Abraham

This definitive dual portrait offers a fresh perspective on Abraham Lincoln and William Cullen Bryant’s crucial role in elevating him to the presidency. The book also sheds new light on the influence that “Bryant and his class” (as Lincoln called the Radical Republican faction whose views Bryant articulated) wielded on the chief executive. How the cautious president and the preeminent editor of the Fourth Estate interacted―and how their ideological battle tilted gradually in Bryant’s favor―is the centerpiece of this study. A work of meticulous scholarship and a model of compression, Lincoln and Bryant is a watershed account of two Republicans fighting common enemies (and each other) during the Civil War era.

Béla Bartók’s Sonatas for Violin and Piano are among the most profound and expressive works not only in chamber music but in the history of music. These works are suggestive self-confessions that carry the late romantic spirit of Bartók’s music – evidenced by the stunning virtuosity of both instruments – but are also unsurpassably modern and daring. The composer’s relentless self-reflection sheds light on the most hidden stirrings of the human soul, universal emotions made palpable through myriad musical gestures.

Béla Bartók’s Sonatas for Violin and Piano are among the most profound and expressive works not only in chamber music but in the history of music. These works are suggestive self-confessions that carry the late romantic spirit of Bartók’s music – evidenced by the stunning virtuosity of both instruments – but are also unsurpassably modern and daring. The composer’s relentless self-reflection sheds light on the most hidden stirrings of the human soul, universal emotions made palpable through myriad musical gestures.