Accenting the Classics

Accenting the Classics
Author: Deborah Mawer
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 383
Release: 2023-03-14
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1837650322

Brings new insights to the music of well-known European composers by telling a fascinating, little-known story about French music publishing, specifically through the lens of Jacques Durand's Édition Classique. French composers, performers and musicologists acted as editors of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European 'classics', primarily for piano. Among these editors were Fauré, Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Ravel and Dukas; the objects of their enquiries included core works by Rameau, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Chopin. Presenting six composer-editor case studies, the volume shows that the French 'accent', both musical and cultural, upon this predominantly Austro-German music was highly varied. Editorial responses range from scholarly approaches to those directed by performance or compositional agendas, and from pan-European to strongly patriotic stances. Intriguing intersections are revealed between old and new, and between French and cross-European canons. Beyond editing, the book explores the Édition's role in pedagogy and performance, including by pianists Robert Casadesus and Yvonne Loriod, and in the reassertion of contemporary French composition, especially regarding innovation around neoclassicism. It will interest a wide readership, including musicologists, performers and concert-goers, cultural historians and other humanities scholars.

French Cello Sonatas, 1871-1939

French Cello Sonatas, 1871-1939
Author: Stephen Sensbach
Publisher:
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2001
Genre: Music
ISBN:

The years between the end of the Franco-Prussian War and the start of World War II witnessed a renaissance of French instrumental music and an evolution from the elegance of Saint-Saens to Debussy's revolutionary style and beyond. This study surveys 97 published cello sonatas and 30 unpublished sonatas written by French composers during this period. Sensbach presents the historical background for each piece and provides biographies of the composers, as well as the biographies of cellists and pianists of the period. For each sonata there is a brief description of the movement and the technical aspects that cover the form, style and level of difficulty for the performers. Where possible there are also excerpts of original reviews and comments from composers' letters. This book should be of interest to those interested in the music of Debussy and Ravel, and of the European cultural history of the time.