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Composers & Musicians

The great Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described architecture as "frozen music." The description works well in reverse, too—if we think of music as moving architecture we might be as close as we can get to actually defining what is arguably the most universal art form. The swoops and tildes and cornices of beautiful buildings are the visual counterparts of the fluorishes in music, the little bits that make each composition distinct to its author and yet recognizable as a specific type of music in a specific context.

Our culture has become drowned in music, most of it bad. Anyone can record sounds and disseminate them to a less and less discerning public, but just because a magazine editor calls something "genius" or even simply "music" doesn't make it so. There's plenty of good folk and jazz, even good rock'n'roll, but there's also way too much bad stuff. Even classical compositions aren't automatically good. It's sad, but there's no genre in which one can take permanent refuge from less-than-beautiful songs or sonatas.

This is, of course, because the music we listen to is the product of human beings. As God's creation made in His image, we are compelled to create, but we can never attain the perfection of which He is capable. Some get closer than others (Mozart is at least several rungs of the music ladder above Michael Jackson or Lady GaGa), and we admire this as a dedication to excellence and goodness. The human element is also what makes musicians' lives interesting to read about, how they were inspired, why they wrote and performed, what their character was like.

We've limited our collection to musicians we respect and admire, and who evidenced more than average competency. Ray Charles makes the cut because he could actually sing and his music was really music; Britney Spears is excluded for obvious reasons. Most of the individuals represented here are classical composers. There's little argument that men like Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin were among the greatest musical geniuses of all time, and since we agree that they were amazingly talented and we enjoy their music, we give biographies of classical composers special emphasis.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.

 

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Adventures of Richard Wagner
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Antonin Dvorak
by Clair Lee Purdy
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Arrow Pointing to Heaven
by James Bryan Smith
Revised from B&H Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.99
Bach's Goldberg Variations
by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$16.95
Beethoven
by Reba Paeff Mirsky
from Follett
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Beethoven
by David Jacobs
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Beethoven/Haydn Lapbook Set
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.99 $9.09 (1 in stock)
Best of Tchaikovsky
from My Father's World
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Music CDs (Location: CD)
Brahms/Schubert Lapbook Set
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.99 $9.09 (1 in stock)
Chopin
by George Ruttkay
from Hyperion Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Chopin Lapbook
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$7.00
Composer's World: Claude Debussy
by Wendy Thompson
from Faber & Faber
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Composers Activity-Pak
by Amy Pak
from Home School in the Woods
for 3rd-8th grade
in Hands-On History Activity-Paks (Location: HISRF-HOH)
$19.95
Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
1999 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Edward MacDowell - Study Guide
by Judy Wilcox
from Zeezok Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Edward MacDowell and His Cabin in the Pines
by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
Edward MacDowell and His Cabin in the Pines - MP3 Audio Book
by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$11.17
Famous Children: Chopin
by Ann Rachlin
from Barron's
for 1st-3rd grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Famous Children: Haydn
by Ann Rachlin
from Barron's
for 1st-3rd grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Famous Children: Mozart
by Ann Rachlin
from Barron's
for 1st-3rd grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Farewell Symphony
by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Foster/MacDowell Lapbook CD
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$7.00
Francis Scott Key
Sowers Series
by David Collins
from Mott Media
for 5th-7th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Franz Schubert
by Newman Flower
1939 Printing from Tudor Publishing Company
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends (hardcover)
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends - MP3 Audio Book
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$11.17
Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends - Study Guide
by Judy Wilcox
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$4.95
Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland: Early Years
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland: Later Years
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$13.95
George Frideric Handel
Sowers Series
by Charles Ludwig
from Mott Media
for 6th-8th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
George Handel
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Music Education & Reference (Location: ELE-MUSREF)
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue
by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
Glory and Honor
Leaders in Action Series
by Gregory Wilbur
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
$16.95
Great Christian Hymn Writers
by Jane Stuart Smith & Betty Carlson
from Crossway Books
for 7th-12th grade
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
Handel at the Court of Kings
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
Handel/Schumann Lapbook Set
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
Haydn's Farewell Symphony
by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$16.95
He Heard America Sing
by Clair Lee Purdy
from Julian Messner
for 4-6
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Horn for Louis
Stepping Stones
by Eric A. Kimmel
from Penguin Random House
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Igor Stravinsky
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
Johann Sebastian Bach
A Rookie Biography
by Carol Greene
from Children's Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Johannes Brahms
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
Joseph Haydn
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
Joseph Haydn - Study Guide
by Judy Wilcox
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$4.95 $3.50 (2 in stock)
Leonard Bernstein
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
Lives of the Musicians
by Kathleen Krull
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$8.99
Ludwig Beethoven and the Chiming Tower Bells
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
Ludwig Beethoven and the Chiming Tower Bells - Study Guide
by Judy Wilcox
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$4.95
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