From Mozart to Mendelssohn, this comprehensive guide to classical music history and classical music biography is the perfect latest addition to the best-selling Big Ideas series. Easy to understand and clear to follow, this history of classical music explores and explains music theory and the impact of seminal pieces, while also providing fascinating stories about the lives of crucial composers and performers. Including an insightful foreword by Katie...

A story spanning a decade and starring a cast of characters straight out of novel-from rock icons and film stars, art dealers and art forgers-brings to life the bitter debate over the authenticity of a series of paintings by the most famous American artist of the 20th century.

"Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece The Color Purple--as well as the acclaimed 1985 film from Steven Spielberg, the Tony-winning Broadway musical, and the all-new film adaptation with this gorgeously designed exploration of the novel's enduring legacy, featuring contributions from Alice Walker, Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Colman Domingo, Fantasia Barrino, Danny Glover, and more. Since its publication in 1982,...

Unlocking the human stories behind millennia of art, the eminent curator, taking us from ancient Babylon to contemporary Pyongyang, explains art's power to illuminate our lives and reveals how great art resonates powerfully by transcending the boundaries of time.

What does nothing sound like? Jacki's mama has a rare condition. She is slowly losing her hearing. Together, they are learning Sign Language so that they'll always be able to tell each other everything. But as Mama's world becomes quieter, Jacki's remains full of sound, especially on Music Appreciation Fridays. How can Jacki enjoy listening to music when her mama can no longer hear it? A heartfelt story, inspired by the author's childhood, about a...

"As she approached the age of seventy, Ruth Wilson began to have recurring dreams about losing her voice. And as she grappled with feelings of unfathomable sadness, she made the radical decision to retreat from her conventional life with her husband to a small sunshine-yellow cottage in New South Wales, Australia where she lived alone for the following ten years. Ruth had fostered a lifelong love of reading, and from the moment she first encountered...

"Go on a trip through the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art without ever leaving your home! Prepare to explore the treasures of the world's civilizations--from ancient Egyptian amulets, Mayan jewelry, and prehistoric tools--to Medieval tapestries, Renaissance suits of armor, and modern-day baseball cards. Each page brings you closer to the past as you learn about the people of different ages through the objects they left behind"--

Charles Holland challenges us to look beyond the day-to-day familiarity of buildings to rediscover the pleasure of experiencing architecture. Architecture is bound up with our daily lives but, for most of us, it is experienced as a blur of habit. Our reactions towards the buildings that surround us are often culturally generated, and we experience them in ways that are immediate but often mundane. How to Enjoy Architecture: A Guide for Everyone encourages...

Nearly all of us have the capacity to enjoy classical music but too often we are put off by not knowing where to look, or what we are actually looking for. We feel the need of a guide to help navigate such vast and varied artistic terrain. With this delightful book, historian Tim Bouverie provides just this. Drawing on his lifelong passion for music, he has created a compilation of 100 classical masterpieces sure to move and be enjoyed by almost anyone....

Welcome to the greatest gallery on Earth. Put yourself in the picture with this incredible visual guide displaying the best artistic works of all time. You're the very special guest with unlimited access to the world's most important art through the ages, from ancient cave paintings to modern-day street art. On your journey through time, you'll see a wealth of valuable art, including Egyptian tomb paintings, Roman frescoes, Byzantine mosaics, and...