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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's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and 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)
$12.71
Arrow Pointing to Heaven
by James Bryan Smith
Revised from B&H Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bach's Goldberg Variations
Once Upon a Masterpiece
by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$14.41
Beethoven's Heroic Symphony
Once Upon a Masterpiece
by Anna Harwell Celenza, illustrated by JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$14.41
Chopin
by George Ruttkay
from Hyperion Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Complete Book of the Great Musicians
by Percy A. Scholes
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$33.95
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)
$12.00
Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
1999 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.94
Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
1999 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Famous Children: Brahms
by Ann Rachlin
from Barron's
for 1st-3rd grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Famous Children: Haydn
by Ann Rachlin
from Barron's
for 1st-3rd grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Famous Children: Mozart
by Ann Rachlin
from Barron's
for 1st-3rd grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Francis Scott Key
Sowers Series
by David Collins
from Mott Media
for 5th-7th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$7.64 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Francis Scott Key
by David Collins
from Mott Media
for 5th-7th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$4.80 (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)
$12.71
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)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Frederic Chopin
by Victor Seroff
from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland: Early Years
by Opal Wheeler, illustrated by Christine Price
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.71 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland: Later Years
by Opal Wheeler, illustrated by Christine Price
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.71
George Frideric Handel
Sowers Series
by Charles Ludwig
from Mott Media
for 6th-8th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$7.64
George Handel
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)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
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)
$12.71 $7.20 (2 in stock)
Haydn's Farewell Symphony
Once Upon a Masterpiece
by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$16.95
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
Life Stories for Young People
by George Upton (translator), Ludwig Ziemssen
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$10.16
John Philip Sousa
by Ann M. Lingg
1963 Printing from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Joseph Haydn
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.71 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Life & Times of Chopin
by Adelaide Murgia
from Curtis Publishing Co.
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Times of Stephen Foster
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Lives and Times: John Philip Sousa
from Heinemann Library
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Musicians
by Kathleen Krull
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Musicians
by Kathleen Krull
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$12.71 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Man with the Violin
by Kathy Stinson, Illustrated by Dusan Petricic, with a postscript by Joshua Bell
from Annick Press
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.46
Masters of Music: Debussy
by Percy M. Young, Illustrated by Richard Shirley Smith
from David White
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Mozart the Wonder Boy
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.71 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Music Appreciation 2 - Lapbook
from Zeezok Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Music Appreciation (Location: ELE-MUSAP)
$15.99
Musical Genius
by Barbara Allman
from Darby Creek Publishing
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$6.27
Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition
Once Upon a Masterpiece
by Anna Harwell Celenza & JoAnn E. Kitchel
from Charlesbridge
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$16.95
Opal Wheeler's Great Musicians set
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$203.36
Paganini, Master of Strings
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.71 $7.20 (2 in stock)
Peter Tchaikovsky and the Nutcracker Ballet
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.71 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Ray Charles: Young Musician
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Susan Sloate
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Childhood of Famous Americans (Location: BIO-COFA)
$5.94
Richard Wagner: The Man, His Mind, and His Music
by Robert W. Gutman
from Time-Life Books
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Robert Schumann and Mascot Ziff
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.71 $7.20 (2 in stock)
Sebastian Bach
by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.71 $7.20 (2 in stock)
Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers
by Patrick Kavanaugh
2nd edition from Zondervan
for 9th-Adult
in Music History (Location: ELE-MUSHIS)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Stephen Foster
Lives and Times
by Peggy Pancella
from Heinemann Library
for 1st-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 1st-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.71
Story of Peter Tchaikovsky
by Opal Wheeler
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.71 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Story-Lives of Master Musicians
by Harriette Brower
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$19.54
Tell Me About Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Verdi
by Joseph Wechsberg
1st edition from Putnam Juvenile
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Wagner and His Music-Dramas
by Robert Bagar
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
What's So Great About Francis Scott Key
by Marylou Morano Kjelle
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
for 2nd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Who Was Louis Armstrong?
Who Was?...Series
by Yona Zeldis McDonough
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$5.94
Who Was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
Who Was?...Series
by Yona Zeldis McDonough
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$5.09
Who Were the Beatles?
Who Was?...Series
by Geoff Edgers
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Who Was? biographies (Location: BIO-WHO)
$5.94
World of Composers: Bach
by Greta Cencetti
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
You Don't Cry Out Loud
by Lily Isaacs
from New Leaf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$10.47
Young Brahms
by Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$12.71
Young Brahms (hardcover)
by Sybil Deucher
from Zeezok Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Opal Wheeler Great Musicians Series (Location: BIO-OPAL)
$21.21 $12.00 (1 in stock)
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