Fiona Maddocks's Books

Goodbye Russia

Rachmaninoff in Exile

By: Fiona Maddocks

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The moving story of Rachmaninoff's years in exile and the composition of his last great work, set against a cataclysmic backdrop of two world wars and personal tragedy. In 1940, Sergei Rachmaninoff, living in exile in America, broke his creative silence and composed a swan song to his Russian homeland—his iconic “Symphonic Dances.” What happened in those final haunted years and how did he come to write his farewell masterpiece? Rachmaninoff left Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) in 1917 during the throes of the Russian Revolution. He was forty-four years old, at the peak of his powers as composer-conductor-performer, moving in elite Tsarist circles, as well as running the family estate, his refuge and solace. He had already written the music which, today, has made him one of the most popular composers of all time: the second and third Piano Concertos and two symphonies. The story of his years in exile in America and Switzerland has only been told in passing. Reeling from the trauma of a life in upheaval, he wrote almost no music and quickly had to reinvent himself as a fêted virtuoso pianist, building up untold wealth and meeting the stars—from Walt Disney and Charlie Chaplin to his Russian contemporaries and polar opposites, Prokofiev and Stravinsky. Yet the melancholy of leaving his homeland never lifted. Using a wide range of sources, including important newly translated texts, Fiona Maddocks’s immensely readable book conjures impressions of this enigmatic figure, his friends and the world he encountered. It explores his life as an emigré artist and how he clung to an Old Russia which no longer existed. That forging of past and present meets in his Symphonic Dances (1940), his last composition, written on Long Island shortly before his death in Beverly Hills, surrounded by a close-knit circle of exiles. Goodbye Russia is a moving and prismatic look at Rachmaninoff and his iconic final work.

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Page Count

252

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

163936594X

ISBN 13

9781639365944

Music for Life

100 Works to Carry You Through

By: Fiona Maddocks

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Music for Life

100 Works to Carry You Through

By: Fiona Maddocks

How does music reflect the key moments in our lives? How do we choose the works that inspire, delight, comfort or console? Fiona Maddocks selects 100 classical works from across nine centuries, arguing passionately, persuasively and at times obstinately for their inclusion, putting each work in its cultural and musical context, discussing omissions, suggesting alternatives and always putting the music first.

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Page Count

227

Publisher

Faber & Faber

Published Date

ISBN 10

057132939X

ISBN 13

9780571329397

Twentieth-Century Classical Music

A Ladybird Expert Book

By: Fiona Maddocks

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Twentieth-Century Classical Music

A Ladybird Expert Book

By: Fiona Maddocks

Part of the ALL-NEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIES. ____________ How did modern classical music develop over the 20th Century? What enabled women to get their music performed in the early 1900s? Which classical composers borrowed from jazz? How did composers respond to politics and war? DISCOVER the stories behind Mahler's, Symphony No. 5 (1901-2), Ullman's Piano Sonata No. 7 (1944), Bernstein's West Side Story (1957), as well as learn about minimalism, jazz, swing, opera . . . AND UNDERSTAND TWENTIETH CENTURY CLASSICAL MUSIC. Discover the answers and more inside Fiona Maddocks' Twentieth Century Classical Music, the thrilling and accessible account that explains what happened throughout the 20th century, who the key composers were and what influenced them to write what they did?

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Penguin UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

1405932414

ISBN 13

9781405932417

Hildegard of Bingen

The Woman of Her Age

By: Fiona Maddocks

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Hildegard of Bingen

The Woman of Her Age

By: Fiona Maddocks

The twelfth-century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen would have been remarkable in any age. Today, her growing reputation as a composer of religious music has overshadowed the astonishing variety of her accomplishments and her part in the scientific, cultural, and theological revolution of the pre-Renaissance, from religion and mysticism to medicine and sex. Scivias, her book of apocalyptic visions, with its extraordinary and compelling illustrations, would alone have been enough to endure her lasting fame. The story of Hildegard's life, from her entry into a monastery at Disibodenberg on the Rhine as a child, through the exploration of her pent-up genius in middle years, to her eventual admission to the German canon of saints, is here told against a rich background of the years of the Crusades, the flowering of monasticism, papal schism and heresy. The forceful character that emerges challenges any image of demurely subjugated womanhood associated with the period. Hildegard's story is as fascinating as that of any figure in the Middle Ages, and she and her musical legacy continue to be the subject of debate a thousand years later.

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Page Count

322

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Image

Published Date

ISBN 10

0307552985

ISBN 13

9780307552983

Goodbye Russia

Rachmaninoff in Exile

By: Fiona Maddocks

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Goodbye Russia

Rachmaninoff in Exile

By: Fiona Maddocks

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252

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

163936594X

ISBN 13

9781639365944

Harrison Birtwistle

Wild Tracks - A Conversation Diary with Fiona Maddocks

By: Fiona Maddocks,Sir Harrison Birtwistle

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Harrison Birtwistle

Wild Tracks - A Conversation Diary with Fiona Maddocks

By: Fiona Maddocks,Sir Harrison Birtwistle

Anyone with the smallest interest in composition - not just concertos but novels, buildings, lives, you name it, should read this absorbing, spiky, dazzling book.' Adam Thirwell, TLS Books of the Year Harrison Birtwistle is recognised worldwide as one of the greatest of living composers, behind such works of trail-blazingly modern classical music as The Shadow of Night and The Mask of Orpheus, famously staged at the English National Opera in 1986, and winner of the Grawemeyer Award. His music is both deeply original and highly personal, yet he has always been notoriously reticent about explaining either his music or himself. In this 'conversation diary', spanning six months, he talks openly to the distinguished writer and critic Fiona Maddocks (author of the acclaimed Hildegard of Bingen: The Woman of her Age), offering rare insights into the challenges, uncertainties and rewards which have shaped his life and work since childhood, and which remain with him today as he enters his ninth decade. We see the composer in the privacy of his Wiltshire studio and garden, and in the public glare of the elite Salzburg and Aldeburgh Festivals. But mostly he is at his kitchen table, talking about the essential aspects of his life - family, cooking, cricket, landscape, pruning trees - and reflecting on the never easy-process of composition. What distinguishes him and his remarkable music is an ability to see the extraordinary in the everyday, giving rise to work that is both elemental and profound. For anyone concerned with the future of music this book is essential reading.

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213

Publisher

Faber & Faber

Published Date

ISBN 10

0571308120

ISBN 13

9780571308125

Hildegard of Bingen

The Woman of Her Age

By: Fiona Maddocks

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Hildegard of Bingen

The Woman of Her Age

By: Fiona Maddocks

Best known today as a fine composer, the twelfth-century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen was also a religious leader and visionary, a poet, naturalist and writer of medical treatises. Despite her cloistered life she had strong, often controversial views on sex, love and marriage too - a woman astonishing in her own age, whose book of apocalyptic visions, Scivias, would alone have been enough to ensure her lasting fame. In this classic and highly praised biography - first published by Headline in 2001 - distinguished writer and journalist, Fiona Maddocks, draws on Hildegard's prolific writings to paint a portrait of her extraordinary life against the turbulent medieval background of crusade and schism, scientific discovery and cultural revolution. The great intellectual gifts and forceful character that emerge make her as fascinating as any figure in the Middle Ages. More than 800 years after her death, Pope Benedict XVI has made Hildegard a Saint and a Doctor of the Church (one of only four women). Fiona Maddocks has provided a short new preface to cover these tributes to an extraordinary and exceptional woman.

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Page Count

250

Publisher

Faber & Faber

Published Date

ISBN 10

0571302599

ISBN 13

9780571302598

Australian Uniform Evidence Law

By: Fiona Hum,Gregor Urbas,Ottavio Quirico

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Australian Uniform Evidence Law

By: Fiona Hum,Gregor Urbas,Ottavio Quirico

Australian Uniform Evidence Law provides a clear, accessible introduction to the law of evidence.

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Page Count

667

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1009010727

ISBN 13

9781009010726

The Good Pub Guide 2013

By: Alisdair Aird,Fiona Stapley

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The Good Pub Guide 2013

By: Alisdair Aird,Fiona Stapley

Once again organized county by county, The Good Pub Guide is as invaluable as ever. Its comprehensive yearly updates and countless reader reports ensure that only the very best pubs make the grade. Here you will find classic country pubs, town-centre inns, riverside retreats, historic gems and exciting newcomers, plus gastropubs, and pubs specialising in malt whisky or own-brew beer. Find out the top pubs in each county for beer, dining and accommodation, and discover the winners of the coveted titles of Pub of the Year and Landlord of the Year. Packed with information, The Good Pub Guide 2013 is a fund of honest, entertaining and indispensable information. Whether you are planning a night out, a weekend away, holidaying in the UK or looking for a local pub, Alisdair Aird and Fiona Stapley have it covered.

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Page Count

1330

Publisher

Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

1448118263

ISBN 13

9781448118267

The Good Pub Guide 2012

By: Alisdair Aird,Fiona Stapley

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The Good Pub Guide 2012

By: Alisdair Aird,Fiona Stapley

In 2012 The Good Pub Guide celebrated its 30th anniversary, and is as invaluable as ever. Its comprehensive yearly updates and countless reader reports ensure that only the very best pubs make the grade. Here you will find classic country pubs, town-centre inns, riverside retreats, gastropubs, historic gems and exciting newcomers, plus pubs specialising in wine, malt whisky, or own-brew beer. Find out the top pubs in each county for beer, dining and accommodation, and discover the winners of the coveted titles of Pub of the Year and Landlord of the Year. Packed with information, The Good Pub Guide 2012 is a fund of honest, entertaining and indispensable information.

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Page Count

1108

Publisher

Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

1448118417

ISBN 13

9781448118410

Understanding Homicide

By: Fiona Brookman

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Understanding Homicide

By: Fiona Brookman

This comprehensive and challenging text unravels the phenomenon of homicide. In introducing the broad spectrum of different features, aspects and forms of homicide, Fiona Brookman examines its patterns and trends, how it may be explained, its investigation and how it may be prevented.

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Page Count

370

Publisher

SAGE

Published Date

ISBN 10

0761947558

ISBN 13

9780761947554

The Good Pub Guide: London and the South East

By: Alisdair Aird,Fiona Stapley

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The Good Pub Guide: London and the South East

By: Alisdair Aird,Fiona Stapley

This handy portable guide features up-to-date information, including food, drinks, facilities and opening hours, for the best pubs in London and the south east of England, as chosen by the highly respected editors of the annual Good Pub Guide. Spanning Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex, and London here are handpicked pubs specialising in food, wine, malt whisky or own-brew beer. Whether you're planning a holiday in this part of the UK and trying to find some charming pub accommodation, looking for a place to enjoy a weekend walk with the dog, or simply in search of some warming pub food and a welcome pint of real ale, this is the guide for you.

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Page Count

392

Publisher

Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

1448147972

ISBN 13

9781448147977

Harrison Birtwistle

Wild Tracks - A Conversation Diary with Fiona Maddocks

By: Fiona Maddocks,Sir Harrison Birtwistle

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Harrison Birtwistle

Wild Tracks - A Conversation Diary with Fiona Maddocks

By: Fiona Maddocks,Sir Harrison Birtwistle

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Page Count

213

Publisher

Faber & Faber

Published Date

ISBN 10

0571308120

ISBN 13

9780571308125

Twentieth-Century Classical Music

A Ladybird Expert Book

By: Fiona Maddocks

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Twentieth-Century Classical Music

A Ladybird Expert Book

By: Fiona Maddocks

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Penguin UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

1405932414

ISBN 13

9781405932417

Book's by Fiona Maddocks

Goodbye Russia

Goodbye Russia

Music for Life

Music for Life

Twentieth-Century Classical Music

Twentieth-Century Classical Music

Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen

Goodbye Russia

Goodbye Russia

Harrison Birtwistle

Harrison Birtwistle

Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen

Australian Uniform Evidence Law

Australian Uniform Evidence Law

The Good Pub Guide 2013

The Good Pub Guide 2013

The Good Pub Guide 2012

The Good Pub Guide 2012

Understanding Homicide

Understanding Homicide

The Good Pub Guide: London and the South East

The Good Pub Guide: London and the South East

Harrison Birtwistle

Harrison Birtwistle

Twentieth-Century Classical Music

Twentieth-Century Classical Music

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