Features the following essays:

"Purcell's Dido and Aeneas: A Musical Exemplum for Young Gentlewomen"

"Hogarth, Handel, and 'The Levée' from 'The Rakes Progress': A Satirical Portrait Worth a Thousand Words"

"The Symphonies of Beethoven: Historical and Philosophical Reflections through Music"

"Liszt, Goethe, the 'Faust Symphony', and the Symphonic Poem: 'The Word Must Become the Deed' "

"Orientalism, Music and Debussy: West Meets East"

"Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Phantom of the Opera': An Example of the 'Musical Theatre Renaissance' "

"... In the 'Symphonies of Beethoven: Historical and Philosophical Reflections Through Music', Bucchianeri posits that Beethoven's symphonies reflect the composer's perception of his own world and his attitudes toward society and culture. That this perception changed over time is revealed by the stylistic progression of the works. Beethoven's earliest works in the genre contain the element of the 'sublime', an aesthetic concept earmarked by grand concepts, powerful emotions, imagery, dignity, and elevation. Drawing on the philosophy of Edmund Burke, the author describes the sublime as 'large and unfathomable, rough and rugged, terrifying and painful, without actually experiencing this intangible state.' The opening movements of the first two symphonies show elements of the noble concept of the 'sublime'. In the Third and and Fifth Symphonies Beethoven expanded on the sublime style to epic proportions; in the Sixth he integrated the concept that 'all things sublime are both ancient and new, as in nature.' By the Ninth, Beethoven turned to the concept of the sublime as unfathomable as the heavens. Here the author offers an interpretation of the Ninth in relation to Beethoven's character and philosophies. The book includes a select bibliography and index for all the essays." - Patricia Stroh, the "Beethoven Journal", San Jose University