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Sidney Finkelstein's contribution to the understanding of music with Composer and Nation is unusual in some respects, and well worth presenting again to a new audience. Only rarely have recent music writers looked at long spans of history. With the proliferation of scholars and the ever-increasing historical detail available from their work, the task of compiling a one-volume history of music is formidable. Well written, and intended for both the amateur as well as the musician, this volume approaches a time span of 300 years, from 1700 to the present. The presentation avoids detailed analysis of works and does not aim at complete coverage of historical detail. Instead, Finkelstein surveys major details of what is usually called the modern era from an unpretentious sociological premise, namely that musical values and the relationship of the composer to society are reflected in the musical works. It follows then that the structure and texture of the work would reflect the composer's view of society and that important musical events offer insight into contemporary social and historical currents. Finkelstein presents an outline of the era from the viewpoint of the musical sociologist. His lively writing style, in the best tradition of the amateur, and his observation post-removed from the usual musicological context make this new edition a welcome addition to musical and sociological literature.

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9780717806713

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"Sidney Finkelstein, (1909-1974) With degrees from CUNY, NYU and Columbia University, Finkelstein's studies ranged broadly into literature and the graphic and plastic arts, as well as music. International Publishers has new editions of his major works on music, JAZZ: A People's Music (1949), and COMPOSER AND NATION (1960), both of which received wide and deserved acclaim, and translation into several other languages. Contemporary, thought-ful commentary update these editions for a new generation of readers, be they students of music or simply lovers of music. In this book, Finkelstein's work provides new insights into both popular and classical music, to the relationships between music and society, and the influence of folk music upon the whole of our musical heritage. ""Mel"" Comberiati was an assistant professor of music at Manhattanville College, who received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). He is the author of Late Renaissance Music at the Habsburg Court (1987) and co-editor of Music from the Middle Ages through the Twentieth Century (1988), with Matthew C. Steel. Prof. Comberiati is also a member of the editorial board, Journal of Musicological Research. ""Mel"" Comberiati was an assistant professor of music at Manhattanville College, who received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). He is the author of Late Renaissance Music at the Habsburg Court (1987) and co-editor of Music from the Middle Ages through the Twentieth Century (1988), with Matthew C. Steel. Prof. Comberiati is also a member of the editorial board, Journal of Musicological Research."

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