Dvorak by Alec Robertson (1943 Hardcover First Edition in Good to Very Good Condition)

Amazon Reviewer: This is another volume in the excellent series on Master Musicians for Dent, edited by Sir Jack Westrup. Although this book is now somewhat dated, it still describes Dvoøák's Symphony `From the New World' as No.9 rather than No.5, which was the case on my earliest recordings! The author of this volume, Jack Robertson, was an English music critic, organist, choirmaster, broadcaster and author of a seminal work on chamber music for Pelican, and many others. He died in 1982. As usual in these volumes, the first-half of this book is devoted to a biography of the composer while the second half is about his music. Dvoøák was a prolific composer of a seemingly fateful nine symphonies (like Beethoven, Schubert, Vaughan Williams, and Mahler), concertos for piano, for violin and for cello, all of which are standard pieces in the concert repertoire, religious music, operas, and much beautiful chamber music. Also as usual there are many examples in musical notation in the latter half of the book. Dvoøák had very humble beginnings as the son of a rural butcher who was born in a village some forty-five miles north of Prague. He was fortunate enough to be taken under the wing of a local organist and his musical career developed from there. Despite its age (the book was originally published in 1945 when scores of Dvoøák's first four symphonies were not even generally available in the west) this is an authoritative book and will provide an excellent introduction to the life and work of the composer. As usual it concludes with a Calendar of events in Dvoøák's life, a Catalogue of Compositions, short biographies of those who were influential in Dvoøák's life, and suggestions for further reading.

Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Very Good (Slightly browned on page edges, see images)
Cover Condition: Fair to Good (The cover itself is intact but has quite a bit of foxing, name on inside of cover, the dust cover is falling apart, see images)

Book Condition Grading Guide
As New:  The book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published.  This could be the description for a book that has been lost in a warehouse for years, never shelved, thumbed or even opened yet may still be some years old.
Fine (F or FN): A Fine book approaches the condition of As New, but without being crisp.  The book may have been opened and read, but there are no defects to the book, jacket or pages.
Very Good (VG): Describes a book that shows some small signs of wear - but no tears - on either binding or paper. Any defects should be noted by the seller.
Good (G): Describes the average used worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects should be noted by the seller.
Fair: Worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc. (which must be noted). Binding, jacket (if any), etc., may also be worn. All defects should be noted.
Poor: Describes a book that is sufficiently worn.  Any missing maps or plates should still be noted. This copy may be soiled, scuffed, stained or spotted and may have loose joints, hinges, pages, etc.
Binding Copy: describes a book in which the pages or leaves are perfect but the binding is very bad, loose, off, or nonexistent.
Reading Copy: A copy usually in poor to fair condition that includes all text presented in a legible fashion.  The copy is fine to read but nothing more.