Few composers' posthumous reputations have grown as steadily as Shostakovich's. Yet outside the concert hall the focus of attention seems to have been on the extraordinary circumstances of his life rather than on the music itself.  Meer

Few composers' posthumous reputations have grown as steadily as Shostakovich's. Yet outside the concert hall the focus of attention seems to have been on the extraordinary circumstances of his life rather than on the music itself.  Meer

After the death of Mahler in 1911 the great Austro-German symphonic line was carried on mainly in England, America, Scandinavia and Russia. The Fifth Symphony of Carl Nielsen, Denmark's greatest composer, was composed in 1921–2.  Meer

In 1946 Schoenberg wrote of Sibelius and Shostakovich, 'I feel they have the breath of symphonists.' This book poses the question of what exactly that 'breath' means in the context of Shostakovich's 10th Symphony (1953).  Meer

After the death of Mahler in 1911 the great Austro-German symphonic line was carried on mainly in England, America, Scandinavia and Russia. The Fifth Symphony of Carl Nielsen, Denmark's greatest composer, was composed in 1921–2.  Meer

This study examines the musical design of Shostakovich's Eighth String Quartet in detail and seeks to overthrow the charges of superficiality that have arisen as a result of the work's popular success.  Meer

Almost fifty years since his passing, the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams continues to captivate audiences around the world, evoking the sound and spirit of folksong, and the image of rural landscape.  Meer