Construção is the greatest album ever recorded by the brazilian composer and singer Chico Buarque. It was recorded after he came back from his exile in Italy, in 1971, it has charmingly beautiful songs where one can clearly see influences from Bossa Nova (mainly in its hauting, dissonant harmonies) and was beautifully orchestrated by Rogério Duprat. Among its finest moments are "Deus lhe pague", "Cotidiano", "Construção" and "Valsinha".

The late Cathy Berberian who was married to Italian composer and avant gardist Luciano Berio,was far sighted enough as to become the first legitimate opera singer to cover Beatles songs thus affording the Beatles a classically credible status. Unlike the usual image of an opera singer Cathy was actually quite a stunning lady. Hearing Beatles songs performed this way has the power of either clearing a room or realising the songs are as good if not better than the average operatic aria. As one of these songs was used on an Exotic Beatles volume its a case of whether you think the songs should have been left alone or whether you think of the Beatles music as classical such as the many Baroque collections.

Methodo de Pianoforte (Piano Method), a pedagogical work written in 1821 for Nunes Garcia's son, Apollinário José, comprises a collection of pieces, delightful for studying, playing and listening, arranged in two series of 12 lessons and 6 Fantasias. (…) Beside original melodies, José Maurício didn't hesitate quoting other composers, thus we find Haydn in the 7th lesson of the 2nd part, and Rossini in the 5th lesson of the 2nd part; he has also quoted his own melodies, as in the lessons 9, 11 and 12 of the 1st part, which use melodies from his exquisite Requiem. (…)

Ruth Serrão, pianist and teacher, whose dedication to brazilian music is worthy of the greatest praises, amalgamates here her work, started in 1980, rescuing José Maurício's oeuvre for the keyboard.

Ernani Aguiar, Brazilian Academy of Music

Scott Bradley (1891-1977) was the musical wizard behind M-G-M's classic Golden Age cartoons. From 1934 to 1957, Bradley was the studio's resident animation composer and provided the musical identity for William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's popular Tom and Jerry shorts as well as the madcap gag-fests of animation legend Tex Avery. (…)

Review on the Film Score Monthly site

Extends the Schenker method to modern, medieval, renaissance music. Tonal organization, analyzes over 500 pieces, connects theory and composition.

First published in 1948, Structural Functions of Harmony is Schoenberg's last theoretical work and contains his ultimate thoughts on classical and romantic harmony. The opening chapters are a resume of the basic principles of the early Theory of Harmony; the subsequent chapters demonstrate the concept of 'monotonality', whereby all modulations to different keys within a movement are analysed not in relation to each other but in terms of the irrelationship to one central tonality (tonic) as the centre of all harmonic change. Schoenberg's music examples range from the entire development sections of classical symphonies to analyses of the harmonic progressions of Strauss, Debussy, Reger, and his own early music.

Artist Transcriptions are authentic, note-for-note transcriptions of the hottest wind, electronic, guitar and keyboard artists. These outstanding, accurate arrangements are in an easy-to-read format which includes all essential lines. Artist Transcriptions can be used to perform, sequence or reference.

This introductory text for students covers all the most important aspects of serial composition, including full discussion of such topics as melody writing, twelve-note harmony, polyphonic writing, forms, stylistic factors, avant-garde techniques, and free twelve-note composition. The author's intention is to avoid a pedantic exposition of serial principles and to include many technical details which are also valid in non serial contexts, being the common property of contemporary musical languages. Richard Smith Brindle (born 1917) is a native of Lancashire. He studied at the University College of North Wales, Bangor, in Rome at the Academia di Santa Cecilia, and in Florence privately with Dallapiccola. His own music is influenced by he Italian avant-garde school of Berio, Maderna, Nono, and others. From 1970 until his retirement in 1985 he was Professor of Music at the University of Surrey.

Harmony, which was Schenker's first major theoretical writing, is notable for defining the theoretical agenda that Schenker was to carry out over the subsequent three decades. Schenker makes a careful distinction between the theories of harmony (which for Schenker is concerned with relations among scale-steps) and counterpoint (which deals only with voice leading); he argues that other theorists have confusingly mixed these two concepts. He introduces the principle of repetition, which gives rise to the concept of the motive. Schenker also strongly hints about the ways in which large spans of music can be understood as elaborations of simple structures; this idea is perhaps the most characteristic feature of his mature theory. Finally, he discusses the relationship between music and Nature, which would also be a recurring theme throughout his career.

Arnold Schoenberg was a music theorist, a composer, and a music teacher. In his teaching, as in his composing, he aimed at furthering what he saw as the superior tradition in music: the German tradition. Schoenberg's text, Harmonielehre, reflects his belief that a musician who wishes to create truly new and great music must first study classical music: the text deals with classical harmony and does not investigate more modern harmony, despite having been written in the modernist era of music. Schoenberg's aim as a teacher, to further the German tradition in music, was actually met by his Harmonielehre. The curriculum of this text raises, as we will see, interesting questions about Schoenberg's opinion of himself as a composer.

The goal of Volume 2 of "Modal Jazz Composition & Harmony" is to continue the dissemination of information that presents a path of study for the aspiring jazz composer. Where Volume 1 of the book emphasized the preparation of a modal harmonic foundation, this volume will introduce concepts of melody writing and a study of the styles of jazz compositions that are an intrinsic addition to the contemporary jazz composer's repertoire. Also included are chapters on harmonization and reharmonization techniques - as many of the concepts presented reflect an influence of Gil Evans, Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus as well as those of Herbie Hancock - and on pentatonic tunes that are harmonized with a modal harmonic foundation. As with Volume 1, an appendix with additional peripheral information is included for the student desiring theoretical explanation and additional examples.

In C is a semi-aleatoric musical piece composed by Terry Riley in 1964 for any number of people, although he suggests "a group of about 35 is desired if possible but smaller or larger groups will work". It is a response to the abstract academic serialist techniques used by composers in the mid-twentieth century and is often cited as the first minimalist composition.

The goal of this book is to show the student the means to develop latent creative abilities by offering the unfettered environment of the chromatic-modal system and free asymmetric form. The freedom of the approach will allow the composer to express him/herself in any style: post 50s jazz, ECM, fusion, pop, classical, etc., that is not more…tied to any harmonic particulars. Ron Miller is professor of jazz studies at the University of Miami. His compositions have been recorded and/or performed by notable musicians as Red Rodney, "Elements", Jerry Coker, Ira Sullivan and Stan Getz. Composition students of Ron Miller that have attained notoriety include: Pat Metheny, Steve Morse, "T" Lavitz, Bruce Hornsby, Gil Goldstein, Mark Egan, Matt Harris, Denis DiBlasio and Rick Margitza.