The Orchestra: A Collection of 23 Essays on Its Origins and Transformations

This comprehensive volume traces the development of the modern orchestra from its birth in the late 15th century to the present through 23 fascinating essays by leading scholars.

Organised chronologically, the book addresses the technical development of instruments, composers' changing aesthetic visions, the rise of the conductor, audiences of the past, the effect of musicology on the orchestra, the symphony orchestera as a museum, recordings, music in relation to other arts, and other thought-provoking subjects.

Enlightening perspective is gained about the orchestra and its place in society after reading the evolved and fresh ideas of various authors in this rich resource for professionals, students and music lovers.

CONTENIDO:

List of Contributors
Introduction (Joan Peyser)
The Consolidation of the Main Elements of the Orchestra: 1470-1768 (Robert L. Weaver)
The Modern Orchestra: A Creation of the Late Eighteenth Century (George B. Stauffer)
Instruments and their Use: Early Times to the Rise of the Orchestra (Gregory G. Butler)
Ensemble Music Moves Out of the Private House: Haydn to Beethoven (Michael Broyles)
Technical Development of Musical Instruments: Strings (Nancy Groce)
Technical Development of Musical Instruments: Woodwinds (Nancy Toff)
Technical Development of Musical Instruments: Brass (Barbara Lambert)
Romantic Composers Respond to Challenge and Demand (Alan Houtchens)
Orchestral Texture and the Art of Orchestration (R. Larry Todd)
Why Conductors? Their Role and the Idea of Fidelity (Denis Stevens)
The Public for Orchestral Music in the Nineteenth Century (Peter Anthony Bloom)
The New Conception of "The Work of Art" (Michael Beckerman)
The Main Forms of Orchestral Music (Elaine R. Sisman)
The Orchestra in Opera and Ballet (Katherine T. Rohrer)
The Rise of the Classical Repertoire in Nineteenth-Century Orchestral Concerts (William Weber)
Music in Relation to the Other Arts: The Critical Debate (Jane F. Fulcher)
The Twentieth Century and the Orchestra as Museum (J. Peter Burkholder)
Musicology and the Rise of the Independent Orchestra (Jon W. Finson)
Twentieth-Century Composers Return to the Small Ensemble (Bryan R. Simms)
The Orchestra and Recorded Sound (Lance W. Brunner)
The New Amateur Player and Listener (Edward Rothstein)
The Star Conductor and Musical Virtuosity (Rufus Hallmark)
The Extended Orchestra (Tod Machover)
Glossary
Index

These essays were written for the 1986 edition of this book. "The Extended Orchestra" was revised in 2000.