Landscapes in Music

Using landscape as its unifying concept, this engaging book explores orchestral music that represents real and imagined physical and cultural spaces, natural forces, and humans and wildlife. Spanning continents and centuries, David Knight links contrasting forms of music through unifying themes of time and space; waterscapes; mythic spaces; extreme landscapes; and realms of death, survival, and remembrance. Orchestral works are rarely perceived in geographical terms, but the author, himself an accomplished geographer and musician, offers a deeply satisfying approach to interpreting and appreciating a wide range of music. Comparing classic masterworks from Europe and Russia alongside more recent compositions from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and China, this innovative study offers a fresh understanding of the links between music and the worlds around us.

Using landscape as its unifying concept, this engaging book explores orchestral music that represents real and imagined physical and cultural spaces, natural forces, and humans and wildlife. Spanning continents and centuries, David Knight links contrasting forms of music through unifying themes of time and space; waterscapes; imagined and mythic spaces; the search for meaning in extreme landscapes; and realms of death, survival, and remembrance. The author also underscores the importance of the physical spaces in which music is performed. Orchestral works are rarely perceived in geographical terms, but Knight, himself an accomplished geographer and musician, offers a deeply satisfying approach to interpreting and appreciating a wide range of music. Comparing classic masterworks from Europe and Russia alongside more recent compositions from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and China, this innovative study offers a fresh understanding of the links between music and the worlds around us.

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Chapter 1: Introduction: Soundscapes, Geography, and Music
Chapter 3 Chapter 2: Time and Space
Chapter 4 Chapter 3: Waterscapes: Towards a Sea of Tranquility
Chapter 5 Chapter 4: Specific and Generalized Landscapes
Chapter 6 Chapter 5: Imagined and Mythic Landscapes
Chapter 7 Chapter 6: Searching for Meaning in Landscapes of Extremes
Chapter 8 Chapter 7: Landscapes of Death, Survival, and Remembrance
Chapter 9 Chapter 8: Music in Places
Chapter 10 Chapter 9: Conclusion
Chapter 11 Appendix: On Soundscapes and the Geography of Music
Chapter 12 References