Leading Tones is a glimpse into several aspects of the musical world by Leonard Slatkin, music director and conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. There are portions devoted to the Slatkin's

Truly great compositions spring, like Athena from Zeus' skull, at the juncture of genius and passion. In Mathilde Wesendonck: Isolde's Dream, author Judith Cabaud calls on a host of heretofore undiscovered

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) has to be the most rewarding, expressive, and entertaining of all the composers whose work fell into obscurity in the years following his death. He was overshadowed

An enigma to those who knew him, the early-20th century French master Maurice Ravel composed some of the most popular and beloved music in the repertory. In Ravel: A Listener's Guide, Victor Lederer surveys

Claude Debussy was the father of the modern era in classical music. His innovations liberated Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and Bartok to write their iconoclastic works, and his harmonic inventions are still

Opera's most enduring tragic double bill of verismo masterpieces, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci

In Verdi's Operas, each of Verdi's 26 operas, from Oberto to Falstaff, is studied in detail, The plots are described act by act, and the works are analyzed and placed in the context of history and of the

Music by Georges Bizet.  Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy.  Based on the novella by Prosper Merimee.  Includes libretto, background and photos.  Paperback, 151 p.

Derived from a popular series of lecture-recitals presented by Carol Montparker over the past several years, The Composer's Landscape features eight insightful essays on the piano repertoire. Each chapter

An introduction to the operas of Verdi from Nabucco to Falstaff, as well as his sacred works for choir and orchestra. With notes and a bibliography. The CD contains excerpts from several works.  From

Today Mozart's exquisite Le Nozze di Figaro delights and moves audiences everywhere, long after its 1786 birth

Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte.  The complete libretto presented by the Metropolitan Opera.  Includes an introduction, synopsis, program note and other notes.  Also contains numerous full color