DescriptionGerard Schwarz shows how no artist expressed the ideals of nineteenth-century Romanticism better than Richard Wagner. With his great operas, or "music dramas", as he preferred to call them, Wagner created epic works relating stories derived from old Europ…
DescriptionGerard Schwarz takes you through the life of Anton Dvorak, a devoted Czech nationalist who, like other composers of the nineteenth century, brought national or ethnic pride into the concert hall by using their nation's folk music to evoke patriotic sentim…
DescriptionGerard Schwarz explains how Chopin came to embody the Romantic Movement with his rich harmonic shadings, his intense poetic expression, and his attention to the sensual qualities of music. But Chopin did more than just write music imbued with the spirit o…
DescriptionIf the vivid expression of human passion is a hallmark of Romanticism in music, then Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was perhaps the most Romantic of all composers. A sensitive, introspective, and extremely emotional man, Tchaikovsky poured his joys, sorrows, and drams into compositions that have touched listeners for over a century. The Musically Speaking Conductor's Guides are your link to an appreciation of the greatest classical music ever performed. Let Maestro Gerard Schwarz enrich your classical music listening enjoyment by illuminating the great works of the Masters with revealing commentary and educational insight.
DescriptionBorn in 1795, tragically dead of consumption by age 26, John Keats was one of the greatest English Romantic poets. During his brief life, he composed many poems and odes that are considered among the finest and most passionate ever written. Lush, sensuous, rhythmic, and surprising, they captivate the senses and fascinate the mind.
DescriptionBerlioz had a passionate and idealistic personality, one given to incandescent enthusiasms and uncompromising struggles. Through most of this career he stood in opposition to Paris' entrenched musical establishments, which looked on his innovations in har…
DescriptionThea Luckmore believes in love, the magic spark of true, old-fashioned, romantic love. She's determined only to fall head over heels, or rather, heart over head. Alice Heggarty, her best friend, is always falling in lust, with dashing rogues who invariably break her heart. As yet another disastrous relationship ends, Alice makes a decision. It's time to marry and she knows just the man. For Thea, a chance encounter on Primrose Hill ignites that elusive spark she's preoccupied with. Saul Mundy promises to be the perfect fit and Thea finds herself falling in love and loving it. But though newly wed Alice encourages Thea to settle down and conform, she finds that she's not as keen as she thought on playing by the rules.
DescriptionBeautiful, clever, rich, and single, Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work.
