Customer Reviews (2)

A great affordable edition of a masterful piano composer
Nikolai Medtner's piano music is wonderfully reprinted here in a handsome Dover edition. Medtner was a master composer of his instrument. This is a wonderful addition the library of every pianist, especially for the pianist interested in the lesser-known repertoire, as there is much good music here, in particular the Sonaten-Triad and the great "Night Wind" sonata, extremely rich in texture and thought. (Marc-André Hamelin's complete sonatas 4-disc set on Hyperion is highly recommended)
I hope these Dover editions will attract and make more pianists aware of Medtner's music, as it really is a shame that it should be so neglected the way it is.

The definitive edition
A publication of the Medtner sonatas for piano, let alone a new edition, has been long overdue. This first volume brings together the first seven sonatas of Medtner; with a preface by Eugene Istomin, performance notes by Geoffrey Tozer...an unduly neglected composer...many admired Medtner's music; Horowitz, Gilels, Rachmaninoff, and in our time Hamelin, Milne, Demidenko, Tozer to name but a few...a definite must have for pianists who want to find alternatives to the core group of "standard" sonatas of this century...pianistic difficulty ranges from intermediate to very difficult... but well worth the challenge! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Genres & Styles - Classical   2. Instruction & Study - Composition   3. Music   4. Musical Instruments - Piano   5. Songbooks - General   

Customer Reviews (3)

Medtner, a great Russian master of the piano
This second volume of Medtner's complete sonatas is as meticulously produced as its companion volume and great thanks to Dover and all those involved in its publication. As stated in Marc-André Hamelin's editorial note to this edition, Medtner's music is extremely difficult to find, so this truly is a treasure for pianists. My favorite piece in this volume is the A minor sonata, "During the War 1914-1917." All the music contained in this book would add a freshness to the piano recital, which too often contains repertoire heard time and again.

In Praise of Excellence
We should all say a big 'Thank You' to Dover and the pianists Istomin, Hamelin and Tozer for producing these 2 volumes of Medtner's sonatas. As far as I know, the Opp.25,27,30 and 56 sonatas are not otherwise available. The notes by Mr Tozer are very insightful. These 2 books are indispensable for any serious pianist willing to tackle this challenging yet rewarding music. I wonder when Dover will get round to other Russian composers like Mossolov and Alexandrov ...

A rare treat
This is the second part of the much neglected collection of piano sonatas by Russian composer, Nikolai Medtner. Written in Beethovenian tradition, though with rich romantic overtones not unlike Beethoven's late sonatas.

Jaded pianists who are tired of playing Beethoven Op. 110 yet again should take a look at these. The rich, indulgent, Sonata-Ballada, Op. 27, is highly recommended. Its finger-twisting fugue in the last movement keeps even the most technically proficient pianist working. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Genres & Styles - Classical   2. Instruction & Study - Composition   3. Music   4. Musical Instruments - Piano   5. Songbooks - General   

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels   2. Fantasy   3. Graphic Novels - Fantasy   4. Fiction / Graphic Novels   

Customer Reviews (2)

what publisher's weekly said above
As Publisher's Weekly said Popov and McHugh "don't present the German texts en face, a practice they regard, in their preface, as a potential distraction from the reader's experience of their renderings. It would indeed be a distraction, making painfully clear just how far they depart from the originals to arrive at their idiosyncratic versions"

I don't know any German and even I could tell something was fishy. For example, for the poem on page 5, Popov and McHugh state that the German word "neige" means "remainder", "end" or "dregs". They select none of these choices for their translation and because there is no facing German it took me 10 minutes to find what word they did use. (I think it is "neighing" because neige "moves in the nearness" of the english word neigh.)

The endnotes are truly Kinbotian. Celan's late poems resist meaning, but not to Popov and McHugh. They understand it all.

It is sad that this book won the 2001 Griffin International Prize for poetry. Luckily, Amazon has a good deal on a four-volume set of Paul Celan's poetry, including Breathturn, Threadsuns and Lightduress, translated by Pierre Joris which I will move into nearness as soon as it is released.

An Astounding book
This is a superb collection of poems by one of the world's truly great poets. This is one of the better translations I've read with the authors doing an admirable job of turning Celan's German into a very readable English that still manages to capture Celan's haunting style. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General   2. Poetry   

Subjects:  1. Crafts & Hobbies   2. Crafts / Hobbies   3. Hobbies/Crafts   4. Military - Weapons   5. Models   

Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels   2. Fiction - Science Fiction   3. Graphic Novels - Science Fiction   4. Science Fiction   5. Fiction / Graphic Novels   

Customer Reviews (3)

not the greatest dead russian
the language of the stories is a little stilted, but it is tough to tell if that is gogol's fault or that of his translator (it is definitely time for a new translation). the stories range in all types and quality, though gogol is at his best when leaning towards the fantastique (kafkaesque comes mind). there are some good stories in the collection: diary of a madman (the only story that is genious), the portrait (gogol ruins what would have been his greatest story with a poorly written, unneccesary second half), the nose, the overcoat, and taras bulba (though a bit wordy and does carry on a little too long). vol 2 is by superior volume (if the editor's introduction and diary of a madman had been in it, there would be no point to volume one).

A little disappointing
One of the first things I read by Gogol was "Dead Souls" - and I was enchanted. These stories pale by comparison. (The translation may have something to do with that). Vol.II is better than Vol.I: it contains the true classics, like the "Overcoat". Still, I would recommend reading "Dead Souls" if you want to get a vivid impression of Gogol's genius.

Volume 1 is the lesser of two volumes
This publisher has collected in two volumes all of Gogol's short stories. Volume 1 contains Gogol's early work, including his first two books of stories. Several of the stories are good, but there are only two real gems here: "Ivan Schponka and His Aunt" and "Diary of a Madman." Volume 2 contains the real classics: "The Nose", "The Overcoat", etc. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1809-1852   2. Fiction   3. Gogol, Nikolai Vasilevich,   4. Literature - Classics / Criticism   5. Russian Prose   6. Short Stories (Anthologies)   7. Social life and customs   8. Translations into English   9. Ukraine   10. Gogol§, Nikolai Vasil§evich   11. Literary Criticism & Collections / Russian & Former Soviet Union   

Customer Reviews (6)

A clever little parody
The contemporary American reader can almost visualize this one as a Jim Carrey movie: a case of mistaken identity causes red carpets to be rolled out for a character whom the narrator calls a "flunkie." The expected hilarity of course ensues, with every petty government official seeking to impress the person they think is the Inspector General. Yes, we have seen this plot many times before, even before Gogol's time, but Gogol does it especially well. Perhaps this is sociopolitical satire, perhaps it's just humor, and perhaps it's a little of both. In any case, you don't have to be interested in Russian literature nor in politics to find this short piece hilarious.

Good quick silly fun
The Inspector General is a short comedy parodying the rampant low-level corruption in Russian towns at the time the play was written (1836). The officials of a small town, led by Chief of Police Anton Antonovich, are petrified when they learn that a government inspector is being sent to visit undercover to make sure everything is running as it should. Due to their fear, they quickly conclude that Hlestakov, a badly-in-debt guest at a local inn who is in reality just a 14th-rank clerk en route to his father's house, is in fact that inspector. Hilarity ensues, as the officials fall all over themselves to show Hlestakov the town and convince him that they are doing their jobs in a most upstanding manner, while Hlestakov, though no genius, is wise enough to exploit the situation, convincing the townfolk that he is an extremely important personage, securing over a thousand roubles in "loans," and becoming engaged to Anton Antonovich's daughter and nearly seducing his wife. After Hlestakov leaves, a letter arrives to the effect that he wasn't really the inspector, causing everyone in town to feel very silly, and the play ends.

Though both today and at the time he was alive some people have insisted on setting Gogol up as a biting social critic, at least to me it seems that in reality he was nothing more than a very funny author. The characters in The Inspector General (much like those in his novel Dead Souls) are generally not much more than comic caricatures, so if you're hoping for a lot of depth in that area you might wish to look elsewhere. But there are a number of very funny moments in the play, and it's quite an enjoyable story which had a good deal of influence on later writers. At just 72 pages, it's a quick read, so I would recommend it heartily.

Great play, lots of fun.
This was a fun play to read. I highly recommend it to anyone, especially if you're into Russian literature. Enjoy! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction   2. General   3. Literature - Classics / Criticism   

Subjects:  1. Literature - Classics / Criticism   2. Russian   3. Russian & Former Soviet Union   4. Theater - Playwriting   

Subjects:  1. 1863-1938   2. Biography / Autobiography   3. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Theatre   4. Moskovskii khudozhestvennyi   5. Plays   6. Production and direction   7. Stanislavsky, Konstantin,   8. Theater   9. Theater - Direction & Production   10. Stanislavsky, Konstantin   

Customer Reviews (1)

A classic Satire
In Gogol's time in Russia corruption was found in every arm of the government. Petty bureaucrats often pocketed money that was intended for public works. The play exposes backwater greed and corruption by showing how thoroughly ingrained bribery and lobbying are in to the culture of smalltime government officials.

The plot of the play is quite ingenious. Khlestakov, a clerk of some sort, but on the whole an entirely unimportant person in the government, is in town at the tavern. He's on the verge of getting kicked out since he's rung up a huge bill. Just when he's thinks all's lost the Lord provost shows up, pays his bill and start treating him like he's the cat's pajamas. Slowly Khlestakov realizes that the towns people think he's an all important Government Inspector and are desperate to bribe wine and dine him so he gives a good report to Petersburg.

This play is a critical social statement about corruption told though the humorous device of a farce. By making light of the faults of our leaders we may be able to raise awareness of the problem of corruption and effect measures that will lead to change. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Continental European   2. Drama   3. General   4. Performing Arts   5. Performing Arts/Dance   6. Plays / Drama   7. Russia   

Customer Reviews (1)

A wealth of music
Dover is to be commended for publishing this fine volume of this Russian master's piano music. Wonderful music, all of which would add worth to any pianist's repertoire. I hope Dover continues to publish more Medtner! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Genres & Styles - Classical   2. Music   3. Musical Instruments - Piano   

Subjects:  1. Continental European   2. Fiction   3. Literary   4. Plays   5. Plays / Drama   6. 19th century fiction   7. Drama texts: 19th century   8. Short stories   

Customer Reviews (1)

insights useful for robotics
The book's articles (chapters) describe models of nature's way of controlling motion. The models are built in the tradition of Bernstein, which means that they assume that the motion phenomena under cosideration are aimed at solving a certain problem based on a model of the future. The model of the future exists in the brain of the person/animal performing the motion. This approach is different from the theory of reflexes. In reflex theory everything that happens now has a cause in the past, and this completely expains motor activity. The Bernstein-inspired approach proposes that motor activity is performed with some outcome in mind - the human or animal has a model of desired future according to which the actions are taken. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. (Nikolai Aleksandrovich),   2. 1896-1966   3. Bernshtein, N. A   4. Human locomotion   5. Kinesiology And Human Biomechanics   6. Life Sciences - Human Anatomy & Physiology   7. Medical / Nursing   8. Motor ability   9. Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation   10. Physiology   11. Science   12. Science/Mathematics   

Customer Reviews (1)

Going back to the bookstore for my refund
I suppose if you have a Ph.D, you are expected to write at least one text book to add to your portfolio and make a few bucks on the side - that kind of mentality was painfully prevalent when the author wrote this book. Dry text and sparse examples litter the text. The book title is misleading - it calls itself a 'developer's guide to visual lisp' when in fact, 36 pages (less than 10% of the book) is dedicated to that topic. Almost 200 pages of the book goes over the main AutoLisp functions - but hey, I've got an AutoCAD 14 book that explains that topic better. The book describes the author as a 'best selling author of a number of AutoCAD books'. If thats true, those books never made it to the North American market - now I know why. And finally, WHERE'S THE CD? No CD ever came with my copy of the book - maybe because I purchased an earlier printing. All in all, a major disappointment. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. CAD-CAM - AutoCad   2. CAD-CAM - General   3. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming   4. Computer Books: General   5. Computer Graphics - General   6. Computers   7. Programming - General   8. Programming Languages - LISP   9. AutoCAD   10. Programming languages   

Customer Reviews (1)

Need to Blow Your Nose?
Best known for the mainstream Taras Bulba, The Inspector General, and Dead Souls, the Ukrainian Gogol wrote some excellent early absurdist stories including "The Nose," "The Carriage", and the seminal "Diary of a Madman". Another well-known story, "The Overcoat", considered one of Gogol's best works, also has several distinctively absurdist characteristics, including: the antinomy of outward appearance and inner reality, the related issue of questioning socially established values, and a fantastic ending. "The Nose" by Nikolai Gogol is more a reflection of the technique of story telling than any attempt to create a narrative. Indeed, Gogol purposely mangles form and content, breaking all conventions of traditional writing. The plot and more importantly, the way he presents it is a nonsensical jumble full of gaps, contradictions, interruptions and extraneous information. The piece is only unified through its attempt to betray the reader's assumptions of how a story should be told. Gogol opens strongly, establishing the normal foundation for a coherent plot to develop. "On 25 March a most extraordinary occurrence took place in St. Petersburg." (Gogol) A man named Kovalyov wakes up that morning to discover his nose is missing, in its place nothing but smooth skin. "The Nose" spends many pages following Kovalyov through futile attempts to recover his nose. Like the narrator, Kovalyov is often distracted from his mission by random thoughts and events. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 4-8   2. Children: Grades 2-3   3. Fiction   4. General   5. Nose   

Customer Reviews (2)

Gogol rules!
In this witty book about Nikolai Gogol, Nabokov captures perfectly Gogol's dreamlike, irrational, surrealistic absurdity. Nabokov's book is a perfect tribute to Gogol.

Could have been better, but it's awfully good
Perhaps regrettably obscured behind Nabokov's famous novels and even his Lectures on Russian Literature and his controversial work on Eugene Onegin lies this short critical biography of Nikolai Gogol. The main thrust of the book is to portray Gogol as a masterful, if troubled and inconsistent, writer whose work is valuable not at all for its portrayal of Russia or for any seeming advocacy of social change, but rather exclusively for its artistic merit. Nabokov takes us rather briskly through Gogol's youth and his earlier works; provides detailed, quote-filled discussions of The Inspector General and the first volume of Dead Souls; summarizes the last ten years of Gogol's life, during which he attempted to write the second volume of Dead Souls but saw his artistic creativity fading; and gives a short exposition of Gogol's most famous short story, "The Overcoat."

Nabokov's essays on The Inspector General, Dead Souls, and "The Overcoat" are all quite illuminating and entertaining. He escorts us through each work, discussing the numerous ways in which each innovatively reflects Gogol's unique and charming quirks, and including, with annotations, numerous passages (each translated by Nabokov himself) which demonstrate Gogol's excellent prose. His emphasis is not at all on the plots of the works (which he only grudgingly included at the end of the book at the request of his publisher) but rather on their style, which he successfully shows to be a much more fundamental aspect of Gogol's works than any satire that one may choose to read in to them.

At times, though, it seems that Nabokov gets a little too caught up in his own dogma. Most critics nowadays would agree with Nabokov that Gogol was much more important as an artist than as a social commentator, but it's pushing it awfully far to say, as Nabokov does, that Dead Souls is no more authentically a tale about Russia than Hamlet is authentically about Denmark. Also, Nabokov confines almost all of his attention to just three works, which put together, if memory serves, wouldn't come to much more than 300 pages. He dismisses Gogol's numerous Ukrainian tales (the last of which were written when Gogol was 25; The Inspector General, by contrast, was written at the ripe old age of 26) as "juvenilia" which are emphatically not "the real Gogol," and pays little more than lip service to any of Gogol's other acclaimed short stories. The one other slightly irritating aspect of Nabokov's book that I can think of is that in the long passages that he quotes he insists on interjecting his own comments [in brackets] mid-sentence, thus ruining the flow of the prose that he took the trouble of translating so very well.

But these are all minor quibbles, and I hope you won't let them discourage you. Nabokov makes his point very entertainingly and very well, and although it might have been nice if he'd broadened his study to more of Gogol's work, his discussions of Gogol's three most important works are really excellent. Since it would be hard for me to think of a 20th-century author more suited to writing about Gogol than Nabokov, I had high expectations for this book, and I was not at all disappointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th century   2. Authors, Russian   3. Biography   4. Biography / Autobiography   5. Biography/Autobiography   6. Literary   7. Russian & Former Soviet Union   8. Biography: general   9. Literary studies: 19th century   10. Modern fiction   11. Russian   

Customer Reviews (5)

Six tales don't constitute author's best work
This volume constitutes six stories by Gogol of which two are the most famous; "The Overcoat", a wonderful psychological story which was made into a film in the USSR many years ago, and "The Nose", a satire of Russian middle level officials of the early 19th century. Taken as a book, though, these tales full of dreams, asides, and great prolixity are not a major literary landmark on the world stage. Russian literature, as one of the world's greatest collections of works, offers a lot more in my opinion. Gogol, while perhaps a brilliant star for some national literatures, can only be considered a minor writer in Russia, especially if read in English as translated by David Magarshack, whose style can hardly be called 'contemporary'. While it's true that Gogol had a good sense of humor, if a little bizarre, it comes across in this translation as childish. (I must hasten to add that I don't know Russian.)

"The Terrible Vengeance" is a rather tedious fairy tale with an incestuous theme, while "The Portrait" bears some likeness to a certain, later work by Oscar Wilde. Though the idea is interesting, Gogol, as in several other stories, just doesn't know when to let go. The story "Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and His Aunt" contains lively humor and many colorful characters. I enjoyed it the most of all, but it was only the beginning of a larger work, which unfortunately seems never to have been completed.

Some analysts (see the Introduction by the translator)have read into Gogol's work pre-revolutionary predictions of violent change or a rising up of the lower classes. I think such an idea is far-fetched. Similarly, while it is true that Gogol's tales and stories do contain struggles between good and evil, the same can be said of an enormous number of folk tales, religious works, and literary pieces by writers in every language. It is interesting to read Gogol's work to widen your knowledge of Russian and world literature. That is a source of satisfaction, but perhaps not enough. Several of the stories are good, but they don't measure up to his longer works---"Dead Souls" and "The Government Inspector". I would read them first, before this lesser book.

I did not read this particular edition
I was just looking and found that a book of Gogol's stories were #3 on University of Southern California's list. I was proud to see this. I'm one of Gogol's biggest fans and I keep it a secret because his talent is special, serious and fun. The Overcoat, Diary of a Madman, Dead Souls and The Nose...what more can you say. The first time I read Overcoat it was in a book of Greatest Short Novels my father had given me. I still hold on to this collection because of Gogol. To me, the Faulkner and James Joyce works included are mere book ends. Overcoat, along with Conrad's Heart of Darkness, stand alone.

Department Head...
This story, one of Gogol's most famous is skillfully narrated to reflect the author's frustration with civil service and the plight of the poor, and will evoke an emotional response among listeners. Akakii Akakievich is a lowly government clerk. When winter begins he notices that his old overcoat is beyod repairing. He manages to save money for a new, luxurious coat. His colleagues at the office arrange a party for his acquisition. But his happiness proves to be short-lived. On the way home he is attaced by thieves and robbed of his coat. To recover his lost possession, Akakievich asks help from an Important Person, a director of a department with the rank of general. He treats Akakievich harshly and Akakievich dies of fright within three days. One night when the Important Person is rerutning home, he is attacked by a ghost, late Akakii Akakievich, who steals his overcoat. The stealing of outer garments continue, even though now the ghost is a big man with a moustache and enormous fists. A simpler, if perhaps more prosaic, way of restating the general thrust of the storyline would be to say that 'The Overcoat' is like a good poem. It can be endlessly annotated, interpreted, dissected, but still emerges whole and fresh, like a new morning... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Literature - Classics / Criticism   2. Literature: Classics   3. Short Stories (Anthologies)   

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural   2. Archaeology / Anthropology   3. Arctic peoples   4. Indigenous peoples   5. Russia, Northern   6. Siberia (Russia)   7. Social Science   8. Social life and customs   9. Sociology