What About Mozart What About Murder

Download or read book What About Mozart? What About Murder? written by Howard S. Becker and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2014-08-22 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1963, Howard S. Becker gave a lecture about deviance, challenging the then-conventional definition that deviance was inherently criminal and abnormal and arguing that instead, deviance was better understood as a function of labeling. At the end of his lecture, a distinguished colleague standing at the back of the room, puffing a cigar, looked at Becker quizzically and asked, “What about murder? Isn’t that really deviant?” It sounded like Becker had been backed into a corner. Becker, however, wasn’t defeated! Reasonable people, he countered, differ over whether certain killings are murder or justified homicide, and these differences vary depending on what kinds of people did the killing. In What About Mozart? What About Murder?, Becker uses this example, along with many others, to demonstrate the different ways to study society, one that uses carefully investigated, specific cases and another that relies on speculation and on what he calls “killer questions,” aimed at taking down an opponent by citing invented cases. Becker draws on a lifetime of sociological research and wisdom to show, in helpful detail, how to use a variety of kinds of cases to build sociological knowledge. With his trademark conversational flair and informal, personal perspective Becker provides a guide that researchers can use to produce general sociological knowledge through case studies. He champions research that has enough data to go beyond guesswork and urges researchers to avoid what he calls “skeleton cases,” which use fictional stories that pose as scientific evidence. Using his long career as a backdrop, Becker delivers a winning book that will surely change the way scholars in many fields approach their research.

Download or read book The Murder of Figaro written by Susan Larson and published by . This book was released on 2019-07-08 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you attended the opera in the 18th century, you could buy a program booklet with side-by-side translations of the text and a list of the participants. Think of "The Murder of Figaro" as one such souvenir booklet. Just add music--and imagination: It's 1786, and "The Marriage of Figaro," a new comic opera by Amadé Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte, has just begun its first onstage rehearsal when a corpse is discovered in the wings: it's the universally-loathed Imperial Censor. Despite a verdict of suicide, Da Ponte is arrested, and singers accuse each other of murder. In a desperate scramble to save "Figaro," Da Ponte, and their lives, Mozart and his clever wife Constanze set out to solve this deadly mystery. If they fail, "Figaro" will never play in Vienna! Boston diva Susan Larson was a professional concert and operatic soprano for thirty years. She not only sang a string of Mozart's most iconic soprano roles (Cherubino, Donna Anna, Papagena, Fiordiligi, etc.), she has read his collected letters and researched the lives of his contemporaries to create this antic vision of what might have been: Mozart plays Sherlock Holmes "The Marriage of Figaro" started life as a scandalous stage play by Beaumarchais, and became a scandalous opera by Mozart and Da Ponte. The unusual opera libretto format is divided into the classical five acts. Monologues become arias, and dialogs become duets. Since operas of the time often started with multiple overtures, "The Murder of Figaro" has three. The plot follows that of the opera in an extremely loose fashion, with lots of coffee breaks and detours into Shakespeare, other Mozart operas, hot news and scandals of the day, and the American Revolution. Says Larson about her approach to the book: "The original singers in "Figaro" have always fascinated me. They are largely forgotten, but were hard-working international stars in their day. Did they love the music written for them by the brash young upstart Mozart? Did they squabble and throw prima-donna fits? I invented rather messy lives for them, based on the lives of the many opera singers I have known in my life; sometimes behaving nobly sometimes abominably." Regarding Mozart himself, she adds: "I was a professional concert and operatic soprano for thirty years. Mozart was my hero and idol. We were teacher and pupil. I believe we were friends."

Download or read book The Mozart Conspiracy (Ben Hope, Book 2) written by Scott Mariani and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2009-05-29 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR ‘Deadly conspiracies, bone-crunching action and a tormented hero with a heart . . . packs a real punch’ Andy McDermott

Download or read book Mozart's Last Aria written by Matt Rees and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Award-winning author Matt Rees takes readers to 18th centuryAustria, where Mozart’s estranged sister Nannerl stumblesinto a world of ambition, conspiracy, and immortal music while attempting touncover the truth about her brother’s suspicious death. Did Mozart’s life endin murder? Nannerl must brave dire circumstances tofind out, running afoul of the secret police, the freemasons, and even theAustrian Emperor himself as she delves into a scandal greater than she had everimagined. With captivating historical details, compelling characters, and areal-life mystery upon which everything hinges, Rees—the award-winning authorof the internationally acclaimed Omar Yussefcrime series—writes in the tradition of Irvin Yalom’sWhen Nietzsche Wept, Louis Bayard’s The Pale Blue Eye, andPhillip Sington’s The Einstein Girl to achievethe very best in historical fiction with Mozart’s Last Aria.

Download or read book Dead, Mr Mozart written by Bernard Bastable and published by Pan Macmillan. This book was released on 2013-02-14 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is 1820, and George IV has just assumed the throne. An ageing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is intrigued by the prospect of a coronation, scenting rich pickings. As a child he had visited England with his family in 1764, but instead of returning to Austria and an early death (as orthodox music history relates), they stayed on, deluded by a piece of royal generosity – the result of a misunderstanding of guttural royal English. Now Mozart conducts his own meretricious rubbish at a London theatre, but dreams of having one more ‘real’ opera staged before he dies. However, the trial of George IV’s wayward queen for adultery, before the Lords, leads Mozart into dangerous – and indeed murderous – waters. Insulted (most graciously) by the King, the composer finds himself involved in disposing of an inconvenient corpse and initiating enquiries to uncover the murderer . . . a matter which seems of remarkably little consequence to everyone else. This diverting and perplexing piece of alternative history is a delightful addition to our knowledge of the great composer, and to the output of Bernard Bastable, also known to crime fans as Robert Barnard. ‘Not only fetchingly funny, but also craftily plotted.’ The Scotsman ‘Great fun is had with real and imagined historical personages.’ Irish Times ‘Tremendous period skulduggery’ Sunday Times

Download or read book The Mozart Code written by Rachel McMillan and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2022-03-15 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No matter how you might try to hide in a war to escape your past, it is always close at hand. Lady Sophia Huntington Villiers is no stranger to intrigue, as her work with Alan Turing’s Bombe Machines at Bletchley Park during the war attests. Now, as part of Simon Barre’s covert team in post-war Vienna, she uses her inimitable charm and code name Starling to infiltrate the world of relics: uncovering vital information that could tilt the stakes of the mounting Cold War. When several influential men charge her with finding the death mask of Mozart, Sophie wonders if there is more than the composer’s legacy at stake and finds herself drawn to potential answers in Prague. Simon Barrington, the illegitimate heir of one of Sussex’s oldest estates, used the previous war to hide his insecurities about his past. Now, he uses his high breeding to gain access to all four allied quarters of the ruined city in an attempt to slow the fall of the Iron Curtain. He has been in love with Sophie Villiers since the moment he met her, and a marriage of convenience to save Simon’s estate has always kept her close. Until now, when Sophie’s mysterious client in Prague forces him to wonder if her allegiance to him—and their cause—is in question. Torn between his loyalty to his cause and his heart, Simon seeks answers about Sophie only to learn that everything he thought he knew about his involvement in both wars is based on a lie. “Murky espionage and burgeoning passion twine beautifully together in The Mozart Code’s superbly evocative prose—an enchanting read!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code “Vienna is the new Paris in The Mozart Code, a World War II spy novel with deft, chess-like plotting, and plenty of old-fashioned romance.” —Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope novels and Mother Daughter Traitor Spy “The Mozart Code is a smart, luscious romance, a thrilling suspense, and a thunderously good read. McMillan is a rising star in historical fiction.” —Aimie K. Runyan, bestselling author of The School for German Brides “Rife with secret codes, haunting melodies, betrayal and sacrifice, at its heart this is a story about the courage it takes to love and be loved. Highly recommended!” —Kimberly Brock, author of The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare “Beautifully lush and atmospheric, The Mozart Code is a novel full of nuances and brimming with danger, romance, and intrigue.” —Jenni L. Walsh, author of Becoming Bonnie and The Call of the Wrens “The Mozart Code left me breathless.” —Joy Callaway, international bestselling author of The Fifth Avenue Artists Society and The Greenbrier Resort Post World War II historical romance Stand-alone novel (features characters from The London Restoration) Book length: 95,000 words Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Download or read book Evidence written by Howard S. Becker and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2017-07-10 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Howard S. Becker is a master of his discipline. His reputation as a teacher, as well as a sociologist, is supported by his best-selling quartet of sociological guidebooks: Writing for Social Scientists, Tricks of the Trade, Telling About Society, and What About Mozart? What About Murder? It turns out that the master sociologist has yet one more trick up his sleeve—a fifth guidebook, Evidence. Becker has for seventy years been mulling over the problem of evidence. He argues that social scientists don’t take questions about the usefulness of their data as evidence for their ideas seriously enough. For example, researchers have long used the occupation of a person’s father as evidence of the family’s social class, but studies have shown this to be a flawed measure—for one thing, a lot of people answer that question too vaguely to make the reasoning plausible. The book is filled with examples like this, and Becker uses them to expose a series of errors, suggesting ways to avoid them, or even to turn them into research topics in their own right. He argues strongly that because no data-gathering method produces totally reliable information, a big part of the research job consists of getting rid of error. Readers will find Becker’s newest guidebook a valuable tool, useful for social scientists of every variety.