Symphonic Repertoire, Volume I

Central to the repertoire of Western art music since the 18th century, the symphony has come to be regarded as one of the ultimate compositional challenges. In his five-volume series The Symphonic Repertoire, the late A. Peter Brown explores the symphony from its 18th-century beginnings to the end of the 20th century. In Volume 1, The Eighteenth-Century Symphony, 22 of Brown's former students and colleagues collaborate to complete the work that he began on this critical period of development in symphonic history. The work follows Brown's outline, is organized by country, and focuses on major composers. It includes a four-chapter overview and concludes with a reframing of the symphonic narrative. Contributors address issues of historiography, the status of research, and questions of attribution and stylistic traits, and provide background material on the musical context of composition and early performances. The volume features a CD of recordings from the Bloomington Early Music Festival Orchestra, highlighting the largely unavailable repertoire discussed in the book.

Mary Sue Morrow is Professor of Musicology at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, and author of Concert Life in Haydn's Vienna and German Music Criticism in the Late Eighteenth Century.

Bathia Churgin is former chair and founder of the Musicology Department at Bar-Ilan University. She has edited numerous editions of 18th-century instrumental music that include historical and analytical essays.