With the possible exception of Mozart, Verdi is the most popular opera composer who ever lived. Quite early in his career his tunes were being cranked out by barrel organs throughout Europe and were well known to many who may never even have heard his name. Jeremy Siepmann takes an in-depth look behind the popular image of a man who was, and perhaps remains, the most enduring national hero in Italian history and a colossus in the history of music...

Biography of Frédéric Chopin with music examples.

The recording presents the life and work of Haydn. It is illustrated with quotations from the composer and his contemporaries, enhanced by extended extracts from representative works.

A complete analysis of Dvořák's 9th symphony with musical examples. Analysis of each movement is followed by a complete recording of the movement.

The life and works of Franz Schubert . Illustrated with quotations from Schubert and his contemporaries, enhanced by extended extracts from representative works. In the companion booklet are essays and notes on Schubert's and his times.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the most astonishing child prodigy in the history of music, is felt by many people to be the greatest composer who ever lived. Dominated and shaped by a highly intelligent but frustrated and ambitious father, his story sees the development of a unique genius, from precocious and often endearing childhood to liberated fulfilment, unexpected poverty, and a tragically early death. Generously illustrated by Mozart's music, from...

Explores what makes Stravinsky's work so influential and why it continues to hook listener for almost a century. Analysis in words with musical examples. The work is also played in its entirety.

In depth portraits featuring individual instruments in many contexts (orchestral, chamber, folk, solo, operatic, cinematic, jazz, avant-garde) and in pieces from the Middle Ages to the present. Includes hundreds of musical examples.

A complete analysis of Schubert's "Trout" piano quintet with musical examples. Analysis of each movement is followed by a complete recording of the movement.