Winner of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award sponsored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. From Bach's choral works composed for performance in the Thomas-Kirche Leipzig to Stockhausen's electronic music designed specifically for caves, the course of Western music has been closely connected to the spaces in which it has been performed. In this remarkable study, Michael Forsyth—designer of concert halls, architect, and violinist—examines the effect of musical taste and style on architecture and the reciprocal influence that buildings and their acoustics have had on musical performance and composition. Buildings for Music opens with a description of the purpose—built music rooms in Britain and Germany from the 17th century. From there it moves to the evolution of the opera house in Italy and France, analyzing these buildings in terms of the acoustic requirements of 18th-century music in the classical style. The great 19th-century concert halls and opera houses are then described in relation to the development of Romantic music. In seeking the reasons for their excellence and flaws, the book dispels a number of acoustic myths. The final part of the book outlines the growth of acoustic science and the parallel emergence of the 20th-century concert hall and of modern music. The influence of recording techniques and cinema design are also discussed. In closing, Forsyth looks to a future that may find its inspiration in electronics and the adjustable auditorium.

Buildings for Music: The Architect, the Musician, and the Listener from the Seventeenth Century to the Present Day

Arts & Photography

Forsyth, Michael

Music

Mit Pr

This delightful book is the first comprehensive architectural guide to Bath, England’s finest Georgian city. Full of new discoveries and lively descriptions of the city’s notable buildings, the book follows in the great tradition of the Pevsner series. It features superb, specially taken color illustrations throughout and numerous easy-to-use walking maps.
The great set-pieces of Bath―the famous Pump Room, The Circus, Royal Crescent―are embedded in a graceful urban landscape developed by a long succession of gifted local architects. The city’s Roman roots are represented by the remains of its extraordinary baths, its medieval prosperity by the splendid Abbey. Exquisite villas and terraces on the surrounding hills add further variety. For all who share an interest in the buildings of Bath―from architect to historian, tourist to armchair traveler―this is an irresistible volume.

Pevsner Architectural Guides Bath

Travel

Europe

Yale University Press

Auditoria: Designing for the Performing Art

Van Nostrand-Reinhold

This book establishes how musical taste and style affected architecture, and how in turn buildings and their acoustics influenced musical composition. Michael Forsyth examines the emergence of the purpose-built music room; the evolution of the opera house; the development of Romantic music related to the great nineteenth-century concert halls and opera houses; and the growth of acoustic science. The evolution of the twentieth-century concert hall is paralleled with the emergence of modern music, recording techniques and the influence of cinema design. Finally, present and future trends in music and acoustics are seen beside the growth of electronics and the adjustable auditorium. Buildings for Music draws together architecture, acoustics and musical sociology and presents them in a scholarly but very readable text, beautifully illustrated with contemporary plans, paintings, prints and photographs.

Buildings for Music: The Architect, the Musician, the Listener from the Seventeenth Century to the Present Day

Cambridge University Press

Interior Finishes &amp; Fittings for Historic Building Conservation complements Materials &amp; Skills for Historic Building Conservation, combining the history and application of each material with current knowledge of maintenance and conservation techniques. Of direct practical application in the field, it takes the reader through the process of conserving historic interior finishes, covering everything from decorative plasterwork, joinery and paint colour; to chimneypieces, lighting and fire safety management. The series is particularly aimed at construction professionals – architects, decorative arts historians and specifiers, surveyors, engineers – as well as postgraduate building conservation students and undergraduate architects and surveyors as specialist or optional course reading. The series is also of value to other professional groups such as commissioning client bodies, managers and advisors, and interested individuals involved in house refurbishment or setting up a building preservation trust. While there is a focus on UK practice, most of the content is of relevance overseas (just as UK conservation courses attract many overseas students, for example from India, China, Australia and the USA). The chapters are written by leading conservators, historians, architects, and related professionals, who together reflect the interdisciplinary nature of conservation work. This volume on the historic interior is the fourth of a series on Historic Building Conservation that combine conservation philosophy in the built environment with knowledge of traditional materials and structural and constructional conservation techniques and technology: <ul>
<li>Understanding Historic Building Conservation</li> <li>Structures &amp; Construction in Historic Building Conservation</li> <li>Materials &amp; Skills for Historic Building Conservation</li> <li>Interior Finishes &amp; Fittings for Historic Building Conservation</li> </ul>
While substantial publications exist on each of the subject areas - some by the authors of the Historic Building Conservation series - few individuals and practices have ready access to all of these or the time to read them in detail. The aim of the series is to introduce each aspect of conservation and to provide concise, basic and up-to-date knowledge within four volumes, sufficient for the professional to appreciate the subject better and to know where to seek further help.

Interior Finishes and Fittings for Historic Building Conservation

White, Lisa

Architecture

Wiley/Blackwell

Bauwerke für Musik: Konzertsäle und Opernhäuser, Musik und Zuhörer vom 17. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart (German Edition)

Walter de Gruyter

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Books by Forsyth, Michael