Inspired by the world premiere of Anthony Payne's elaboration of Elgar's sketches for a third symphony, Robert Anderson embarked on a voyage to discover the influences behind each of Elgar's major works. This book is the result.

Today Vincent Novello (1781-1861) is remembered as the father of the music-publishing firm. Fiona Palmer's evaluation of Novello the man and the musician in the marketplace draws on rich primary sources. It is the first to provide a rounded view of his life and work, and the nature of his importance both in his own time and to posterity. Novello's early musical training, particularly his experience of music-making in London's embassy chapels, influenced him profoundly. His practical experience as director of music at the Portuguese Embassy Chapel in Mayfair informed his approach to editing and arranging. Fundamental moral and social attitudes underpinned Novello's progress. Ideas on religion, education and the function of family and friendship within society shaped his life choices. The Novello family lived in turbulent times and was widely-read, discussing politics and religion and not only the arts at its social gatherings. Within Vincent and Mary Novello's close circle were radical thinkers with republican views - such as Leigh Hunt and Charles Cowden Clarke - who saw sociability as a means of reorganizing society. Thematic studies focus on Novello as practical musician and educator, as editor, and as composer. His connections with institutions such as the Covent Garden and Pantheon Theatres, the Philharmonic Society and Moorfields Chapel, together with his adjudicating and teaching activities, are examined. In his wide-ranging editorial work Novello found his true vocation positioning himself as preservationist, pioneer and philanthropist. His work as composer, though unremarkable in quality, mirrored the demands and expectations of his consumers. Novello emerges from this study as a visionary who single-mindedly pursued greater musical knowledge for the benefit of everyone.

The riot that erupted during the 1913 debut of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris has long been one of the most infamous and intriguing events of modern musical history. The third in a series of works commissioned for Sergei Diaghalev's famed Ballets Russes, the piece combined disjunct tonalities, provocative rhythms, and radical choreography that threw spectators and critics into a literal fury. In the century following its premiere, The Rite of Spring has demonstrated its earth-shattering impact on music and dance as well as its immortalizing effect on Stravinsky and his career. Having gained international attention by the age of 30, what direction could Stravinsky's path forward take after the momentus events of 1913? After the Rite: Stravinsky's Path to Neoclassicism (1914-1925) traces the evolution of Stravinsky's compositional style as he searched for his own voice in the explosive musical world of the early 20th century as he responded to harsh criticisms of his work. Throughout the book, author Maureen Carr presents new transcriptions and sophisticated analyses of selected musical sketches to show the genesis of Stravinsky's musical ideas as he forayed into surrealism, classicism, and abstraction to develop his signature Neoclassical style. Exploring these annotated compositional experiments--such as the earliest evidence of Stravinsky's appropriation of the "rag idiom" and the development of his so-called "sound blocks"--After the Rite provides new insight into how Stravinsky challenged and guided the musical developments of the decade after that legendary Paris premiere. Enlightening visual metaphors, such as the contemporary paintings of Paul Klee and those of the Russian futurists, supplement discussion of the musical sketches throughout, offering a comprehensive artistic context for Carr's unprecedented and rigorous examination. A treasure trove of outstanding material for scholars, musicians, students, and general readers alike, After the Rite offers a much-needed delineation of the concept of musical neoclassicism. Maureen Carr's innovative and detailed examination of the metamorphosis of Igor Stravinsky's compositional style after The Rite of Spring is an invaluable contribution to the literature concerning this iconic 20th century composer.

Moral relativism attracts and repels. What is defensible in it and what is to be rejected? Do we as human beings have no shared standards by which we can understand one another? Can we abstain from judging one another's practices? Do we truly have divergent views about what constitutes good and evil, virtue and vice, harm and welfare, dignity and humiliation, or is there some underlying commonality that trumps it all? These questions turn up everywhere, from Montaigne's essay on cannibals, to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, to the debate over female genital mutilation. They become ever more urgent with the growth of mass immigration, the rise of religious extremism, the challenges of Islamist terrorism, the rise of identity politics, and the resentment at colonialism and the massive disparities of wealth and power between North and South. Are human rights and humanitarian interventions just the latest form of cultural imperialism? By what right do we judge particular practices as barbaric? Who are the real barbarians? In this provocative new book, the distinguished social theorist Steven Lukes takes an incisive and enlightening look at these and other challenging questions and considers the very foundations of what we believe, why we believe it, and whether there is a profound discord between "us" and "them."