Search Results: Classical Music from Royal Books, Inc.

Redding, CT: Charles Ives, 1922. First Edition. First Edition. Second issue, in publisher's blue cloth with titles and rule in gilt on the front board and spine, and with pages 37-39 printed, and no dust jacket as issued. Fine condition. A collection of avant-garde short pieces in every imaginable format (marches, violin sonatas, group sing-a-longs, etc.) written by Ives using the poetry of Walt Whitman, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Wordsworth, Keats, James Fenimore Cooper, and others as lyrics. Notable as much for musical content as for the long essay by Ives at the rear regarding his typically involved conceptual intentions for this particular gathering of compositions. An eccentric publication by one of our greatest and certainly most eccentric twentieth century composers.

Redding, CT: C.E. Ives, 1922. First Edition. First Edition. A self-published volume of songs by Charles Ives, selected from a volume published earlier the same year, titled "114 Songs." Like "114 Songs," this was printed for distribution among the composer's friends, and judging from the small number of copies in world libraries (OCLC locates 12 libraries with copies, whereas 106 are listed with copies of "114 Songs"), it must surely have had a much smaller printing. A selection of "folk songs" by Ives, many dedicated to the work of literary greats of the generation that preceded him (Shelley, Wordsworth, Goethe, Longfellow). Characteristically, simple melody lines are played against a complex and sometimes argumentative accompaniment. Very Good in tan paper-covered boards, with a brown quarter-binding, moderately worn at the corners, brief spotting on the front board, and a touch of wear to the paper spine label, firm and clean overall. Contemporary owner name in fountain pen at the top right… Read More

Berlin: A. Rogall, 1932. Folio. Limited Edition, one of 100 numbered copies (this being No. 27) SIGNED by illustrator Rafaello Busoni. Text and titles in German. Comprises the libretto of "Arlecchino," a one-act opera composed by Ferruccio Busoni in 1913, and originally performed at the Zürich Opera House in 1917. Lithograph illustrations throughout by Busoni's son Rafaello. Very Good plus, with no dust jacket as issued, with faint foxing on the endpapers and moderate wear on the spine.

N.p.: N.p., 1970. Draft script for an unproduced musical film. A young nun from a small European village runs away with a traveling Romani acrobat in hopes of seeing a performance of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. Screenwriter Leslie Bricusse was best known as a composer and lyricist for musical films in the late 1960s and 1970s, including "Doctor Dolittle" (1967), "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1969), "Scrooge" (1970), and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (1971). Yellow titled wrappers. Title page present, with credits for screenwriter LESLIE BRICUSSE. 109 leaves, with last page of text numbered 106. Xerographic duplication, rectos only. Pages Near Fine, wrapper Near Fine, bound with two gold brads.

N.p.: PBS, 1983. Vintage reference publicity photograph of noted ballerina Vera Zorina, in three separate poses, from the 1983 television episode, which originally aired on February 14 on PBS. With a descriptive promo sheet affixed to the verso, as issued. This episode of "Great Performances" featured dancers performing three pieces choreographed by George Balanchine, to the works of composer Igor Stravinsky. 8 x 10 inches. Near Fine.

Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1968. First printing of this edition, and first edition in English. A brief but intense study of Messiaen's organ music, aimed at an advanced audience, with illustrations of staves throughout. Small octavo. Small, neat owner name on the front wrapper (and again on the second leaf, containing the preface), else easily Very Good plus in lightly rubbed, perfect bound pictorial wrappers.

N.p.: N.p., 1950. Vintage borderless double weight photograph, circa the late 1950s, depicting world renowned Spanish cellist and composer Pablo Casals playing the cello, while his wife Marta looks on in the background. Rubber stamps for photographer Helene Jeanbrau, the Dalmas Photography Agency, and the International Magazine Service, with light manuscript annotations in pencil and blue pencil on the verso. A musical virtuoso, Casals was playing solo cello recitals by age fourteen, having learned piano, violin, and flute by the age of four. A fervent critic of Frederico Franco's dictatorial Spanish regime, he vowed to not return to his homeland until democracy had been restored. Tragically, this would not occur until two years after his death at age 96. 6.75 x 9 inches, housed in a 15.75 x 19.75 inch white mat. Near Fine condition.

N.p.: N.p., 1940. Vintage photograph of conductor Leopold Stokowski with the All-American Youth Orchestra during a rehearsal in Washington DC on July 23, 1940. Printed mimeo snipe affixed to the verso along with a date stamp and the stamp of Associated Press Photo. Stokowski created the All-American Youth Orchestra in early 1940, primarily to provide a means of touring and releasing records outside of his restrictive contract with RCA, which controlled his touring budget with the Philadelphia Orchestra. 9 x 7 inches. Very Good, slightly wavy and lightly faded, with brief wear at the corners.

New York: Soho News, 1981. Original poster for a performance by Steve Reich and Musicians, Philip Glass, Sun Ra, John Ashbery, Paul Jacobs, and others on May 27, 1981. An important moment for modern classical music. This concert coincided with the unveiling of a new music programming policy at New York's WNYC, at that time the "broadest commitment to modern music made to date by any classical music station in the country." The performance brought together Reich and Glass, but also avant-garde jazz composer Sun Ra, poet Ashbery, choreographer Lar Lubovitch, and percussionist/sound designer David Van Tieghem. 11 x 17 inches. Near Fine with some age-toning and minor wear at the edges.

N.p.: N.p., 2000. Three vintage photographs of director Werner Herzog, taken by noted jazz photographer Jeffrey Kliman during choir rehearsals for his staging of Richard Wagner's "Tannhäuser," held at The Lyric Opera House in Baltimore in March, 2000. These prints are unique, struck from the original negative by the photographer. Full provenance available. 8 x 10 inches. Fine.