instruments of Berlioz's time and comparing his instruction with his practice.

Effective working relationships depend on our ability to go beyond our own interests and consider the needs of others. Despite this, the simple reality is that our needs must be met. Relationship management is not a feel-good exercise. It's not about taking a client to a ball game or having lunch at a trendy restaurant. It certainly is not about having a group hug every time there is a challenge. It's about keeping distance and perspective. It's about being professional and working with others to satisfy our first priority – getting what we need and advancing our interests. This is a highly practical book written by a former VP of Strategic Alliance Management for one of Canada's largest financial institutions who has managed workplace relationships for more than thirty years. It provides a wealth of principles, ideas and techniques to help establish an effective and professionally distant relationship based on soft power – our ability to influence others. "Having sat at the opposite end of a negotiation table from Hugh MacDonald, I can attest to his skillful ability to deal with tenuous issues in a diplomatic and direct way. He is a true master of the art of relationship management and I am delighted he is now sharing his knowledge and experience with others." — Robert Hakeem, Relationship Executive, Boston

A facsimile edition of Dryden's famous essay preceded by a dialogue on poetic drama by T. S. Eliot. This is a very rare work.

The first major study of Saint-Saëns's stage music, timed to coincide with revivals of his operas on stage.