Masters of Music Series - several items from this series including: Vivaldi, Liszt, Chubert, Chopin and more.
The Primary Source Library of Famous Composers - a series focussing on composers with several volumes.
American Popular Music Series - series focussing on different genres of music. Rock and roll, jazz, folk and more.
From Convent to Concert Hall by 
Marsalis on Music by
With an unrivaled freshness, charm, and sense of fun, Wynton Marsalis steps forward not only as a world-renowned jazz and classical performer, but as a great teacher in the tradition of Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts. Using wonderfully appealing examples and analogies--likening the rhythmic structures of music to playing basketball or football, teaching sonata form through a story about chasing a pet hamster through a shopping mall, drawing unprecedented and revealing connections between classical music and jazz--Wynton Marsalis makes so-called "difficult" music vivid, immediately graspable, and most of all fun. The result is the perfect book for families and schools eager to give children a strong cultural foundation without boring them--no risk of that here!--or for anyone who has ever felt interested in "serious" music only to be intimidated by its intricacies. The most popular and acclaimed jazz musician and composer of his generation, Wynton Marsalis is also one of the world's leading classical trumpet virtuosos. Throughout his career he has made room for extensive work with children and students. He is co-founder and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
150 Years of Popular Musical Theatre by
From the Parisian operettas of Jacques Offenbach in the 1850s to such current blockbuster musicals as Les Misérables and Rent, musical theatre has given joy to audiences throughout the world. This lively book--an illustrated history of popular musical theatre--provides a compendium of fascinating details about the origins and development of the genre over a century and a half. Andrew Lamb moves from country to country, showing how different cultures interpreted and were influenced by different types of musical theatre. He examines, for example, the development of the European operetta style from French and Viennese works to such less-well-known schools as the Spanish zarzuela. He also traces the evolution of English-language works from the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan and American vaudevilles and extravaganzas to the latest Broadway and West End musicals. For each significant work he provides a brief description of the plot and references to the principal musical numbers. While his focus is on composers, librettists, and lyricists, he also gives information about principal performers, directors, and other creative influences. In a masterful way he conveys the differences between works of the same composer and works by various composers, and shows how they reflect changing cultural tastes and musical and dramatic conventions. Displaying a deep and wide-ranging expertise, this authoritative book is an invaluable resource for all lovers of the musical theatre.
All Music Guide by
(Book). From folk to avant-garde to world music, this fun-to-browse book easily guides readers to more than 20,000 great recordings by over 4,000 artists through thorough reviews and ratings. Arranged by genre (the book covers 16 styles in all), each section provides informed essays on how the music evolved and its various styles, intriguing artist biographies, and insightful reviews and ratings of the top recordings. The lives and work of major artists are described in depth. Easy-to-read "music maps" chart the development of each genre, its key players, and their influences. Now in its fourth edition, this authoritative reference highlights "essential collection" albums as well as "first purchase" recordings to help listeners buy CDs. Nearly 1,500 info-packed pages! "Makes you delirious with knowledge." Entertainment Weekly "The most useful single volume your money can buy." Mojo
Careers for Music Lovers by 
Lady Gaga by
As USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, noted, Lady Gaga is an "Overnight sensation who went from a Yonkers [New York] lounge act to, well, a fame monster." The meteoric rise of Stefani Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga, to the top of the pop charts surprised some. But Gaga spent years working, waiting, and honing her craft in the underground New York music scene, until her singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" launched her to international fame in 2008. She has developed such a large and loyal fan base that in 2011, Forbes magazine ranked her as No. 1 on their annual Celebrity 100 list of top moneymakers. An outspoken and avid supporter of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) rights, Gaga values inclusiveness: "To me there is nothing more powerful than one song that you can put on in a room anywhere in the world and somebody gets up and dances." From her sudden rise to the top to her musical integrity and social activism, Lady Gaga has the world under her control. And her orders? Just dance!
Lives of the Musicians by
Here are the life stories of such diverse figures as Vivaldi, Mozart, Scott Joplin, Nadia Boulanger, and Woody Guthrie. Readers will learn of both their musical natures and the personal, humorous characteristics that make their lives so fascinating. “Living, breathing anecdotes--the stuff of which the best biography is made.”--Publishers Weekly
Music by 
