Biography & Autobiography : Composers & Musicians

Frédéric Chopin (Polish: March 1, 1810 – October 17, 1849) was a Polish virtuoso pianist and piano composer of the Romantic period. He is widely regarded as the greatest Polish composer, and one of the most influential composers for piano in the 19th century. Chopin was born in the village of Zelazowa Wola, in the Duchy of Warsaw, to a Polish mother and French-expatriate father, and came to be regarded as a child-prodigy pianist. In November 1830, at the age of twenty, Chopin went abroad. After the suppression of the Polish 1830–31 Uprising, he became one of the many expatriates of the Polish Great Emigration. In Paris he made a comfortable living as composer and piano teacher, while giving few public performances. A great Polish patriot, in France he used the French version of his given name and, to avoid having to rely on Imperial Russian documents, eventually became a French citizen. From 1837 to 1847 he conducted a turbulent relationship with the French writer George Sand (Aurore Dudevant). Always in frail health, at 39 in Paris he succumbed to pulmonary tuberculosis. Chopin's extant compositions all include the piano, predominantly alone or as a solo instrument among others. Though his music is technically demanding, its style emphasizes nuance and expressive depth rather than technical virtuosity. Chopin invented new musical forms such as the ballade, and made major innovations in existing forms such as the piano sonata, waltz, nocturne, étude, impromptu, and prelude. His works are mainstays of Romanticism in 19th-century classical music. His mazurkas and polonaises remain the cornerstone of Polish national classical music. [Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Chopin under the terms of the GNU-FDL] more...

Price: $6.99

The acclaimed, bestselling rock-and-roll biographer delivers the first complete, unexpurgated history of the world’s greatest band. The saga of the Rolling Stones is the central epic in rock mythology. From their debut as the intermission band at London’s Marquee Club in 1962 through their latest record—setting Bridges to Babylon world tour, the Rolling Stones have defined a musical genre and experienced godlike adulation, quarrels, addiction, legal traumas, and descents into madness and death_while steadfastly refusing to fade away. more...

Price: $9.95

A celebrated French pianist's poignant story of her journey from her early days as a student in Paris to her life as the founder of a wolf conservation center in upstate New York. A gifted pianist from a young age, Hélène Grimaud made her first recording at the age of fifteen and won the French equivalent of a Grammy at sixteen. She is a classical music star whose concerts continue to draw sellout crowds all over Europe and North America. But it wasn't until she met her first wolf that she discovered there was something missing in her life. Late one night in 1991, Grimaud encountered a wolf-dog hybrid in Florida and felt an immediate, instinctual connection to the animal—one that the wolf also seemed to share. Determined to do what she could to protect this threatened species, she committed her time and resources to becoming certified to found her own wolf preserve on the grounds of her home in New York State. Today, the master pianist acts as a tireless advocate for wolves, a species she believes has been unfairly demonized throughout history. In turn, the animals have given her a sense of freedom that she has never before experienced, even as an artist. In a beautifully rendered personal story that weaves the tale of a musical prodigy's rise to stardom with one of an animal lover learning to communicate on a level as primal as music, Hélène Grimaud touches, astonishes, and delights with her remarkable insight and passion. more...

Price: $24.95

This key text will be the first full-length research tool on Adrian Willaert, the Renaissance composer of motets and madrigals who came to prominence in the first part of the sixteenth century, and should prove invaluable to researchers and students of Renaissance music. It includes annotated entries on all published literature and a biography section with information on all well-known primary source material. Willaert was a key teacher and administrator in Renaissance Venice who helped establish Venice, and especially St. Marks, as a key centre for musical composition and performance. more...

Price: $180.00

In this compelling book, Robert Coles, the celebrated Harvard professor and Pulitzer Prize–winning author, turns his attention to popular music legend Bruce Springsteen, and to the powerful impact Springsteen’s work has had both on the lives of his audience and on this country’s literary tradition. more...

Price: $16.95