Penguin Books Australia

One of pioneers of modern music in New Zealand, Ray Columbus began his career in 1959 at the tender age of 17. After more than four decades at the top of the New Zealand entertainment industry as a singer, songwriter, bandleader and TV star, and having hits with such classics as 'She's a Mod' and 'Till We Kissed', Ray is well and truly a household name.

The 28-page introductory section includes spreads which display the instruments of the modern symphony orchestra, and some of their antecedents.

The composer's music is explored in successive spreads.

'An extraordinarily wide-ranging and stimulating book, which covers everything from technology to politics, from Haydn to hip hop, from Monteverdi to MTV'  
Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph

Once musicians such as Mozart were little more than court servants; now they are multimillionaire superstars wielding more power than politicians. How did this extraordinary change come about?

The first ever book to be published in English about the momentous Russian composer Alfred Schnittke (1934-98), this extensive biography presents a fascinating portrait of a man whose musical output was inextricably linked to the strictures of life in the Soviet Union. His music - a strong reflection of Russian cultural and social traditions, and underlying mentality - enjoys tremendous popularity...

A beautifully crafted biography examines both the music and the man.

The music of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), from the monumental Le Tombeau de Couperin to the rousing Boléro , has maintained its ability to delight throughout the twentieth century. Although brought up in Paris, Ravel's Basque ancestry instilled in him an acute regard for Spain and its music that informed several of his most famous...

A study of the influential Hungarian composer, teacher and mentor.

The Hungarian György Ligeti (1923–2006) is one of the most highly regarded and influential composers. Having survived persecution as a Jew during World War II, he fled to West Germany during the Hungarian Revolution, where his early musical development was shaped by his work in the Cologne electronic studios and by the influence...

Examines the life and work of the enigmatic Finnish composer.

The Beatles follows the extraordinary development of four self-taught musicians from Liverpool, from their beginnings, until the break-up in 1970. This biography sets the group's evolution against the backdrop of a popular culture explosion in the 1960s. A serious study of the Beatles' music is expanded here by consideration not only of the group's commercially released disks but also of rare working...

Rock & Roll Pioneers
Jive, Twist and Stomp is a backstage pass into the lives and times of Western Australia's pioneers of popular music.  From Bon Scott's The Spektors to Johnny Young's Johnny and the Strangers, this is the A to Z of WA's bands and venues of the 50s and 60s.  So dust off your records, put on your dancing shoes and enjoy some classic stories and shoebox memorabilia from...

A novel exploration of the 20th-century's most prominent German composer.

The most prominent and popular German composer of the twentieth century, Richard Strauss (1864-1949) remains one of the most controversial figures in the history of music. Though he is now accepted as one of the finest of all orchestral composers, and his operas as the most subtly characterized since those of Mozart, his reputation...

The composers who dominated the mainstream development of German music.

Twentieth-century German music has been characterized by its extreme diversity. A central mainstream has been dominated, however, by the work of Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), Karl Amadeus Hartmann (1905-63) and Hans Werner Henze (b. 1926). Born in different periods, and from different backgrounds, there are remarkable parallels between...

A biography of one of the 20th-century's most famous musicians.

As conductor, pianist, composer, television personality and, above all, communicator, Leonard Bernstein (1918-90) was one of the most famous and documented musicians of the twentieth century.

A portrait of the life and work of Benjamin Britten.

The life of Giacomo Puccini, composer of many well-loved operas.

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), composer of such popular operas as La Bohème and Madame Butterfly , is most renowned for his gift as a melodist.

With his final opera, Turandot , Puccini composed the last Italian work in the genre to hold a firm place in the international repertoire. The author draws attention to the felicity...

A comprehensive, revealing biography of the versatile Russian composer and pianist.

The versatile composer and pianist Sergey Prokofiev (1891–1953) is among the most significant and individual figures in twentieth-century Russian music. Best known for the ballet Romeo and Juliet and his piece for children Peter and the Wolf , Prokofiev wrote primarily for the stage and also contributed notably...