Böcker av David Vernon

''Wagner''s art refuses to stand still, declines to play by the rules and will not observe any of the social graces''What is it that makes Wagner''s art so endlessly powerful? So influential, seductive and repellent? So simultaneously creative and destructive? And why does it continue to shock, thrill and disturb all those who encounter it?In Disturbing the Universe, David Vernon probes - in his incisive, provocative style - each of Wagner''s mature works individually, from Der fliegende Holl├ñnder to Parsifal. He unpacks and interrogates the exquisite networks Wagner created through the radical development of opera into musikdrama.Written in spirited and enticing prose, this book will appeal to Wagner addicts and connoisseurs as well as to novices and sceptics. It invites us all to look anew at a timeless and controversial art.

'[An] extraordinary and exciting book' - John SimpsonBeethoven's string quartets have long been held up as the pinnacle of chamber music: their fertility, complexity, depth and range mark them out as amongst the greatest of all musical creations. Yet they are also elusive, slippery works of art.In his new book, David Vernon - author of Disturbing the Universe: Wagner's Musikdrama and Beauty and Sadness: Mahler's 11 Symphonies - explores these exquisite and challenging pieces, probing their integrity and individuality while also placing the quartets within the context of Beethoven's life and other music, especially his symphonies and piano sonatas.A chapter is devoted to each work, with an in-depth essay followed by detailed movement-by-movement guides, revealing where they came from, how they are put together - and why they remain so relevant and celebrated today.WITH AN AFTERWORD BY JOHN SIMPSON

This is the first book in English to devote a chapter to each of Nabokov's novels, in both Russian and English. Supplementary essays discuss Speak, Memory and other non-fiction, plus the short stories, poetry and plays.

'A beautiful and important book' - Marina MahlerGustav Mahler wrote some of the most challenging and cherished music of all time: eleven extraordinary symphonies that continue to fascinate, intrigue and infuriate music lovers around the world.In his dazzling new book, David Vernon celebrates these vast but often very private works of art. In stimulating prose, he investigates their theatricality and grandeur, as well as their poetry and intimacy, examining the personal, philosophical and musical influences which shaped their creation.Each symphony, including Das Lied von der Erde and the unfinished Tenth, is given its own chapter, which also includes a detailed guide to the music, movement by movement.Above all, this is a book that recognizes the importance of Mahler in musical and cultural history and takes us far into both his creative processes and the works themselves.WITH A FOREWORD BY MARINA MAHLER