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Said, Edward W. (Author) & Barenboim, Daniel (Contributor) : Music At The Limits

Columbia University Press, New York City, NY, 2007

ISBN 0231139365

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 325 pages. Retrospective collection of essays on music. One of Edward W. Said's finest achievements. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the Softcover Edition. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only by a University Press and as part of Columbia University's "Themes In Philosophy, Social Criticism, And The Arts". The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Edward W. Said's "Music At The Limits". The first book to bring together three decades of the late great author's essays on music. "Addressing the work of a variety of composers, musicians, and performers, Said carefully draws out music's social, political, and cultural contexts and as a classically trained pianist, provides rich and often surprising assessments of classical music and opera. Offers both a fresh perspective on canonical pieces and a celebration of neglected works by contemporary composers. Reflects on the censorship of Wagner in Israel; the worrisome trend of proliferating music festivals; an opera based on the life of Malcolm X; the relationship between music and feminism; the pianist Glenn Gould; and the works of Mozart, Bach, Richard Strauss, and others. Said wrote his incisive critiques as both an insider and an authority. He saw music as a reflection of his ideas on literature and history, and paid close attention to its composition and creative possibilities. Preserves an important dimension of Said's brilliant intellectual work, and cements his reputation as one of the most influential and ground-breaking critics of the twentieth century" (Publisher's blurb). The book begins with a thoughtful Foreword by Daniel Barenboim, the great pianist and conductor, with whom Said published "Parallels And Paradoxes: Explorations In Music And Society" (2002), published less than a year before Said tragically died of cancer in 2003. An absolute "must-have" title for Edward W. Said collectors. This title is a late-modern classic. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce copy thus. One of the greatest literary and political writer/thinkers of the 20th century. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER EDWARD W. SAID TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0231139365.

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