“No street in the world can have bred more triumph and more blood than Whitehall. Its brief half mile embodies the power of empire. The power may have declined, but the architecture that was its physical expression survives. The buildings stand today as they did at the height of empire. If ever a landscape was a mirror of history, it is here in the heart of Westminster.” From the Foreword by Simon Jenkins, The Times
The essential companion to musical LondonThis compact and convenient guide to music in London features the sites where music has flourished and where leading musicians have lived or performed in the city—from Handel’s house to Berlioz’s rooms, from cathedrals and churches to recording studios and concert halls. It provides historical information on auditoriums and opera houses, theatres, conservatories, museums, libraries, galleries, graves, memorials and statues, orchestras, music publishers, auction houses, and places of musical interest in the greater London area. The book includes biographical accounts of some 125 composers and musicians who inhabited or visited London.The book offers interesting musical walks, a historical overview, and the most thorough account yet published of musical compositions evoking London. Boxes within the text present information on such topics as the music Wagner conducted in London in 1855, the organists and choirmasters of the cathedrals, and Gershwin’s recording sessions. With maps, bibliography, web addresses, information on transport and access, and an extensive index, this unique compilation is enhanced with many striking illustrations.