Product Description

Berlioz's Orchestration Treatise (1843) is a classic textbook by a master of the orchestra, which has not been available in English translation for over a century. This is a book by and about Berlioz, since it provides not only a new translation but also an extensive commentary on his text, dealing with the instruments of Berlioz's time and comparing his instruction with his practice. It is thus a study of the high craft of the most distinctive orchestrator of the nineteenth century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2356619 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 428 pages

Review
"When I received the book, I confidently expected a good modern translation of this seminal work on orchestration and an informative commentary. My expectations were exceeded in both respects. A better translation and commentary than the present one can scarcely be imagined. Indeed, as far as commentary is concerned, this book is an essential reference tool for scholars of every nationality and for all performers of Berlioz's music." Journal of Musicological Research

About the Author
Hugh Macdonald is Avis Blewett Professor of Music at Washington University, St Louis. He has been General Editor of the New Berlioz Edition since its inception in 1967. He has edited The Selected Letters of Berlioz (1995) and Volumes IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII of the Berlioz Correspondance générale (1992- ). He is also author of Skryabin (1978) and Berlioz (1982).

Customer Reviews

reviewed by Hugh Wood in TLS march 2003
"-the provenance of the 'Treatise'. It came from many evenings of his youth spent with the Berlioz rat-pack at the Opera. Those uproarious occasions, enlivened by justifiable if impertinent complaints about missing trombones or unscored cymbal-clashes, are told breathlessly in Chapter Fifteen of the 'Memoirs'."