Books for Musicians in 2023

This book by Daniel K.L. Chia and Alexander Reading examines NASA’s Golden Record, offering new perspectives and theories on how music can be analyzed, listened to, and thought about―by aliens and humans alike.

Alien Listening asks the big questions that the Golden Record raises: Can music live up to its reputation as the universal language in communications with the unknown? How do we fit all of human culture into a time capsule that will barrel through space for tens of thousands of years? And last but not least: Do aliens have ears?

The internationally renowned pianist played an important role in forming classical music culture. This book takes readers through her career, including composition, performance, and teaching. Author Alexander Stefaniak compiles all of Clara’s concert programs, and responses to her performances. Becoming Clara Schumann highlights the artist’s role in classical concert life.

Benedict Taylor presents a modern understanding of the relationship between music and culture in and around the 19^th. His exploration into musical ‘romanticism’ challenges the traditional view that it is confined to a narrow period or style. This book provides a thoroughly researched yet accessible review of thought on the topic of romanticism in music.

Peter Tschmuck’s second edition of this title dives into the economic workings of the music business. The author highlights recent trends, the influence of big data, and impacts on business contracts. It highlights the recent closures of many live music venues in the post Covid-19 environment.  In today’s world, where live performance outranks music sales as the revenue driver for musicians, the book examines how stakeholders are impacted today.

Music critic Sandro Cappelletto tells the Fazioli story which has been producing grand and concert pianos since 1981. Founded by Paolo Fazioli, the company has been producing pianos for more than 40 years. Piano greats Angela Hewitt and Maurizio Baglini offer their perspectives in this book through conversations with Sandro Cappelletto.

Eamonn Forde looks into the world of musician’s estates. Upon their death, estates have the jobs of keeping the artist’s legacy alive and ensuring the continuing flow of revenue from the artist’s contribution during his or her lifetime. The book draws on interviews that include lawyers, record company executives, and historical archivists.  Even after the death of artists, the music industry continues to drive its business goals.

Authors Jan Marisse Huizing and Gerald R. Mettam provide an immersive survey of thirty-five Beethoven piano sonatas. Utilizing available autographs, first editions, and numerous recordings, this book explores historical performance practices of these cornerstones of the piano repertoire. The book is filled with anecdotes, quotations, and new insights on beloved masterworks.

Morton Feldman: Friendship and Mourning in the New York Avant-Garde documents collaborations and conflicts pertaining to the history of the post-war avant-garde. The book looks at composer Morton Feldman’s associations with artists like John Cage, Jackson Pollock, Philip Guston, Frank O’Hara, Charlotte Moorman, and others. Ryan Dohoney presents a view of New York modernism from the point of view of Feldman’s agonistic community.

Author Henkjan Honing explores the role of our cognitive functions relative to music making and music appreciation.  Bringing in the latest research from biology, cognitive neuroscience, and psychology, the book focuses on elements that make people intrinsically musical creatures.  This book is a must-read for people interested in the psychology of music.

In simple and easy-to-read language, Casey Rae takes readers step-by-step through the world of music copyright. The author makes complicated laws simpler to understand.  Readers will learn:

• How to protect and register copyrights 
• Recent court developments and changes in music copyright law
• Strategies for music licensing
• How to sign up for royalty collection societies 
• Information on many useful organizations and services

Author Ralph Brookfield explores the history and spread of Americana Music around the world, going beyond the headlines to uncover what drives singer songwriters to go to Nashville, play in small clubs and create their music against the increasingly difficult conditions, dwindling recording revenues and fragmentation of the music industry.

Ann Harrison and Tony Rigg present thirteen case studies that examine the intersection of music law and the post-digital music industry. The book explores the current music business landscape and provides insights into the future shape of business and law in the field of music.

Frank Lachmann explores the place of music from a self psychological perspective, by investigating three mental journeys we take when listening to music. The author examines how music can provide us with a way to reconnect with a sense of self and how in times of crisis, music can help to restore and maintain a more positive sense of self.

Phillip Johnston discusses contemporary scores for silent films as a way of experimenting with the relationships of music, image, and narrative. Starting with a historic overview of silent movie music, he brings in personal accounts of creating new music for classic silent films.  This is the first book that explores integrating modern genres into silent movies.

In Sounds Beyond, Kevin C. Karnes studies the music and art scenes in the USSR during the second half of the 1970s, and reveals the audacious origins of some of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s most famous music. Karnes explores the network of figures that made underground performances possible: students, audio engineers, sympathetic administrators, star performers, and aspiring DJs. The author shows how Pärt’s work would be impossible without community.

Musicologist, and physician Patricia Caicedo explores the connection between music—its performance, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it—and health. She reveals:

– How the brain works when you listen and make music.
– How music has been a crucial element of the human experience since the beginning of the species and how it is fundamental for maintaining communities.
– The importance of music in pain and death.
– How music increases your creativity and produces happiness and a sense of purpose in life.
We are what we listen to: the impact of music on individual health is an essential book for music lovers and everybody seeking to improve their mental and physical health.